On The Fly Gear

December 2020

Penn has long been a leading name in saltwater angling, producing some of very best reels for battling game fish in the brine. Now they have brought that expertise to the fly-fishing community. Their new Battle Fly Combo debuts as their entry into the world of fly casting.

The set up is billed as delivering the same rugged construction found in Penn’s conventional big-game rods and reels. It also is an affordable and performance-driven package.

“The Battle saltwater combo is the first fly combo offering from Penn,” Director of Fly Fishing for Penn, Jim Murphy said. “We recognized the opportunity to bring Penn’s legacy as a tackle company to the fly-fishing world. Now anglers can fish with a rugged, ready-to-fish combo for their next saltwater trip.”

The Battle Combo has a four-piece, medium-fast rod that comes in either 8- or 10-weight and is designed for big-game fishing. A ballistic mesh hard rod tube, as well as a reel carrier are inlcuded. The reel is a die cast, anodized model, with fully adjustable drag system, plus an anodized, double-lock aluminum reel seat with carbon spacer.

Also included is pre-spooled high-quality, looped weight-forward floating line, backing and a tapered loop leader.

Perhaps the most impressive feature of the combo is the wallet-easy price. The MSRP is just $249.95.

Keep an eye out for future editions of On The Fly South when we field test the combo and review its performance.