Penn Battle 3 vs Daiwa BG

Which would be better for inshore fishing targeting reds and trout?

Neither. Ultegra, Stradic, or Vanford

Spheros over BG for me in budget salt

I have a few BGs that I like.

I would also look at the Penn battle 3 DX (dealer exclusive). They added some details to that reel over the regular battle 3 that make it worth looking at.

Between those two, BG all day. Personally think the BG is the best bang for your buck out there. They do run a little big/heavy though.

I'm liking the new BG series and have a pair of 3500's, a pair of 4000's, and a single 5000 on my skiff most days. Don't overlook the Penn Battle II reels though since we have great success with them as well (and they're a little lighter weight..). Here's how they're used... the 2 Battles (4000's) have 10lb line and are on very light (bonefish) style rods, 7 footers rated for 6-12lb line.... the BG 3500's have 20lb braid and are on medium sized rods (seven foot, rated for 8-17lb line ), the 4000's are on blanks rated for 12-25lb line, loaded with 20lb braid, and that 5000, loaded with 30lb braid is set up on one more seven foot rod - this one rated for 15-30lb line..

Something to note.. for a fair number of years reel makers (all of them from the far east - including Penn these days...) made pretty similar sized reels and a 4000 or 3000 sized reel was pretty much the same size... The BG series are a bit different (the 3500 actually is a bit bigger than a Shimano 4000 series...) so you'll have to do a bit of comparison between makes (and reel weights...).

Two other items to note... I build all the rods I hand my anglers so that's why you won't hear me touting any rodmaker's brand or model. Instead I post rod length and it's rating to provide some idea of what I'm using... Lastly, I tend to use one size reel larger than most since they're in hard commercial service... As a guide I want my anglers to have every advantage when that fish of a lifetime comes along....

I have both BGs and Spinfisher Vs and much prefer the BG. Lighter and much smoother. I also had to completely break down, clean and re-lube the Penn reels after only a couple months of light use and never getting dunked or sprayed by salt. Found gritty, discolored gloppy grease that made me think it was getting water intrusion just from the light spray down after each trip and that the gears were not machined as well from the factory. Those were the series V though.

The spinfisher makes sense if you are fishing cut or live bait and leaving the rod in the rod holder. I had a Spinfihser 4500 which I believe is the smallest one and no way would I want to cast that all day.

If you're holding the rod all day and casting, then definitely the BG. Btw, you don't need the special Mag Seal oil on the BG that you do with most Daiwas. Of course, at $80 for a BG 3000 reel it's about as disposable as it gets; I use them for yellowtailing.

I can't comment on the Penn having no experience with it, but I've got a couple of BG 2500's and I think they are great bang for the buck. I was a longtime Stradic user/fan but I don't find the current differences between it and the BG to warrant the difference in price.

I can't comment on the Penn having no experience with it, but I've got a couple of BG 2500's and I think they are great bang for the buck. I was a longtime Stradic user/fan but I don't find the current differences between it and the BG to warrant the difference in price.

A Vanford 3000 weighs 6.3 ounces. A BG 2500 is 9.3. A BG 3000 is 10.8 ounces . That is a significant difference when throwing lures for 8 hours. I agree the BG is the best value going and like I said... I use them for yellowtailing, but when it comes to matching it to a a light high-end ML rod for 1000 casts a day.... I'm paying the extra $120 for a Vanford.

I have four Spinfisher VI 4500's I take with me kayak fishing and they've held up great. They get salt spray all day long. Even dunked one a few times with no problems. The whole reason I got them was for their sealing as I knew they'd be getting wetter in a kayak vs. a skiff. Haven't tried the BG yet though.

I agree with @Half Shell. I have a SpinFisher V 3500 and a BG 4500 and I think the Spinfisher might weigh more. But I will say that I have owned the SF V for longer and it has held up well and battle against some big fish.

Without exaggeration and this is a conservative number. My wife has caught over 100 Stripers, Blues and Weakfish throwing Paddle Tails from an anchored boat in a current ranging from slack to 3.5 knots with a 3000BG. The reel/drag is as good as new.
For the $ you can't go wrong.

Without exaggeration and this is a conservative number. My wife has caught over 100 Stripers, Blues and Weakfish throwing Paddle Tails from an anchored boat in a current ranging from slack to 3.5 knots with a 3000BG. The reel/drag is as good as new.
For the $ you can't go wrong.

I had penns growing up in the 70's and still have them today. Penns are tough. I have had shimanos from the 1990 to pres ent. They are smooth and great . I picked up a bg 4000 two years ago. A friend of mine who is a retired guide in the keys told me to try one. I love that reel pretty tough and smooth. Daiwa makes a quality reel today.

Penn makes a good product!!

I like my BGs, but I'll throw another out that has been hard to beat for under $100 for me and a few friends: Daiwa Fuego LT. The 4000 series weighs 8.6 ounces with 26 pounds of drag. Do a bit of searching on them and you'll see how impressive they are. The 3000 is only 7.6 ounces with 22 pounds of drag.

I like my BGs, but I'll throw another out that has been hard to beat for under $100 for me and a few friends: Daiwa Fuego LT. The 4000 series weighs 8.6 ounces with 26 pounds of drag. Do a bit of searching on them and you'll see how impressive they are. The 3000 is only 7.6 ounces with 22 pounds of drag.

i have a fuego 4k and while it’s light and I love the reel; the other day I landed what seemed to be a 4’ nurse shark while blind casting for reds and the reel almost snapped in half. Drag was low to let the fish make long runs and I kept the pressure light but the reel felt like a noodle. Im going to keep trying it out but lost a bit of confidence on it for med/bigger species

I've got 4 Diawa BG 5000's on my bull red and tarpon rods. Smooth as any other higher priced reel and price can't be beat not mention the line capacity is amazing. For some of my smaller rods in the M and ML category I'm trying the Diawa Saltist Back Bay which is on par with the Stradics and Vanfords in price and I really like them. Seeing a lot people moving to the newer Diawas.

Which would be better for inshore fishing targeting reds and trout?

I have both, and I prefer the BG. Word of warning; if you go the Penn route, first make sure the reel foot fits into the hoods of your rod's reel seat. My Penn Battle 4000, the foot is too fat/thick to fit onto a couple of my surf rods.

I have both, and I prefer the BG. Word of warning; if you go the Penn route, first make sure the reel foot fits into the hoods of your rod's reel seat. My Penn Battle 4000, the foot is too fat/thick to fit onto a couple of my surf rods.

Yep had to grindem down a couple of my Slammers a bit, great reels though..