I have researched saltwater spinning reels in detail.
When I came upon the 6500 bail less by Penn, there was no further searching. I'm skeptical of other's comments, but there were so many 5 *s, I thought I'd give it a try. Best thing I did. We live in Bonita Springs, Fl. most of the year. This reel is so great. The bail less is the greatest. I took a few casts to familiarize my self with, the technique. But boy it is effortless. What's the first thing to break on a traditional spinning reel? The bail spring, right? Well at least for me. No Bail, no spring .No problem. Highly recommend the bail less model..

This has to be one one of the best reels in the market ..this may feel a bit heavy at times but once you hook a monster you will immediately appreciate making this investment

Assume heavy duty, waterproof reel. On sale what a steal, I bought two!

I bought them to compare them with the top of the line. I can tell the difference on gear ratios but not by much, they are comparable in my opinion and so far so good.

Nice material and design, 3 years of use, and is like new

It still works. I don’t take great care of it but still super smooth after 4 years

AWESOME REEL, DURABLE, HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT

This reel is absolutely worth every penny!! Great quality, strong and smooth. Haven’t been able to use the live liner yet, but I’m sure it will work perfectly when I do.

Good enough for my local dock hopping for tog or blues/bass but it feels very geary and not smooth. I still enjoy it because it holds a good amount of line has good drag and casts great.

Surprising power in a live liner. Have pulled in some mackerel, grouper, snapper and mahi with this reel.

While this is shore a workhorse of a reel, it is a big girl and can be cumbersome compare to some slightly more expensive alternatives in class, I use the 10500 for jigging for tuna.

It’s a solid reel with quality parts. I do have one complaint with the live line feature. I was hoping that the live sardine could swim out using the bottom drag. I was using 50lb braid and with the complete free setting the sardine was not able to do so. I had to open the bail for the sardine to swim out. I did still caught a few yellow fin tuna but it didn’t work the way I expected it work. I had no problem reeled in the tunas thou.

Had the opportunity to use the 5500 series reel fighting 100+ pound tarpon and it held up great. Perfect size for the job. Also used for stripers off the Jersey shore and has held up great through the years.

I fish for Rock Fish (aka Striped Bass) in the Chesapeake Bay and have great success using the Penn Spinfisher 4500LL. The "LL" stands for live lining and means I can set my baits out, flip the live liner switch and sit back waiting for the line to scream off the reel. As soon as you turn the reel handle once, the drag kicks in to where you have it set and you fight the fish. no more adjusting the drag when there's a fish on the line, means more fish in the boat!

I thought that it was a cool idea so I had gotten the bail-less model. I've got to tell you, I wish I could change that decision. The reel itself is a very good quality. It stood up to a decent stingray, and hasn't tarnished at all since my saltwater trip. The problem comes when I'm casting. At times the line will find it way into the arm and snap the cast short. My motto for the trip had become "son of a bail-less b****" whenever it snapped the cast short.