Penn Pursuit III Reel & Rod Combo Review

kevsdadhacks February 22, 2020

I’ve been crabbing all of my life, primarily off of a pier using crab nets. But, in 2019 I changed over to a fishing rod and reel set up with a crab snare. Using the crab snares (check out my article
Surf crabbing with crab snares for beginners) has been great so far. A rod and reel are easier to store and transport than 36 inch crab nets. So, this is my real life Penn Pursuit III Reel & Rod Combo Review.

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The Problem

Storing and transporting several 36 inch crab nets, bait cages and a large quantity of bait began to become a problem. They took up a lot of real estate in our SUV. Also, the crab nets are heavy and after you use them they are wet and smelly. Before we had kids, crab nets were not a problem because we were only packing the car for two people. But, with three kids and a dog…storing and transporting crab nets becomes an issue.

The Solution

My wife started to look into alternatives and she came across the fishing pole, reel and crab snare set up (check out my article
Surf crabbing with crab snares for beginners) . She suggested we try it. I did some research on my own and it appeared to be a promising alternative.

Crabbing by snares requires an ocean fishing pole and reel because of the weight of the crab snares, crabs and the ocean current. The research we did suggested using a 10 foot ocean fishing pole and braided heavy test line.

At the time, we only had fresh water fishing poles and reels. Fresh water polls tend to be shorter and lighter than ocean fishing poles. And, the reels can’t accommodate the heavier braided test line. So, my wife and I did our own research on fishing poles and reel sets. She purchased the Penn Pursuit III Reel & Rod Combo Review and I purchased another brand.

About the Penn Pursuit III Reel & Rod Combo

The rod is a lightweight and corrosion-resistant graphite body and has one-piece stainless steel Dura-Guides eliminate insert pop-outs
The reel features an ultra lightweight, corrosion-resistant graphite body, houses a HT-100 drag system, has a 4+1 shielded stainless steel ball bearing system and has a machined and anodized aluminum spool
Rod breaks down into two pieces for easy storage.
Dimensions: 84 x 6 x 6 inches
Weight: 15.4 ounces
Style name: 8000-10′- Heavy – 2pcs

Conclusion

I liked her Penn Pursuit III Reel & Rod Combo better than my rod and reel combo. The Penn Pursuit III Rod feels more substantial to me and the casting guides appear to be higher quality.

Overall, Penn Pursuit III Reel & Rod Combo appears to cast farther and reels in smoother. Also, the rod appeared to handle the weight of the snare and crabs confidently.

We’ve been using our new fishing rods for about a year. I can honestly say that I prefer using her Penn Pursuit III Reel & Rod Combo over mine. We haven’t had any issues with the Penn Pursuit III Reel & Rod Combo and I would recommend without any reservations. I liked the Penn Pursuit III Reel & Rod Combo so much, I bought another one for me. If you’d like to buy a Penn Pursuit III Reel & Rod Combo, here are links to purchase:

Amazon – Penn Pursuit III Reel & Rod Combo – https://amzn.to/2T4kxVR

If the Penn Pursuit III Rod & Reel combo above is out of stock, below is another Penn brand rod and reel combo that would work as well:

PENN Battle II, Battle III Spinning Reel and Fishing Rod Combo – https://amzn.to/3cWHvsS

Or, if you’d like to buy the reel separately…

Amazon – PENN Pursuit III Spinning Fishing Reel – https://amzn.to/2VstREx

Also, I purchased 300 yards RUNCL PowerBraid Fishing Line for each reel. I haven’t had any issues with casting, tangling or line breakage, even when I have two crabs on the snare. Here is a link to purchase the RUNCL PowerBraid Fishing Line : https://amzn.to/2v7hBQ3

Again, please visit my article Surf crabbing with crab snares for beginners for more information about surf crabbing and all of the equipment I use to do surf crabbing.

I hope you found my real life Penn Pursuit III Reel & Rod Combo Review helpful, happy crabbing!