Penn Pursuit V 6000
Just how much do you have to spend to get a reel big enough to handle chopper bluefish, small sharks, and other oceanic critters? We recently had the chance to fish the inshore grounds with a Penn Pursuit V 6000 in hand (2500 to 8000 sizes are also available), and this four-ball-bearing spinner was up to the task. It has a light graphite body, machined aluminum spool, and HT-100 carbon fiber drag washers. Was it as smooth as reels that cost three times as much? Nope, nor did it feel like it would survive heavy-duty daily oceanic use for years on end, but that’s not the point of this reel. You can get a complete set for the cost of one high-end reel, and it will get you into the game for a whole lot less. Price: $105. Check it out if you go through the inlet on occasion and need to gear up fast without breaking the bank.
Viral PE X8 Braid Fishing Line
I got a couple of spools of fishing line from the Japanese manufacturer Fengshan to try. I have to say the 15-pound Viral PE X8 braid spools nicely and has great sensitivity. Whether fishing from a pier or out on the Chesapeake Bay this line works; it’s incredibly thin and casts better than many other lines of the same test. I fished it for speckled sea trout and used it while taking casts off a pier for cutlass fish, too. It’s worth noting that the Viral PE X8 is also marked at every 10 meters, with nine meters in high-visibility pink and then one in grey, so you can keep tabs on how much line is out. Price: $33.94 for a 300-meter spool. Added bonus: I also tested their 12-pound Black Stone Fluorocarbon leader material, and found that the knots I tied cinched down great and held on tight. Visit Fengshan if you can read Japanese.
-By Eric Packard
Flash Blade XT Swing Head Lures
Promar and Ahi USA have developed an underspin they call Flash Blade XT Swing Head. The Flash Blade XT comes in 1/8th- up to two-ounce baits. The bait was developed to maximize movement with its “Hyper-Action Swing Head.” They come with a polished willow blade with “X-Act Tune” technology, allowing you to adjust the blade along the Mustad Assault UltraSharp Wide Gap Weedless Hook to meet your needs for different plastic baits that you pair with the Flash Blade XT. I tested the FMJ 1/8th-ounce bait in both salt and freshwater, and it does have a great action that catches fish. Price: $12.99/two-pack for the 1/8th-ounce to $22.99 for the two-ounce. Visit Promar if you want to cast with an underspin that’s more than a mere flash in the pan.
-By Eric Packard
Engle Wine & Champagne Cooler
Calling it fishing gear is a stretch, but we love Engel for the cool gear they make and all the support they give the Coastal Conservation Association—plus it won an award for Best Cooler at ICAST, so we’re calling out the new Engel 3-Bottle Wine & Champagne Cooler. (And some of us do actually like having a sip or two of wine as we fish). What’s nifty here is that the Wine & Champagne Cooler has an integrated charcuterie board, two snack trays, a hand-stitched leather shoulder strap, a wine bottle opener, and a custom freezable ice-pack that cradles the wine bottles. Price: $299. You can’t get one yet but you can reserve yours on the web (the website still says “coming available this fall”).