PENN Pursuit Spinning Reel & Rod Combo

I haven’t taken the rod fishing yet, this is just my initial review

There weren’t very many good reviews on here for the 4000 series reel combined with the 7′ 3 piece medium travel rod (it isn’t even really mentioned it’s a travel rod in the posting); so I thought this would be helpful to others.

I needed an ocean rod (as a freshwater fisherman) to take on a trip down south to give pier fishing a go. There’s a few rod/reel combos out there seemingly specifically made for this kind of thing, this Pursuit IV combo being somewhere in the middle between the super cheap combos and the more expensive ones. So I settled on this rod. I was deciding between the 4000 and 5000 sized reel but was most intrigued by the 3 piece rod; only available with the 4000 series reel.

After reading a bunch of different resources, 4000 sized reels seemed plenty big enough for most fish you’d catch on a normal pier at the ocean; so that’s what I went with. Some reviews mentioned it came with a travel bag, but it was unclear if that came with all of them or just the 3 piece rod (especially since that isn’t pictured when selected).

Mine arrived on time, in tact and with a travel bag! And to my surprise, it wasn’t just a soft bag the actual rod is protected with a hard inner casing. The reel has some internal straps to keep it steady but it’s more exposed; only with soft material surrounding it in the bag. This turned out to be the exact thing I was looking for — a compact/portable rod/reel that I can throw in the car with me and have a rod accessible when I’m on trips. Given the case is actually hard, that opens it up to potentially throwing in a larger suitcase.

The rod itself fits really well together (I was a bit worried about the 3 joints). When put together you’d never notice it is a travel rod. Feels extremely sturdy with a nice backbone.

The reel is super smooth and I really like the knob handle (something also not really clear in the Amazon pictures of the 4000 series).

There are two things I’d complain about 1. the way the handle connects to the reel housing (you have to hold the spool as you reel backwards to tighten and the opposite to loosen (necessary to pack away in the back or switch sides). Normally you have a screw on the opposite side of the reel that you use, but in this case that’s just a cap for whatever side you aren’t reeling with. And 2. some of the parts (drag knob especially) feel a bit plasticy/cheap. But the overall feel of the reel seems well built and smooth.

Will update after I fish with it if anything goes catastrophic, but so far I’m pretty impressed with the value of this rod with what you get — and the function it provides a traveling fisherman.

Convenient travel rod. I primarily got it to fish saltwater off the OCNJ piers, however I did take it with me on a boat trip into the bay as well. The reel & rod w travel bag/case are a great value, and the ability to travel w the four piece was a huge convenience.

Worked great. Was used for surf fishing at beach in NC by my petite wife and she was reeling the fish in with no problems. Reel is smooth and pole strong without being too big. Would buy it again if needed.

April 15, 2022

I bought the Penn Pursuit IV 5000 Combo that arrived in timely fashion on April 15, 2022. When the box arrived I held my breath while I opened it as Amazon ships rods in a not-so- strong box. But, in this case, rod and reel arrived intact.

I owns several Penn reels but the Pursuit IV line (3000 and up, I believe,) comes with a power knob that make this budget reel feel like a $500 reel. I have the Pursuit III 8000, which is a heavy duty reel and a good one. But, the Pursuit IV 5000 appears so strong and capable that I’m replacing my surf gear with the Pursuit IV 5000–it’s that good!
As for the rod, it is great quality for a budget rod. The only drawback is that it comes one piece, which makes it a bit challenging when putting it in a small car. Nonetheless, it’s a quality rod. The best thing about the rod are the eyelets–they’re one piece so you don’t have to worry about them falling apart.
Tip: I bought the combo because I couldn’t finder the Pursuit IV 5000 reel–I was forced to buy the combo. With that said, I find the Pursuit IV fast action a bit too stiff for fresh waster fishing although it may be a good one for northwest salmon fishing. The rod would be ideal for pier/jetty fishing because it’s a rod that looks like it takes abuse–and them some. My next purchase will be Pursuit IV 4000 reel that are more plentiful than the Pursuit IV 5000.

Bought end of August and used for first time on Oct.8. Top half of rod broke off before first ring (all rings lost). Nice smooth reel but the rod broke off quite easily. Return window just expired. Called Penn fishing after couple weeks and the customer service quickly mailed the replacement in days. The best customer service ever met and very satisfied.

Most of the butt length is thin without foam/cork wrap and will take some time to get used to. There’re also some scratches from transportation. But overall the rod and reel combo is superb for the price.

Excelente caña y un gran carrete en este combo, me gusta mucho que sea de tres piezas y su estuche de primera.

The rod was flimsy and the tip broke off easily. The reel was not smooth. Half the time when I went to cast, the bail just closed. I also bought a Penn slammer reel combo. The bail broke on the reel. I got a new heavy duty Penn Reel that can hold 80 lb test. The tip of the Penn Slammer rod broke before I could even make one cast with the new reel. The Penn rods are made of carbon. They are hollow and they are extremely weak. After the tip broke off of the Penn Slammer, I had to cut off some excess. It took two seconds with a crummy pair of pliers. I’ve had enough and I recently bought an Ugly Stick Big Water. What a difference. It’s got plenty of fiberglass for strength but it is a hybrid that seems to have a sensitive tip. I will never buy a Penn rod again. In a bit of fairness, the heavy duty Penn Reel seems to be doing a good job..