Penn Slammer III 4500 Spinning Reel

This feedback is based on initial assessments as a true review could take months of use. I just got mine last week. But I want to share some info I think is important. It is well built; it is smooth; and it does have a lot of drag. That said, like most things, it isn’t perfect.First off, the elephant in the room…yes, it is the current 7+1 version. Penn stated in a forum post on Stripers Online website that all reels made starting September 2017 were made with the line roller bearing. As you will see from the photo (L18) that mine was manufactured in December 2018, and it IS the 7+1 model. I first purchased one from my local shop and returned it when I found out it was the older model. FYI, the sticker with the code is on the reel after you take off the spool.Pros:1. Well built, including all machined brass gearing2. Well sealed – IPX6 rated. I actually like that there is a 3rd party verification and rating system used here. I am not a fan of Shimano’s “X” ratings and “Core” ratings. It’s just marketing names.3. Smooth drag; I admit I haven’t used it in full practice yet, so take that with a grain of salt4. Smooth action; it is smooth, but not as good when put next to Daiwa. Those are ridiculously smooth. The Slammer feels very slighly geary next to those. But not enough to complain about it.Cons:1. Minimum drag – same complaint as everyone else; you can remove the drag cap and still not go very low. It’s odd. I will say this one I have from Amazon is better than the 2 year old one I initially purchased from my local shop. Drag feels a little lighter. In practice it will likely be fine matched up with the 20 lb braid I’m currently running. According to Tackle Advisors, the minimum he experience was about 1-2 lbs. It feels close to that, but didn’t bother to measure.Value:Well, value is subjective and personal. I will say I think the jump from the Spinfisher VI to this is appropriate. You primarily gain 2 extra bearings, a brass main gear and what I feel is a better handle. If you don’t care about the little extra smoothness from more bearings, and the handle isn’t important to you, the Spinfisher VI is better deal, especially at 6500 and above (where the main gear becomes brass like the Slammer). According to Tackle Advisors, the sealing in the VI (not the live liner models) is the same as the Slammer. In that case, you nearly get a Slammer for 2/3rds the price. For me, I noticed the extra smoothness of the extra bearings, and I like the handle so much better that I was going to put the Slammer handle on the Spinfisher VI anyway. Even with the current cost (as of today) of the Spinfisher VI 4500 at $142 and the cost of the Slammer handle at $65 on Ebay, that’s $207. That’s better than the $250 of the Slammer III 4500…except I got the Slammer III 4500 for $187 on Amazon. Soooo, that’s a no brainer for me.I think I got a good version of a good reel. I think will work perfectly for my inshore Florida needs. And I believe at $187, it is a great value.

I bought the SlammerIII 4500 because it was on sale and it came in 2 or 3 days(good stuff). I put it on a 9′ Lamiglas GSB. It’s my go to rod now. Surf fishing tests your equipment and the Slammer passes that test.Pros: Light, Smooth Drag, Lots of Power for it size, Excellent For Plugging and Surfcasting, Good Looking Reel.Con: The cap on that beautiful machined aluminum knob needs to be Lok-tited on(use the blue). Mine came off while I was fighting a fish and I lost it down in the rocks. I put the rubber knob on and I’m waiting for the replacement cap to come from Penn. It’s like having your girlfriend cut off her beautiful long hair…”It looks great Honey…really.”, but you can’t wait for it to grow back. Blue Lok-tite…BEFORE you fish with it.

I cannot be more satisfied with the product. I had this on my wish list for a while… After lots of reviews, I finally bought it. This will become my boat casting, trolling and jigging reel. I will write a detailed review after a fishing trip in a couple of weeks to Costa Rica Central Pacific tour… Will share pics and review. Pura Vida!Just to give you a sense of what you can catch with it… I pulled it with no effort, this reel is a monster!

5 stars except for one big complaint. The drag is way too tight even at the lowest setting on th 3500. I occasionally back off the drag when I leave my reel unattended so than it isn’t drug in to the water. This would never work with this reel. It takes a good size fish to take line off with drag on minimum. I’m apparently not the only one with this complaint. I found a message board online that said taking out the lower seal fixed the problem. Although I was a bit nervous taking about doing surgery on this beautiful new reel, i did it. Taking out the lower seal was a piece of cake and completely fixed the issue. The real is now perfect, perhaps a work of art, except for the fact the drag is no longer water tight. I fish mostly freshwater and don’t plan on dunking it so it’s no big deal. Its now comparable to my spinfisher 3500 which I love as well. Its still frustrating. Penn boasts about a 30lb max drag, and even with the seal gone, I can tighten it to where it’s quite hard to turn. But why would anyone need a 30lb drag on such s small reel? This drag system seems appropriate for a bigger reel but not the 3500.Minus the lower seal, I love this reel. Albeit no longer water tight. Its is smooth, ore

Really nice looking and feeling reel and knowing it’s penn you know you are getting a workhorse, a little heavier than most reels in the same size but a small price to pay for it .

Smooth and well built. Should last a lifetime and beyond.

the product looks the part will have a better view when I have hooked a large fish and played with the reel

I really like this real a lot, great feel great ease-of-use however, the lowest reasonable drag adjustment is not light enough for light tackle such as 6-8 maybe even 10 pound use. I spooled on 20 pound braid for a month and then went to 30lb braid for general freshwater casting use. This really is capable of far bigger fish than I am currently fishing I would have gotten the 4500 or 5500 series instead of the 3500 series next time. It’s light enough. If you’re looking for a Baller reel for the money this is the one.