Penn Torque

[Gunsmoke]

I don't believe it, I just got an electronic invoice from Charkbait. The Torque's shipped out today. The nice thing about Charkbait, is if you don't order any line on the reel, and you have the Captain's card, you get 40 bucks off each Torque. That 10% off really adds up. Problem is I have to give Mrbill one for losing a bet. In a couple of days, I'll see if they live up the icast award "Best of Show."

[Gunsmoke]

Originally Posted by hatidua

for those that have seen/played with both the Torque and the Torsa, if the price were identical, which would you pick (lever drag vs. star drag issue aside)??

Man, that's a tough question. The nice thing about the torsa is the interchangeable cams. If you were to only buy one reel, you would have to pick the torsa. I do like the large knob on the torque. Parts and service should not be a problem on either reel. I plan on testing the torque this next weekend.

[Rob M]

Hi all new member here, just been reading about the Torque. Sounds like a winner. Gunsmoke did you get to have a fish with this new reel. What did you think??

Rob

[Minnow]

Welcome aboard Rob M.

[Deep_Sea_Gull]

Welcome aboard Rob M.

[Rob M]

Thanks guy's, looks like a good site. Will visit often.

[peterk814]

a possibly issue i have with a lot of reels and that is present here on the penn torque is that the clamp screws are a ***** and therefore the clamp is difficult to get on. I see on this one that you probably will have to insert the screws hold onto them, and then get the clamp in place. I like how the newer saltigas and trinidads have a screw in place so that you dont need to worry about dropping screws on a pitching boat.

[Pope]

I know Charbait is down on Shimano, but they make a pretty decent argument in regards to gear durability on their site.

http://www.charkbait.com/cs/csrp.htm

[Gunsmoke]

Originally Posted by Rob M

Hi all new member here, just been reading about the Torque. Sounds like a winner. Gunsmoke did you get to have a fish with this new reel. What did you think??

Rob

I finally fished the torque the middle of last week. Conditions were not very favorable as we were in 10-13's most of the day. The torque's did bring in a few hoo's. I had four out for most of the morning. I think what I used it for will be perfect for me. Trolling a rip in the 25 to 50 fathom range. I preset the drag at 20 pounds before letting out the lures.

The drag was very smooth and adjusting the star wheel in heavy seas wasn't a problem. The high gear ratio really helps retrieve line when the hoo's turn toward the boat. I normally keep the boat in gear when a hoo is on because of their tendency to turn toward the fisherman at some point. That particular day we went to neutral because of the sea conditions.

I also think I will use the torque for snapper fishing. Changing baits will be fast because the reel has a fast retrieve rate. It's also small and light in weight. I'm not sure I will attempt AJ fishing as the high gear ratio will make it difficult to get the fish off the bottom.

Overall, I like the reel. But, I love and am used to fishing with lever drags. I also love two speed reels. I prefer the international 16VS as it has both a lever drag and two speeds. The 16VS might not produce as much drag, but I'll take the lever and two speeds and day.

The torque is a fun reel bringing me back to my star drag days. Sometimes it's just fun to rotate the star and adjust drag as needed. I locked it down on one hoo and nearly broke the 20 pound class rod. It also might be a good jigging reel. I haven't used it for jigging yet but that will come after hunting season.

[ksong]

My friend used the Penn Torgue reel for wahoo jigging on a recent 10 day trip on the Independence out of San Diego. He said the fast gear ratio helped to get hit from wahoo, but he had hard time to turn the handle when hooked.
He used to use Saltiga 40/50 for tuna jigging and he thinks the Saltiga's cranking power is better. I think it is because of high gear ratio and short handle of the Torgue reel.

[Tunanorth]

I have used the TRQ300 since June and the TRQ200 since September.
Have caught many yellowtail, wahoo, yellowfin tuna to 95 pounds, striped marlin to 175 pounds, amberjack, pargo, etc. on TRQ300, and lots of the same stuff to 60 pounds on the 200.
Go ahead and use the reel for amberjack!
The fast cranking will get you more bites, and although I have not caught any real big AJ's with it, I have caught several of their "first cousins" yellowtail that were well over 40 pounds with it.
I've also caught AJ's to 82 pounds in the past, so I know what you're up against.
Plenty of cranking power, however, be sure to change the handle to the "outermost" hole position.
It may be that the angler using the "demo model" on the Indy still had the handle in the original position.
Not really sure why anybody even needs that innermost "speed" position for a reel with a high gear ratio.