Picked up this reel for a trip to fish Tuna. This is my third Penn reel. I used a scale to set my drag at about 16 lbs and and loaded it with 50 lb braided line. Used this the other day on a full day fishing trip for Tuna and was my primary rig. My 20 lb line setup wasn't up to par, as the fish broke my leader line. So I stuck with this reel and a 40 lb leader. Brought in 2 skipjack and a yellowfin.

The drag worked well. The fish actually pulled out my line easily, they were good fighters. I had it in the strike position and still pulled like heck. I did back off the drag setting on the boat as I felt I had too much drag. The full drag feature works great, as I threw it in full drag and pulled those Tuna to the boat!

Why Penn would put a cheap plastic line counter that can't be removed on a stainless steel reel is beyond me. First the plastic fell off and then the line counter no longer worked.

Complete sheerness and impeccable reel. A master of artistry and design I recommend this reel highly as I purchased it as a upgrade from the Penn Squall 15 casting special. Though this reel is heavier than the squall, the aluminum design and thinner spool allows for more yards of like to be held and drag and clicking system are superb I would highly recommended buying this reel and paring it with a 12 foot rod such a Penn Carnage or Bass pro breakwater rod for maximum casting distance. However, it is a pain in the ass to get birds nest, but tweaking it and setting the spool tensioner with adjusting the magnets I am easily able to cast over 100 yards with this and get my bait out where i need it too. Ps my biggest fish I caught was on the surf a 4 ft shark with 20lb Momoi Hi catch mono, that stuff is crazy thin and abrasion resistant I was able to fit 360 yards on this spool and the drag kept up thank you penn

Great reel, Solid, built like a tank. The low gear ratio of the L2 was just what I needed.. I bought 2 for kite fishing from shore. These reels need to handle not only the pull of the fish but the pull of the kite.. A senator with a higher gear ratio would have been difficult to work with. But the L2's 2.1:1 gear ratio and 21 lbs. of max drag proved to be just the thing needed to get some traction on the combined force of the fish and kite. If the weight of a reel is a critical factor for you, this might not be the reel for you. Specs list it as weighing 44 ounces.