Playing With The Penn Battle 3 DX
By: The Angler
When a television crew decided to go shoot a fishing series and I was invited to go fish; I just could not say no. I had some new fishing tackle to test anyway. So I made my way to LS Fishing Pond in Banting, Selangor. One of the fishing tackles scheduled for field testing is the awesome Penn Battle III DX spinning reel.
[ The drag of the Penn Battle 3 DX performed really well, as expected from Penn’s proven HT-100 drag system… ]
The awesome Penn Battle 3 DX, like most (if not all) Penn reels, are made for saltwater fishing. The LS Fishing Pond is a place with saltwater ponds that house some very hard fighting gladiators. The gladiators in these ponds that the Battle 3 DX must slay are hard fighting giant size groupers, hard fighting barramundis, angry snappers, etc. Needless to say, the more bites, the better.
Click here for the introduction article of the Penn Battle 3 DX
The rear of the Penn Battle III DX.
Straight To The Fun
It was a relatively slow start. We cast our baits into the pond and both the TV crew and us were waiting for a bite. They (the TV crew) were handed Penn reels as well for their fishing and cooking show. All of a sudden every line in the water was on to fish as if a bell was rung to signal “time to dine.” Anyway, it was just three rods in total. All started playing with the gladiator on the other end of the line.
We pulled up the first fish, a barramundi after a fun fight. The Penn Battle 3 DX we used was the 3000; a relatively small reel for the fishes here. Nevertheless, it handled the barramundi well. The drag pressure of the HT-100 drag was set quite high. We managed to tire out the fish within a minute without much fuss.
Penn’s proven drag system with a max drag of 15lb on the reel we tested.
A larger reel handle knob provides for better grip when battling a fish.
The next fish to take the bait was a hard fighting grouper. This time the Penn Battle 3 DX had a little more challenge. The pressure was on. The fish certainly felt a lot more powerful than the barramundi. The drag pressure was pushed up to almost maximum. Within a minute, plus a few seconds, the hard fighting grouper was landed.
[ The drag of the Penn Battle 3 DX performed really well, as expected from Penn’s proven HT-100 drag system… ]
The drag of the Penn Battle 3 DX performed really well, as expected from Penn’s proven HT-100 drag system. The drag was smooth throughout the fight. The larger handle that was paired with the reel provided for an awesome grip during the fight. The reel felt really rigid and confident throughout the many fights we enjoyed that day.
The Penn Battle III DX in action, with its HT-100 drag tiring out a hard fighting fish.
When it comes to smoothness, the Penn Battle 3 DX is one smooth monster slayer. It slayed a good number of monsters that day, mainly groupers and barramundis. At the end of the fishing day, it still felt as smooth; thanks to its 6+1 sealed stainless steel bearings. It is also one tough reel. I didn’t feel any flex. The rotor and reel foot felt rigid and solid. The reel has a thick and tough main shaft that is made to take good amounts of pressure.
One of the fishes landed during our test.
Not Enough Of Fun
Every good day must come to an end and so did our fishing at the pond. The Penn Battle 3 DX certainly had a good workout but not enough. It performed really well, but that was expected of it. After all, it is a reel made to handle saltwater brutes. What I can say about my time with the it is that it is a tough reel, is smooth, feels really poised and confident. As of now it still screams out to be fished with. It does not want to rest. If you are working for a workhorse, here is one.
