Baits-Lures(1,705)
Fishing Equipment(866)
Line & Leaders(4,754)
Rain Gear(352)
Saltwater Reels(1,181)
Saltwater Rods(789)
Terminal Tackle(773)
Trolling Motors(70)
Waders(222)
Shop Now At Bass Pro Shops
Shop Conventional Reels or
Choose a Category
- Shop Archery
- Shop Auto & ATV-UTV
- Shop Boating
- Shop Camping
- Shop Clearance
- Shop Electronics
- Shop Fly Fishing
- Shop Freshwater Fishing
- Shop Gifts, Hobbies & Golf
- Shop Home & Cabin
- Shop Hunting
- Shop Hunting Clothing
- Shop Ladies' Clothing
- Shop Men's Clothing
- Shop Outdoor Kids
- Shop Saltwater Fishing
- Shop Shoes & Boots
Top-Rated Products
Customer Reviews for Penn Penn® General Purpose Round Levelwind Reels
Penn Penn® General Purpose Round Levelwind Reels
Lightweight composite side-platesPrecision-machined stainless steel pinion gearBrass main gearCounter-balanced handleOversized paddle knobStainless steel levelwind Perhaps the most popular and well-known saltwater inshore conventional reels in the world, Penn's General Purpose Round Levelwind Reels are ready for action. From flounder and stripers to snapper and grouper, these high-performing Penn Reels never fail to satisfy. Built with lightweight composite sideplates, these General Purpose Levelwind Reels feature precision-machined stainless steel pinion gear, brass main gear, counter-balanced handle with oversized paddle knob and stainless steel levelwind.
Average Customer Rating:
(29 Reviews) 29
Rating Snapshot
Rating Snapshot (29 reviews)
5 stars
23
4 stars
3
3 stars
1
2 stars
0
1 star
2
27 of 29(93%)customers would recommend this product to a friend.
Customer Reviews for Penn® General Purpose Round Levelwind Reels
Review 1 for Penn® General Purpose Round Levelwind Reels
Overall Rating:
Failure of the DOG
,January 30, 2012
By Findingnemo25
Advantages: Value for money
Disadvantages: Durability
"Took it out on a trip and the dog spring failed. Which made it very difficult to pull my fish up. The reel handle went both ways and in the end threw out both and decided not to fix them. They were garbage"
What is your favorite type of fishing? Saltwater
How many times a month do you fish on average? 2
Do you own a boat? No
Would you recommend this product as a gift? No
Share this Review:
Review 2 for Penn® General Purpose Round Levelwind Reels
Overall Rating:
Take your chances
,March 16, 2011
By Catassassin
Advantages: Value for money
Disadvantages: Performance, Durability
"I bought 2 of these reels for bluecat fishing. Out of the box, one reel has problems with the gears meshing properly. When reeling the grinding is noticeable. After using it for a week, it is still doing it. I am sending it back for a replacement. The other reel is smooth, but the spool tension knob doesn't work properly. It's either too tight or no tension at all. You better pay attention when casting. I like the bait clicker better than the Garcia though. They're fine for boat fishing."
Share this Review:
Review 3 for Penn® General Purpose Round Levelwind Reels
Overall Rating:
great reel!!!!!!!!!!!
,January 2, 2011
By Frankiefishes
from Savannah, Georgia
Advantages: Style/Design, Performs well, Value for money, Quality, strong drag
Disadvantages: Difficult to use
"I got the combo from the store.It's the best one i have. It's a good price for what it is."
What is your favorite type of fishing? Saltwater
How many times a month do you fish on average? 5+
Do you own a boat? No
Would you recommend this product as a gift? Yes
Share this Review:
Review 4 for Penn® General Purpose Round Levelwind Reels
Overall Rating:
Good strong reel at a great price
,December 26, 2010
By sharkn66
Advantages: Ease of use, Style/Design, Performs well, Value for money, Quality
"I love this reel for kings, grouper, cobia, snook, snapper, permit, even sharks over 200lb no problem. I do have the big penn senator 9/0 for sharks buts thats real big sharks...... this penn 30lb,,, i use on a sturdy stik by shakespear 6ft,, spooled with stren 50lb test what a rod and reel awesome to cast and haul in.. drag is nice too, and the price i dont think can be beaten,,, dont bother with the gt's and gt1 or gto penns this general does what you need,,,, unless your going for 400lb shark and over. FANTASTIC REEL THE PRICE IS AMAZING."
What is your favorite type of fishing? Saltwater
How many times a month do you fish on average? 4
Do you own a boat? No
Would you recommend this product as a gift? Yes
Share this Review:
Review 5 for Penn® General Purpose Round Levelwind Reels
Overall Rating:
best reel
,December 1, 2010
By djking
Advantages: Ease of use, Style/Design, Performs well, Value for money, Quality, casting capability
"I just received this reel to go along with my avet and my
shimano tr I haven't caught anything with it yet but I
have casted it in the bay a couple times . And i have to
say penn will not let you down this cast about 70 yards
with the right weight I love this reel."
shimano tr I haven't caught anything with it yet but I
have casted it in the bay a couple times . And i have to
say penn will not let you down this cast about 70 yards
with the right weight I love this reel."
What is your favorite type of fishing? Saltwater
How many times a month do you fish on average? 5+
Do you own a boat? Yes
Would you recommend this product as a gift? Yes
Share this Review:
Review 6 for Penn® General Purpose Round Levelwind Reels
Overall Rating:
A winch!
,November 9, 2010
By bassorbass
from Phoenix Arizona
Advantages: Ease of use, Style/Design, Performs well, Value for money, Quality
Disadvantages: not a particularly easy casting reel
"I use a 209 for flathead catfish. I've seen other reels break or simply not handle a large flathead. This reel pulls them up like a winch on a 4X4. I won't use anything else for flathead fishing!"
What is your favorite type of fishing? Freshwater
How many times a month do you fish on average? 1
Do you own a boat? Yes
Would you recommend this product as a gift? Yes
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
Share this Review:
Review 7 for Penn® General Purpose Round Levelwind Reels
Overall Rating:
Excellent Reel
,November 7, 2010
By floridabass
Advantages: Ease of use, Style/Design, Performs well, Value for money, Quality
"While going through some old boxes a while back, I came across one of my old saltwater reels. It is a Penn reel from the 1950's. It weighs a ton and had some green stuff on it. I took it apart, cleaned and oiled it up and put it back together. It works so well that I put it on a rod and spooled it up. It looks so good, I put it on my rack with all of my freshwater rods and reels. The only difference on this old reel is that it doesn't have a level winder for the line. The Penn company definitely makes an excellent product. The Penn reel is a real work horse. I'm glad BPS carries Penn reels. I'm going up to the store to look at purchasing a new one of these with the level winder on it."
What is your favorite type of fishing? Freshwater
How many times a month do you fish on average? 5+
Do you own a boat? Yes
Would you recommend this product as a gift? Yes
Share this Review:
Review 8 for Penn® General Purpose Round Levelwind Reels
Overall Rating:
Penn General Purpose Round Levelwind Ree
,August 19, 2010
By PEDd
Advantages: Ease of use, Performs well
"I used the reel cod fishing this weekend. Operation is smooth and easy. I found that the line retervial was slow compared to my open face reel but very smooth and steady. The only thing is I orderd a left handed reel but received ta right handed reel. But I found for deep sea fishing reeling with my right hand was an easy adjustment."
Share this Review:
Review 9 for Penn® General Purpose Round Levelwind Reels
Overall Rating:
Excellent All Around Reel
,July 22, 2010
By tomthebroker
from Orange County NY
Reviewer Images
(click to see full-size image)
Advantages: Ease of use, Performs well, Value for money, Quality
"I use this reel for fluke, stripped bass, sea bass just about anything in shore. I have 4 on my boat and pair it with an 8 ft. med. heavy Shimano TDR down rigger rod. Total cost of the outfit is under 75 bucks so if a guest steps on it or it goes overboard no one needs to swim back to shore! First one purchased was $39.99 but still an outstanding value under 50 bucks."
What is your favorite type of fishing? Saltwater
How many times a month do you fish on average? 4
Do you own a boat? Yes
Would you recommend this product as a gift? Yes
Share this Review:
Review 10 for Penn® General Purpose Round Levelwind Reels
Overall Rating:
Good since the 50s
,July 7, 2010
By HuffnPuffCharters
from Virginia Beach, VA
Advantages: Ease of use, Style/Design, Performs well, Value for money, Quality
"I own a 209 and 109. The 209 is from the 1950's and the 109 is from the 1960's. the only problem is that the handle on the 109 is chipping off from all the years of wear and tear and the anti-reverse pin on the 209 has busted off. They make great reels for flounder fishing in the Chesapeake Bay."
What is your favorite type of fishing? Saltwater
How many times a month do you fish on average? 5+
Do you own a boat? Yes
Would you recommend this product as a gift? Yes
Share this Review:
Review 11 for Penn® General Purpose Round Levelwind Reels
Overall Rating:
penn is far surpassed abu
,February 22, 2010
By offroadredneck
from Virginia
Advantages: Ease of use, Style/Design, Performs well, Value for money, Quality, virtually indestructable
"i have an old 209 from when they first started making the 209 level winds and ive abused this reel to the point where the dog and dog spring has to be replaced but even though those are the only two things that have gone wrong with this reel in the past 35-45 years this reel can withstand deadly abuse and keep trucking in fish. ( a bit of helpful information for some of you having trouble with backlashes, adjust the setting with ur weight to where you bounce the tip of the rod and the weight falls at a medium-slow to medium speed and then heave it out there) TRUST ME IT WORKS."
What is your favorite type of fishing? Saltwater
How many times a month do you fish on average? 5+
Do you own a boat? No
Would you recommend this product as a gift? Yes
Share this Review:
Review 12 for Penn® General Purpose Round Levelwind Reels
Overall Rating:
great reel
,September 1, 2009
By nothin0but0fishing0
from iowa
Advantages: Performs well, Quality, Value for money
"ive recently used one that was over 30 years old and it casted great reeled smooth fought some decent fish no problem now i just recently bought the 309m series"
What is your favorite type of fishing? Freshwater
How many times a month do you fish on average? 5+
Do you own a boat? No
Would you recommend this product as a gift? Yes
Share this Review:
Review 13 for Penn® General Purpose Round Levelwind Reels
Overall Rating:
good, but not for casting
,August 23, 2009
By muskieD
from Plano, TX
Advantages: Quality, Value for money
Disadvantages: Difficult to use
"This reel is sturdy, albeit a bit heavy, with an excellent drag and very loud clicker. The big drawback is how difficult it is to cast without backlash, and I've used baitcasters for 20+ years. I was casting big swimbaits (2oz.+) with it and getting nested about every third cast. I could get the lure waaay out there, but I spent much of the day picking backlash out instead of fishing for Strippers. :)
Only get it for trolling, drifting, or bottom-bouncing and it will likely be a great reel for a long time."
What is your favorite type of fishing? Freshwater
How many times a month do you fish on average? 5+
Do you own a boat? Yes
Would you recommend this product as a gift? No
Share this Review:
Review 14 for Penn® General Purpose Round Levelwind Reels
Overall Rating:
A Good Reel
,July 28, 2009
By Longrider
Advantages: Performs well, Value for money
"I've had a 9M and a 209M for 25 years now and I love them. They still work as good as the day I bought them. One thing you must remember about a reel of this type, is to use enough weight. When you cast a levelwind reel, the reel spins very fast, and if you are not careful, your reel will over spin and backlash as soon as the weight on the end of your line hits the water. There is a trick to doing this that I was taught 25 years ago. Divide the weight of your line, say 30lb test on the 309M, by the length of your pole. So if your using a 6 foot long pole. 30 divided by 6 is 5, so you need to use a 5 ounce weight. And you'll have alot fewer backlash problems. I'm not saying they'll go away all togather. But you'll have less, and the more you use your reel, the more you will learn when to put the brakes on the reel.
Have fun and Fish Hard!"
Share this Review:
Review 15 for Penn® General Purpose Round Levelwind Reels
Overall Rating:
This Reel is Awsome!
,July 26, 2009
By LukeTheSharkHunter
from Brunswick, GA
Advantages: Ease of use, Performs well, Value for money, durable
"I bought this reel not to long ago and have been fishing with it multiple times and have caught multiple pup sharks on this reel. The drag is amazing for the price of it and im in love with Penn reels. they always out perform every reel with the quality of them and the price of them can't be beaten."
What is your favorite type of fishing? Saltwater
How many times a month do you fish on average? 5+
Do you own a boat? No
Would you recommend this product as a gift? Yes
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
Share this Review:
Review 16 for Penn® General Purpose Round Levelwind Reels
Overall Rating:
very reliable
,May 15, 2009
By jeffreyb
Advantages: Ease of use, Performs well, Quality, Value for money
"ive landed plenty of 60+ lb spoonies.when my boys got old enough to go snagging, i bought 2 more."
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.
Share this Review:
Review 17 for Penn® General Purpose Round Levelwind Reels
Overall Rating:
Not the Hype
,May 12, 2009
By Juanhorse
from Dallas, Texas
Disadvantages: Durability, Performance, jam and backlash
"I recently received this reel in the mail and I couldn't wait to use it. When I arrived at the lake, I got setup and cast out the line. Then it happened. Jam! I tried again. Jam! I tried a third time and got a backlash. So my fishing day went Jam,jam,jam and backlash,backlash, backlash. My day was ruined."
What is your favorite type of fishing? Freshwater
How many times a month do you fish on average? 5+
Do you own a boat? No
Would you recommend this product as a gift? No
0 of 3 people found this review helpful.
Share this Review:
Review 18 for Penn® General Purpose Round Levelwind Reels
Overall Rating:
good
,January 18, 2009
By FiShErBoY772
from florida coast
"i just got this a couple days ago ive only gone fishing once with it and i caught a kingfish with it it felt like it was nothin on the reel overall its a great reel and very easy to use"
What is your favorite type of fishing? Saltwater
How many times a month do you fish on average? 5+
Do you own a boat? No
Would you recommend this product as a gift? Yes
Share this Review:
Review 19 for Penn® General Purpose Round Levelwind Reels
Overall Rating:
WONDER REEL
,December 26, 2008
By FishinDude62
from Royse City, Texas
Reviewer Images
(click to see full-size image)
"I bought this reel because the reel's price caught my eye. The spool has plenty of room
to get enough line on it. The drag is within thumbs reach. The drag is loud enough to hear over any kind of noise. The reel is good for any kind of fishing, and works well in any kind of situation."
to get enough line on it. The drag is within thumbs reach. The drag is loud enough to hear over any kind of noise. The reel is good for any kind of fishing, and works well in any kind of situation."
What is your favorite type of fishing? Freshwater
How many times a month do you fish on average? 5+
Do you own a boat? No
Would you recommend this product as a gift? Yes
Share this Review:
Review 20 for Penn® General Purpose Round Levelwind Reels
Overall Rating:
rockfish reel
,August 16, 2008
By BonitoStalker
from greensboro,nc
"the other day i used it for rock fishing and it worked great for catching a sculpin and 3 blue perch with a 3oz. weight on it!!!"
What is your favorite type of fishing? Saltwater
How many times a month do you fish on average? 5+
Do you own a boat? No
Would you recommend this product as a gift? Yes
Share this Review:
