Thread: Penn Captiva

I have a Penn Captiva LL thats began acting up this trip. Spool oscillation was sticking/skipping. Is this reel worth fixing?

It is used most often off the beach so it gets dunked/wet a lot.

Suggestions?

They get some pretty poor reviews for being of poor quality and not durable.
I would only keep it if I could fix it myself and fix it for very little money.
I would open it up and check the gears for corrosion and wear, if it is too badly corroded or chewed up, trash it.
If you do disassemble the gearing, make sure to mark the gears where they mesh together so as to keep the same same wear pattern.

I find the Penn spinning reels easier to work on than their older conventionals, as I don't have to work to hold them together during reassembly.

There's probably a reason some have nicknamed these reels Craptivas. The good news is that parts for these reels are cheap and still available. The bad or not so good news is if you aren't capable of working on it yourself a reel repairman may charge you more than it is worth in labor. I don't know this for certain it is just speculation on my part. Even if you have reel repair skills, you've mentioned that it is a Live Liner model and those can be tricky to work on but not impossible.

Without seeing the reel, but understanding how these reels are put together I'd be willing to bet key #43 and or #231 from the reel schematic are suspects. Pull up a copy of the schematic from Penn's website or from Scott's Bait and Tackle and do some exploratory surgery. It won't cause the reel to break, it already is and it won't cost you a penny to do so. Then put the reel back together minus the broken part(s) to prove to yourself that you can and so nothing gets misplaced. Order some parts and go back in and fix it. If nothing else use this opportunity to educate yourself on reel mechanics and if it is a complete failure look on the bright side, it was only a Craptiva. Good luck and hit us up if you need some more help.

[quote author=ChileRelleno link=topic=1649.msg15635#msg15635 date=1342982094]
If you do disassemble the gearing, make sure to mark the gears where they mesh together so as to keep the same same wear pattern.
[/quote]
This step is not needed. Because of uneven gear ratios involved, each cog randomly meshes with every single cog of the opposing gear. I get where you're coming from, but it is just busy work.

Thanks. Any reccomendations on a decent reel for surf fishing. Best Bang for the buck so to speak. Had even thought about trying a cheap reel and throwing it away every 6 months, saw some at Academy for $25 or so.

To make a suggestion on a reel with the limited information you've given, would be foolish. However if a $25 reel appeals to you and aren't bothered by using less than the best, by all means go for it. As long as you are aware that failure is more than likely eminent, knowing that said failure can happen at any time and it won't bother you to lose a big fish or have to cut a trip short because of failure, it seems as if you've answered your own question.

[size=12pt]KB, you are going to have a hard time finding a good used reel for $25. DRH is right, with a cheap reel you are going to lose a good fish because of an inferior drag system or have a premature end to your fishing trip due to equipment failure. Good Luck. [/size]

Yeah I was kind of thinking out loud on the el cheapo reel. It was a Quantum but don't remember the model. I've replaced the Craptiva with an Okuma Epixor and will see how it holds up.

The Shimano 2500's I've been using in my boat/kayak I normally just hose off after the trip. Wondering what extra steps I need to do fishing in the surf?