PENN® Fierce® III Combo

I live in Florida, and my kids and I fish the Atlantic Ocean side from West Palm Beach to Key West, and to the Bahamas. We also fish the Gulf of Mexico and the Bays of Sanibel, Captiva, and 10,000 Islands Florida. Generally, we fish for pelagic species, such as, Dolphin (mahi-mahi), Wahoo, King Fish, Tuna, Tripletail, Sailfish, and Marlin. In the bays and the Gulf we go for Tarpon and Sharks, and we also drop and jig for Snapper and Grouper. All of these fish are quite beefy, and usually run anywhere from 10 - 100 lbs.This rod combo can and has handled all of these fish. Proof? Check out my Avatar. That's how it's done.In my opinion Penn reels are the best. I also owned 3 of these combos in the Fierce 5000 size reel. I say owned, because one of them sits at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean now, and I purchased 4 of these new Fierce 6000 size combos to fill in and replace other rods and reels that have not held up as well. The Fierce 5000 combos have been with me for 5 years now, and we have caught just about every fish I mentioned on them during that time, and the 2 I have left still work perfectly with a minimum of maintenance. I spray them down with fresh water after every use, blow out excess water with WD-40, and grease them once a year. They have held up incredibly well.I also own Pfluger Presidente reels, and while the reels alone cost nearly twice the price of this Penn combo, they have not held up as well over the same 5 years with equal maintenance. The Presidente reels are beginning to rust. Not internally, but the reel casing itself, particularly around the reel seat where it is connected to the rod. One day the reel is just going to snap off.Thus, I am replacing and refilling my gear with 4 of these larger 6000 combos. While the Fierce reel is one of the cheaper models Penn offers, it is a first class reel, and you don't need to spend a penny more to have quality fishing gear. I also have Penn Battle reels($150 vs. $80 for the Fierce), and when fishing either model, I can't tell any difference when I am fighting a 20lb Grouper or a 75 lb Wahoo, the Fierce reels get the job done just as well. That's why I won't get any other reel or pay any more money for another brand.The new reels have been substantially upgraded from the older models that I have, and are superior in construction. The Black reel casing is sleek and sharp looking, and seems to be sealed even better than the older models I have. The handles are detachable for cleaning and maintenance. The skirted spool on the new reel is drilled out to make the reel lighter, and the drag is managed with the typical dial on top of the reel. The drag system is amazing, and gives a lovely scream when a big fish strips line off. Tightening and loosening of the drag system is easy and quick while fighting a fish. The bail wire is black and nice and thick on this model, which was my only complaint about the reels I bought 5 years ago, their bail was very thin, so I think this is a nice upgrade on these newer models. It just feel better and stronger when you open the bail, as there is little to no flex in the bail wire.The cost speaks for itself. The Fierce 6000 reel alone is $80, so you're practically getting the rod for free. Some people are critical of these rod combos being cheap rods, but again, the combos I have had for the past 5 years have held up as well if not better than other rods. The rod is a graphite blank, aluminum oxide guides, and EVA grips. I don't know about you, but that's pretty much everything I look for in my rods. The rod is medium heavy, so it is a fairly stiff rod, but I'm looking forward to having that extra backbone when I'm fighting a big Dolphin or Wahoo, and a stiffer rod will do well to pull up a big Snapper or Grouper from 50 - 100 feet of water.As stated, you can't beat the cost. I outfitted myself with 4 rods for under $400. That's unheard of in this day and age of fishing. It was unheard of 25 years ago when I was fishing as well. If anything, the cost of these newer reels and rods has actually come down over the past 25 years, while the quality has gone way up.Love my old ones, love these newer models even more.

Received the rod and reel quickly and in good condition. Put some 30lb braid on it and took it fishing last weekend. So far the reel and rod are working perfectly, a big upgrade from my much cheaper set up. I bought this for my ten year old son and he had a much easier time using it compared to our old set up. Put a badonk a donk lure on it and he was casting clear across the creek with it, sometimes into the woods. Very smooth casting, rod is medium size but very sturdy feeling (could catch a small trout to a bull red with it no problem). Unfortunately I have not gotten to hear the drag scream yet so no review on the drag yet. Maybe next weekend.

My first reel was a Penn and I loved that thing to death, literally, until I wore it out (it was a starter model). I had been using a Shimano and HATE it, HATE it isn't even close to what I feel for it. This Penn reel is smooth and the biggest and most annoying factor to me is setting the drag on any reel. I was very pleased with setting the drag and the reel overall. Bought the long rod for my husband and the reel for me. Turned out to be a great fishing trip, catching several shark, snapper, and of course my customary puffer and/or toad fish. LOL!!

I received my order of the Fierce II 4000 combo. The only information given about the rod was 7' one-piece or two-piece so I chose the two-piece rod for travel reasons. The rod it comes with is a Penn Fierce II Graphite with 8 guides. It is Xtra Fast Action and rated for 10-17lb. mono, 10-30lb. Braid, 1/4-1oz lures. I will be using this combo with 15lb braid and a 20-25lb fluoro leader. My use will be for small lure fishing in the surf ranging from 1/4oz-1 1/2oz lures. I own another Fierce 4000 and one more Fierce II 4000 making a total of 3. I've never had a problem with these reels. They are very smooth and very light allowing me to fish for long periods of time without getting tired. These reels are the best bang for your buck, and I bought this combo at $89.99. I've looked all over the Internet, and Amazon is the cheapest place you can buy these combos.

Really like this combo. Nice balance between the rod and reel. Only issue was it snapped the first time I tried to set the hook on a large sea bass. I contacted Penn and they sent a replacement.

I have owned Penn Reels before and they are of superior quality it has never let me down from the lakes to the rivers and even the ocean surfs. I have never used or owned a Penn Reel rod before, but it looks to be well built. The box that the rod and reel combo came in was DESTROYED it was opened split down the middle. The single strip of tape down the center that was supposed to hold the box closed did not do its job and was completely opened. Great product but disgusting packaging, Amazon must rethink their packaging technique since it was sold by Amazon.com Services, Inc. regardless of the missing handle I'm going to keep it until I spool it up to see if the other complaints about the reel spooling high are valid. I will be leaving an update on this product once I can test it since I do have a Penn Reel Fierce 6000LL on my other rod and that I can easily transfer the handle for testing purposes.

I was worried about buying this because a lot of reviewers had said their reels arrived broken or non-functional, but mine arrived in perfect condition and within minutes I had my reel lined and ready to fish. I bought the 8000 size reel with the 10ft rod for surf fishing. This is the third fierce series reel combo I've bought and I can't say enough about the value. I work these reels and rods pretty hard because I fish several times a week on Jetties and in the surf, so they can beat up but they've never let me down and are easy to maintain. Great value!

El Carrete 8000 un poco pesado pero este deporte es de hombres y no de payasos, la calidad de PENN se nota en cada punto, la vara de 10 pies extremadamente liviana pero fuerte y compensa el peso del carrete, es para lures de 2 a 6 OZ, llego en perfectas condiciones estoy en espera de estrenarlo en un torneo en Nayarit. se encuentra a un precio excelente, de las mejores compras que he realizado aqui.

Just received it. Will try it only in a couple of month but the feel is good, and quality seems there. Very confident!!!

Muy bueno, la calidad de Penn no se discute, fuimos de pesca en el mar, en la orilla funciona muy bien, con lanzamientos muy largos, obtuvimos muy buena pesca, lo mismo lo usamos en lancha, muy buen comportamiento... Muy buena compra.

Works great for striped bass.

Este combo lo elegí por el tamaño de carrete, dado que es un carrete de tamaño promedio con una excelente velocidad de recuperacion de linea y pues no te cansas mucho al tirar señuelos de superficie, tambien me gusto la marca de lineas que trael la bobina el cual indica cuanta linea te queda al pelear un pez, trae una caña muy ligera con una resistencia de lance en señuelos de 3 oz el cual es perfecto para ranger, popper, mousser etc..