[MATTUSMC]

I have both Penn Battles and Spin Fishers, both of them have held up well for me. I have handled large red drum on both (back on the east coast) and White Sea Bass locally on both. The only reasons I would recommend spending the extra money on the Spin Fisher over the Battle is the Battle has a plastic butt piece on the reel body, which has broke on several of mine and the Spin Fisher has a better drag.

If you are military, Bass Pro Shops will extend their 10% discount to the combos, but not the reel by itself. The Penn Battle Combo with the Battle rod ends up being like $10 more than the reel itself and seems to be a good rod for the money. I did not buy the Spin Fisher as a combo so I cannot comment on the rod that comes with it.

I would recommend staying away from Cabela's Salt Striker Rods and Reels. They are a decent product for the cost (made by Okuma) but their service sucks. You get refered to an outside reel repair service who never answers their phone. Cabela's will also not give you the Okuma reel number so you can order a simple part like the "Thumb Screw" that goes on the opposit side of the handle.

As with any reel, if you use them for saltwater fishing, you have to clean them after every trip. I made the mistake of waiting until the next day to clean reels after fishing all day, which lead to scaling and rusting quickly.

I grease my reels on a regular basis, usually every 8-10 trips out or every other month, or if one gets submerged, it gets a full cleaning and re-greased. This seems to keep them running smooth, I sure other people have other maintenance methods and schedules, but this has worked for me.