Penn Torque

[sailfish1]

Hi folks
anyone knows anything about the new Penn Torque?
JJ

[Tunanorth]

Looks like they are too new to get many responses outside of the USA.
I have had a TRQ300 since June, and a TRQ200 since October, and they are truly awesome reels.
Have caught lots of fish on both, including yellowfin tuna to 95 pounds and striped marlin to 170 pounds on the 300.
Haven't found anything they can't do within the limits of their line capacity.
They are not supposed to be lightweight reels, but are strong-framed and are intended for heavy line and high drag settings.
The 300 casts well, but may be a bit large for comfortable casting all day.
At 48-inches per crank, it may be the fastest conventional reel in production anywhere, and it has worked very well for casting wahoo bombs and yo-yo jigs for yellowtail, amberjack, etc.
The 200 casts extremely well even with fairly light baits or jigs, but still has a lightning-fast retrieve and plenty of power.
Have not gotten my hands on the little TRQ100 yet.

[DaFrogman]

Tunanorth,

Thanks for the response, I have been eyeing the Torque myself whilst waying the option of a Shimano Ocea Jigger 5000.

I seem to recall a post on Allcoast last year where there was an issue with some bearings on a Torque?.... Any idea where that went?. Have you done any tests on the drags available?... I would be fishing 80lb braid on a Torque 300 if I do get one.

Regards,

Saimee

[Tunanorth]

What happened was that if the angler loosened or tightened the left-side bearing adjustment too much beyond the normal 3 to 7/1000's operating range, it allowed the spindle to rub, deforming it and freezing the reel.
This did not happen with any of the field-test reels, but showed up on a handful of production reels.
Luckily it is a simple engineering fix to put a positive "stop" on the bearing adjustment so it can't go too far in either direction.
The Penn engineering department responded quickly and took immediate care of all reported problems, and all subsequent reels have the stop engineered in.
Keep the bearings adjusted with no "spool slop" in the frame, and it's not an issue anyway.
This was variously reported as pinon gears, shafts, bearings, etc, but all were pretty much this one thing, the spool spindle.
What amazed me was that the same couple of reels that had problems were reported on 10 major saltwater-related websites around the globe within just a few days.
I haven't tested the drags on a scale, but have used my 2 favorite informal settings with 50 pound mono topshots; "stupid tight", which is around 18-19 pounds; and "exterminate", which is in the low-mid-20's.
With open-water pelagics, I keep it a little looser!

[DaFrogman]

Tunanorth,

Thanks for the great explanation and update.

It is amazing how bad news about anything travels like lightning around the net, tackle failure being something that attracts a lot of attention.

That said, I reckon its also a good thing, since it keeps manufacturers on their toes and also gives them an opportunity to demonstrate their ability to respond to problems and to show their level of customer service (and sometimes lack of it).

Looks like the Penn may well be a good deal.

Glad to have you visiting our little corner of the fishing world.

Saimee

[Tunanorth]

Just got back from Alaska, doing the first field-testing of the still-developmental "Lever Drag" Torque 300.
The really big halibut were not biting, and the biggest caught by anybody was "only" 187 pounds, and the biggest we caught was a "tiny" 108 pounds in waters where 250 to 350 pounders are not unusual.
However, halibut are not tuna, and these mid-size fish did not give the reel much stress.
The reel feels very good anyway, and features some amazing technological innovations.
Will be going after albacore, yellowtail and bluefin tuna aboard a 7-Day San Diego long range trip on June 9 to give it another workout.

[Tunanorth]

Finally got my "field-test" version of the little TRQ100.
Surprisingly, it has a "slidy" cast control like the Penn 525MAG, along with a small spool flange for thumbing.
Haven't been able to actually fish with it yet, but did give it the "max drag" test, and was able to achieve 24.3 pounds of drag, pretty impressive for such a tiny reel.
I'm sure it will be excellent for albacore, school-size bluefin, etc. on our Searcher trip.

[Tunanorth]

The field-test session of the Torque TRQ100's on the 7-day San Diego trip aboard the Searcher was a tremendous success.
Set both the reels up with 30-pound mono topshots over 40-pound braid and fished them with live sardines, Tady #4/0 light jigs and Sumo #C2 heavy jigs.
Between myself, the crew and passengers, over 30 yellowtail from 10 to 35 pounds and a stray 20 pound yellowfin tuna were caught.
The drag and cranking power of this tiny reel in incredible, even a sulking 35-pound Cedros Island yellowtail came in rather easily.
Our California yellowtail are first cousins to amberjack, and second cousins to trevally.
Mono topshot users will enjoy this reel with 12 to 30 pound line, but the small diameter makes anything heavier pretty "wiry".
For those who go with straight braid, it should do fine with anything up to 65-pound test, and on a "bench" test I achieved 24.3 pounds of max drag.
Hopefully they will be available in the US within a month or two, not sure what the situation will be outside the US.