Product Review-PENN Clash Spinning Reel
PENN Fishing tackle has done it again with the 2015 Best of Show Salt Water Fishing Reel at ICAST (International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades). It’s the new PENN Clash spinning reel series. If you love a super smooth, light weight, but strong spinning reel you really need to take a look at the PENN Clash series.
The new Clash comes in seven sizes to cover almost all fishing scenarios; inshore, near shore and offshore. The design and look of this reel is smooth and clean; with lots of great features that I look for in a reel today. We all know braided fishing line (superline) has gotten very popular for all types of fishing. Hey its great stuff, small in diameter and super strong; but its hard on reels IE: gears and drag systems. With the Clash’s CNC Gear Technology this delivers durability, smoothness and precision. PENN’s legendary HT 100 drag and utilizing a wave spring in the drag knob of the Clash so you no longer bottom the drag out and lose the last 25% of your drag curve. What’s the purpose of having forty pounds of drag if you can’t use the last ten pounds?
All Clash spinning reels come with braid ready spools, no backing needed for these spinning reels; you can put braid right on the spool with no worry of line slippage. Speaking of braid, how about a Leveline system; this system with the correct combination of slow oscillation and appropriate spool dimensions deliver the perfect line lay on the spool. This will help with longer cast and fewer wind knots.
Cap and Stats:
CLA2000: Mono cap yds/lb: 240/4 180/6 125/8 Braid cap: 210/8 180/10 165/15 Bearings: 8+1 Max drag: 10 lbs Ratio: 6.2:1 Weight: 8.2oz
CLA2500: Mono cap yds/lb: 255/6 175/8 140/10 Braid cap: 240/10 220/15 160/20 Bearings: 8+1 Max drag: 12 lbs Ratio: 6.2:1 Weight: 8.5oz
CLA3000 Mono cap yds/lb: 200/8 165/10 120/12 Braid cap: 250/15 180/20 130/30 Bearings: 8+1 Max drag: 15 lbs Ratio: 6.2:1 Weight: 10.2oz
CLA4000 Mono cap yds/lb: 270/8 220/10 165/12 Braid cap: 360/15 260/20 185/30 Bearings: 8+1 Max drag: 15 lbs Ratio: 6.2:1
Weight: 10.7oz
CLA5000 Mono cap yds/lb: 225/12 200/15 135/20 Braid cap: 420/20 300/30 240/40 Bearings: 8+1 Max drag: 20 lbs Ratio: 5.6:1 Weight: 16.9oz
CLA6000 Mono cap yds/lb: 335/15 230/20 210/25 Braid cap: 490/30 390/40 335/50 Bearings: 8+1 Max drag: 25 lbs Ratio: 5.6:1 Weight: 20.7oz
CLA8000 Mono cap yds/lb: 340/20 310/25 230/30 Braid cap: 475/50 390/65 345/80 Bearings: 8+1 Max drag: 30 lbs Ratio: 4.7:1 Weight: 27.2oz
Key Features to the PENN Clash Spinning Reel:
• Full metal body makes for a durable reel and keeps things lined up
• Superline Spool™ – No backing needed because of the rubber gasket keeps superline from slipping
• Techno-Balanced Rotor design
• Machined and anodized aluminum spool with Carbon Fiber wrap
• HT-100™ carbon fiber drag washers provide smooth drag under heavy loads with a Wave Spring to utilize the entire drag curve.
• 8 Sealed stainless steel ball bearings
• Infinite anti-reverse
• Heavy-duty Aluminum bail wire
• Spool design has line capacity rings.
• Leveline Oscillation system to help with longer cast and fewer wind knots
I was on the test team when PENN first started to design the new Clash line of spinning reels. When I first got the reels, the look is clean, light weight and well built. The Clash is noticeably super smooth out of the box, but what I found was after months of use, it’s still super smooth! I fished the test reels hard, lots of Striped bass, Redfish, Flounder, a few Cobia and even a few larger sharks brought to the boat side with these reels.
As a full time fishing guide the spinning reel is my choice tool I use every day, it must work and work well! When I look for a spinning reel, I look for the one that has a good price for what you’re getting; built well enough to last through a long day of a guided fishing trip or a super long day of a tournament and light weight is the cherry on top. The Clash cost a little more, but you really need to weight out what you’re getting with the new Clash. No one likes to pay too much for fishing gear, but if it works well it’s worth every penny! I really like this spinning reel, check one out today at your favorite tackle shop.
If you have any questions about the new PENN Clash series or any PENN product, let me know and I’ll be happy to answer your questions.
Thanks for reading,
Capt. Jot Owens
www.captainjot.com
