Penn 525 MAG Casting Reels Review

Great Reel With Good Drag, 2010-04-28
Reviewer: Jason Thomas

Got this real for a gift and have been very happy with it for my go
to reel. I spooked it up with braid and it takes the heavy drag that I
give it.

525 over rated, 2010-03-23
Reviewer: PENNPOO

MOST OVER RATED REEL EVER MADE
ABU MAG ELITE CAST MUCH BETTER THAN A 525
AND 525'S COVERS ARE WEAK AND CRACK
ALSO THE REEL IS WAY OVER PRICED
A GOOD REEL IN THERE BUT RUINED BY A RUBBISH CAGE AND COVERS
(THEY SHOULD OF BEEN MADE OUT OF BRASS OR ALLOY
NOT CHEAPO GRAPHITE)

Penn 525 Mag, 2009-12-08
Reviewer: SurfDog

Wade Extreme Texas review on the Penn 525 Mag

Want a hardcore reliable reel for kingfish? Buy this one. You want to outcast the chump next to you? Buy this reel. You want to be the man on the beach casting bait to jacks others can't reach? Buy this reel. Seriously if you want a reel matched with a 11ft rod or 10ft surf stick? This is the perfect relationship of products to put together. This reel is not for the faint of heart. If you don't take fishing serious don't waste your money. Stay on the porch and cry to Mommy about the one that got away!

This is one serious casting machine, 2005-08-22
Reviewer: Anonymous

The 525 mag is a great solid reel, this casts great! Use the mag and spool tension controls and you will never have to feather the spool with your thumb. I use this reel at the beach on a 11' 6" rod casting typically 4-6ozs. + a chunk of mackeral and clam with no problem. Typical distances are well over 100 yards.

Best for the Bucks..., 2005-07-10
Reviewer: Anonymous

I now have the 525Mag, 535 and 555 graphite reels. The Mag takes some getting used to. It is strong as an ox. I have used it to tame albacore on 15lb mono. The main problem is I reset to fast for retrieval then sometimes forgetting to go back to slow, I toss my swimbait with a mighty heave, only to throw up a monster backlash. I have always been able to clear it though. I can chuck it out there, land smack on the water, turn over my reel and... perfect. The other guys on the boat respect my ability with the mag and my 8ft graphite inshore rod. My brother has a drawer full of Shimano baitcasters with burned out drags. That won't happen with the Mag.

use at your own risk. . ., 2005-02-27
Reviewer: MB

This is a wild and wooly, tricky-dicky type of reel for throwing chunks. I myself, and a close fishing associate of mine, have each had one for several years now. They cast great without anything large on the hook, but if you even put a shrimp on, things can get unpredictable at best. I too added extra magnets, and this is easy enough to do. But throwing this dude really hard will always be an adventure, and I experienced a fatal bird's nest almost every time I had the thing out.
But beyond that, it has all of the time-tested Penn virtues - such as great drags and stone reliability, and good inherent value. Also, my particular reel has the smoooothest gears of almost any reel I have ever used.
I don't use mine much anymore, but I doubt that I would ever sell it.

World record distance casts, 2005-02-23
Reviewer: James -Gyozadude- Liu

This is the reel that Neil Mackellow used some years back to set a world distance casting record of 308 yds using 150 grams of weight.

This reel is very nice to toss. It has wide spool lips for good thumb control during the cast, and the pre-installed mags are outstanding. Even at the lowest setting, the long width, small diameter spool keeps rotational inertia low and allows experienced casters to toss long distances with even just 2 oz of weight.

But this isn't just a casting reel for tournament competitions. You can actually catch and fight fish with this reel. It has Penn's famous HT-100 drag washers, plus a long crank arm and high speed 6:1 gear ratio really helps crank in lures quickly, and you'll need it since you cast so far with this reel. Plus it has a stiff and loud bait clicker that can hold bait against some rapid current.

At $130 - $150 in most shops, it definitely has good value for a world record holding casting reel.

Ideally, this would be my 1st weapon of choice to surf plug for stripers and near shore halibut. This is almost perfect loaded up with a full spool of 30 lb braided line on a 11 ft surf casting rod and a 3 oz metal jig. I know the reel would work well for other species too, but it almost seems like blasphemy to use such an outstanding distance reel on something as mundane as a rockfish or little sharks or batrays. I almost keep this reel in reserve and only pull it out when I need to demonstrate what extreme distance really means to my fishing buddies.

This reel deserves 5 stars, but I give it less because of some manufacturing defects. The gears on some models are not as smooth as others and this may just mean some need to be "worn in." Also, the freespool release lever has a retainer machine screw that can fall out on some reels because the factory forgets to put loc-tite on the threads. It's important to test the one you plan to purchase first and keep screws tightened.

pretty innovative, 2005-02-18
Reviewer: Arvin Reyes

good:
smooth reel. smooth drag. great castability. one of the best 15lb class conventional reels out for under $200.

bad:
if you actually plan on using the magnetic cast control adjustments on this reel and you plan on casting anything over 1.5oz, you might want to go to radio shack and buy a pack of small 1/8" rare earth magnets. take two of them and open the left side plate of the reel. find the magnets and put a magnet BEHIND the two center magnets. this will give it more magnetic stopping power and will greatly enhance its castability.

comments:
ive heard this to be one of the most popular reels for use on albacore when they wont hit anything on line thicker than 15lb test. the HT100 drags are very smooth and handle big fish with authority. very easy to compare this reel to the sealine-X30SHV in terms of fish fighting ability. but comes with a slightly higher price tag, due to the extra magnetic cast control system incorporated into it. not such a good thing since the system makes the reel cost a little more, yet still needs to be upgraded to do any good. overall, a great reel, but i still prefer the SL-X series over these.