What kind of reel to buy?

I like the penn reels too.  The 9 series is alot beefier than comparable abus, though I'm pretty sure an abu would cast better.  Fishing from a boat though, the only time I've had to cast was sturgeon fishing.  My 9s are a little under-geared for bottomfishing 180' in big sur though.

If you are fishing santa cruz and pretty shallow, casting a light swimbait out and bouncing it back seems to find a
few more fish. likewise casting a jig out over sand and bouncing it back seems to entice or find some fish that
just vertical jigging does not. it's nice to have the casting option. of course, you should probably plan on buying
some extra bearings every couple of seasons.