I'm thinking of getting set up for halibut. Waht is a good entry level reel for them? I've looked at the Penn 320 or 340. Any suggestions?

Weight and balance on your rod are factors. I think that for most halibut fishing, you'd be happy with the Penn 330 loaded with 65# or 80# Power Pro or equivalent line.

Avoid the cheaper rods and especially those with the cheap roller tips if you want a roller tip. Shakespeare makes a pretty good stand-up rod with roller guide and tip in 5'6" and 6' for around $75. Check with your local sporting goods store.

Good reply bushbear. My 320 has the 80# power-pro. I am ready for bear!....i mean Halibut!!

Steve

I was going to throw the 320 into the mix (or the 321 for the lefties) but it won't hold the line that a 330 will. That might be important for a trip to LaPush or working the deeper water in the Straits. I have a 320 on my "light" rod.

DL,
I do a lot of halibut out of Neah Bay and La Push, I have had Penn 330s in the past and have now switched over to the 340s for two reasons, the important one is the spool gear goes out on the 330s, it was a yearly occurance for me. I have found the 340 to be a much stronger reel. I also use 50# McCoy superbraid, I know a lot of guys use 80# or better but I prefer the 50# because it is smaller diameter and goes down straighter when wind and current are a factor, which is most of the time and you need to remember that everything you let out you have to reel back in, if you don't want the expense of putting 600 yards of line on a reel use some backing. You will be happy at some point that you have the extra line capacity on your reel because sooner or later fishing for halibut you are going to snag and lose some line and the extra that's on your reel will make a big difference at that time.

Is the gear ratio a big deal? The 340 has something like 3.6/1 while the 320 is closer to 4.5/1. Does it matter with halibut?

I'd rather have a stump puller with good line capacity than a fast retrienve. Fishonjohn makes some good points. I know some who use electric reels on Penn 345. If you're fishing deep, it is a lot easier to hold the button down than to spend minutes reeling up to check your bait.

Halibut have been landed on almost every size of reel. I mention the 330 as a good all-around reel. I also have a Penn 112 as my heavy duty. Holds a lot of line, but there is no level wind. You develop an educated thumb to get your line on level. One more thing to think about when playing a fish.

Don't forget a fighting belt. You can get some interesting bruises using your groin area as a butt rest.

I don't believe your choice in a reel is as important and your choice in a rod when it comes to deepwater bottomfishing with heavy weights.
Imo, retrieve ratio isn't as important and the hight of the spool and the torque generated by a reel. Comparing a 320 to a 330 and their ratio's in offset by the size of the spool. But you are generating more torque with the larger spool via the crank with the larger reel, but the retrieve rate is basically the same between the two when fully spooled.
I'm gonna crank on a few (too many) with a Torium 30 this year with the 6.2:1 ratio. Basically it's a high speed, non-levelwind (which I prefer for large fish) version of the tekota 700 which I've got a lot of good feedback from.

I use the Penn 340 and fishinjohn made a good point about line capacity. Depending how deep you are when it snags, that's how much line you loose when you wrap a boat cleat to break it. I use 80# braided and a Fenwick Seahawk rod. The combination has worked out well. I also have an electric reel for whoever gets tired first. Maybe ME.

My Primary halibut rod is a Penn Senator roller tip with a Penn Senator 4/0 113H. I have been looking for a reel to put on my sturgeon/back up halibut rod. The rod is a Lamiglas BFC 70 H. Non roller tip. (didn't want the roller tip for Sturgeon). The reels I have been looking at include the Shimano TLD, Charter Special & Tekota 700, Penn 320, 330. I think I have decided on the Tekota. Sweet reel with a nice drag system I was also told the TLD was a excellent reel for halibut but it is not level wind which I wanted more for sturgeon. Of course it turns out to be the most expensive of the bunch but what they hey. The Penn reels are good reels but was told that with continual use on BIG fish the drags don't hold up as long. I got the impression the guy at the fish counter at Sportco was relating more to the commercial/guide equipment than to the occasional fisher who goes a few times a year. I own a couple of 320's and haven't had a lick of trouble with them on my salmon rods. I have heard nothing but good things about the Tekota series of reels.
Bret

Jaydee and FOJ,

U guys have it down, i fish Neah and the Straits all the time and i go no less than a 340 or a 4/0!!! Those 330's and 320's don't have a big enough spool for me and are way to much work when fishing anything over 2 or 300 feet! As for rod Choice, i would recommend a Forecast Tought Stick 66MH with Turbo Guides!

For rod choice I like a stand up tuna rod, two reasons, the butt is shorter which gets the reel in closer to your body which along with the long fore grip gives you better leverage and control plus the shorter rod lets you get the fish in closer to the boat when you are trying to gaff or harpoon it. I have gotten away from the roller guides for two reasons, they require a lot of maintenance and the new super braids are so small in diameter they can slip down between the roller and the guide, the new super briads also do not wear out the guide rings like dacron did. Bushbear made a very good point on the rod belt, I like a rod with a gimballed butt that locks into the rod belt, there is a lot of torque generated when cranking on a fish and the rod will have a tendency to turn if it isn't locked in. Gear ratio and spool diameter can be countered with either a power handle or electric reel, I like the electric reels, there are a couple of options, electamates and precision auto reels, I've owned both, the electamates are noisey and will require alot of expensive maintainance if you use them alot like I do, I have gone to the Precision auto reels which are a little more expensive to purchase intially but they are quiet and vertually trouble free, I own several and finally had troube with one that I owned for five years, the factory took care of it for about the same price I was paying to maintain my Electamates each year, what I saved in repair bills has paid for my precision auto reel.

For what it is worth, I put a short section of 50# mono between my main (80#) Power Pro line (have a large Sampo swivel on the end) and my terminal gear. If my gear gets hung up, the mono should go first. I'd drop to 40# mon with 50# braid, etc. That adds a couple of knots to the system, but I haven't had any problems and I don't like to lose a hundred yards of Power Pro.

I have used a Penn 330 for 3 years out there, no problems, just can't have the drag spot torqued down. I also use the tuna stick, all roller, and a gimbal belt. I've never had the line slip between the roller and frame, not yet anyway. I do like the reduced effort reel up with the rollers though, it was noticable. I also use the power handle on the reel. You have to set the drag ~20 pounds (it is a 30# class max) and you should be OK. With 80# Tuffline, when I have to lever one off the bottom I thumb the spool. 3.6-1 gears mean you can crank it back up relatively quick.

There are a lot of good reels out there and I have a lot of them. 3 Penn GTI 340s- 1 345-1 Penn Linecounter LC895, and a GTI 330 and some other misc large reels. All have caught halibut from very deep depths of over 650' and deeper. One important factor is to make sure and back your drag off when you put it away for the year. Also clean the rod and oil the rollers. When you put these rods away they sit with salt on them till next year. This can ruin them. Take a close look to make sure your rollers are turning. These can lock up and they will slide over the rollers with the slick line and you won't know it unless looking carefully. This could cause the line to heat up fighting a fish as these are usually wormed around the rollers.

4/0 Penn senator with 80lb tuff line backed with 80lb dacron.Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE

Hard to beat a 113 or 114 Senator for casual use. If you're planning on using them a lot or chasing big fish, a lever drag reel is nice. Shimano TLD's and Penn Formula's are both good reels. I would urge you to stay away from level winds as they are just one more thing to break. Using power pro or its equivalent you can put plenty of line on your reel and not have it so full that line will slip down the edge of the spool. You also never have to take in line fast with halibut, so you have plenty of time to concentrate on guiding the line. Another note on the superbraids is that sometimes they're too thin to work with in the lower breaking strengths. For instance I started out using 50 lb dacron, but when I switched to Power Pro I moved up to 100 lb because the 50 lb Power Pro is almost impossible to untangle and very prone to cutting your hands. Even with double the breaking strength of the dacron, the Power Pro is still skinnier and thus has less resistance in the water.

good luck
david