Test Drive: Fun With The Penn Squall Low Profile Baitcasting Reel

By: The Angler

When Penn launched the Penn Squall and Penn Fathom low profile reels, I was ecstatic. This is because when it comes to saltwater fishing; nothing is bigger than Penn reels and now they have gone low profile. How awesome is that? Super awesome except that I’ve got the Penn Squall but was not allowed to cross districts and to do some saltwater fishing for months on end due to the pandemic.

[ The Penn Squall baitcasting reel certainly has got plenty of power…. ]

For months I have been playing with the Squall in my office, and taking it down once in a while to the swimming pool that has been closed to human beings, yet opened to birds to come and drink, and take the occasional bath that they do in swimming pools. I did some casting in the pool and the Squall casts really well. But that was all I could do until the district borders reopened recently.

Yes, I have the HS of which is short for High Speed.

With the district borders opened I now can travel to my favourite saltwater field testing grounds to see how the Penn Squall performed. I paired it with my 4 piece Abu Garcia Super Ascalon Advanced Stage 3 light action travel rod of which is a fantastic rod. For this field test I spooled the Pen Squall low profile baitcasting reel with 20lb Spiderwire Dura-4 Braid lines.

Reel Information

Brand: Penn

Series: Squall Low Profile Reel

Model: SQL300LPHS

Size: 300

Weight: 9.3oz

Braid Line Cap. (yd / lb): 310/20 235/30 165/50

Mono Line Cap. (yd / lb): 240/12 205/14 170/17

Braking System: Magnetic

Drag Material: HT-100

Gear Ratio: 9.2:1

Max Drag: 24lb / 10.8kg

Recovery Rate: 43″/ 109 cm

Spool: Aluminium

Magnetic brakes helps control the cast. Casting is smooth on this reel.

When it comes to casting out the Berkley Powerbait Pro Grub 3″ on 3/8oz jigheads, the Penn Squall low profile baitcasting reel casts like a charm. The reel with its magnetic drag is also easy to control giving very good and smooth casting distances. I certainly is a good reel to cast with and to do so with confidence. Reeling in the baits slowly dragging them at the bottom was no issue at all.

I was casting for groupers at this pond and there were plenty of them that obligingly took our bait. The Penn Squall baitcasting reel certainly has got plenty of power to take on these hard fighting groupers and do so which such smoothness, and ease. I easily stopped some of the hard runs that were near snags, and did so without issue. The rod, line, and reel performed really well.

Awesome reel that performed absolutely well. Plenty of power, smooth, and simply a joy to fish with.

The Penn Squall low profile baitcasting reel is certainly one powerful beast and the fishes here were easily bullied into submission. I cannot wait to take it out to our other favourite field testing site and have it take on some of the giant gladiators there. If only the state border lockdowns were to be eased allowing for interstate travels; but then again, safety first.

Conclusion

I tested the Penn Squall’s casting abilities, smoothness, drag performance (can take a lot more than what these groupers can dish out), and cranking performance; the reel certainly performed really well. It cast smoothly and with ease getting the baits far out into the pond allowing me to cover more area in a shorter time. It fought well and its HT-100 drag is smooth and powerful. It cranks well too. Awesome low profile baitcasting reel for the saltwater angler.