Was on a silent estate auction the other day.. Ended up with a 6.5 ft Penn Senator rod and a Penn Senator 4/0 level wind reel. Didn't pay much thought it would make a big cat rod. So are they good stuff? This kinda fish gear kinda out of my league. MB

The Penn Senator series are great reels. Can't speak to the rod.

Senators are the M700 of the fishing world.

'Cats dont care about a reel/rod/terminal tackle.

Just use it and enjoy!

I have a fleet of older Penns I use for catfishing. Most of mine are smaller than the 4/0 but that won’t make any difference if you can cast it. The 6.5’ rod is a lot shorter than I like, might make a good rod for fishing out of a boat or river fishing where you may not need to cast as far. I like long rods partly for long casting and partly due to the softer tip allowing circle hooks to work their magic and let fish hook themselves.

That reel should be very simple to tear down and properly lubricate, there’s a guy on YouTube who shows how to disassemble and service most Penn reels. He gives very detailed and easy to follow instructions on how to go about it, might be worth it to look him up and go through that reel if it’s been sitting for any length of time. I did a couple of Mag210s I bought this spring and it easily increased my cast distance by 20-30 yards, I replaced the drags while I had them apart and they are very smooth and positive now. I used Carbontex drag washers from EBay, about $7 a set.

M B the 4 /o will last you a lifetime . i have the one i bough in 1974 . it has been in salt water it's hole life and still going strong . rinse it off and oil it and you will be good, i do not think with the right line that a 100lb catfish will mess up the reel

Thanks all, like I said this kind of gear is new to me. I have a penn 209 and a Penn Peer 109 and allways liked their simplicity. I went to an item viewing for an online auction, I'm not much on vocal auctions for anything because I have a severe hearing loss. On the fire I can hear everyone has to say. Well there were 2 of these 4/0 Penn rod and reel combos. I ended up with 1 of them for $ 31.95, picked it up the next day everything on it works and seems to be in nice shape. Now for some big cat water. Mb