Older reels

[will101]

In one post Miles said:

 "an eyeball ripped out of its socket when a penn 12/0 exploded when a YF hit the bait"

This has be slightly worried! I have 3 of these older reels, a PENN 9/0, a 11/0 and a 12/0.

What do you pro's think, is it worth having them on board or should I rather put them in my bar as conversation material? I'd love to think they are still ready for battle, I mean, why spend bucks on new reels if you already have perfectly good working gear?

 

 

[Rory mundy]

i still have a 49A penn but must be honest it stays in the bag most off the time

 

[Catch 22]

EASY- people have landed huge fish with those type reels, if all the parts is still in working order YOU can land huge fish with them.

My knowlege of tuna fishing is about as big as my Basset hounds obedience which is zero, but have heard of people landing some pretty nice fish with the old penns. Obviously not as powerfull as the modern stuff but certainly usable. With your new craft you will probably be running for Tuna often and I reckon the new-type reels is probably the way to go but for now I reckon use it!Or take your credit card to Fishing specialist-ha ha1

I myself wouldnt mind a reel like that, esp if those big sharks swims past...half a bonnie and off you go.

 

[benniejordaan]

Phyn, One of my crew is a big time tuna angler and his main weapon is his Pen 49. He refuses to give it up, used it for ever. As he put it. "It's worked for so many years, why would it not work now? Besides the fish we caught those days were huge compared to todays."

 

[Bliksem]

will101 wrote:

 "an eyeball ripped out of its socket when a penn 12/0 exploded when a YF hit the bait"

A pair of safety goggles would negate this and is slightly cheaper than a Tiagra...LOL

 

[Fin-S]

Yes they can work and will work. However, they are not as good as a modern lever drag. I have finally retired my 2 older Penn's after sticking drags caused 2 lost fish last year. They had both been serviced, new washers and grease but were simply no match for fish after fish. Also, for some reason you as an angler spend alot more energy fishing with them compared to the smoothness of a Tiagra or Tyrnos (or an International). Your choice, but for a start I would certainly retire the one you are going to use for bait (it should be the one that get's most fish) and put your best new reel on that rod.

 

[tkei]

My 2c. They will work, if drags are upgraded, serviced etc, but will they work as well as a tiagra, international, tld, okuma etc. probably not.
as a guess, Will, you just spent 150k on a boat, 25k doing it up, new GPS, finder etc. You now going to go fishing in style and comfort. you going fishing to catch fish, and you now want to skimp on the one piece of tackle that will catch you the fish.
I am sure we all read the sob stories last season of guys going out week after week catching zip, then finally hooking on on old diawa 600h/ senator etc only to have takle fail on them. thats a lot of cash spent on fuel, bait, bla bla bla and then have you one chance blown by something you CAN control, tackle.
my opinion, get them serviced, re-line them, put them ont he boat as the 3,4th, 10th rods. Buy yourself something as mentiond before (budget depending, okuma titus gold, tld, 2nd hand tiagra/ penn etc) use these as bait reels, us erthe rest as spares, or as the other rods in the water.

 

[will101]

All good input thanks. I'm off to timber city to buy some teak planking and start building a bar on the boat, how does that sound?:lol:1
I am going to stick with PENN though just to be different - time to scratch around in the bargain bin!

 

Catch 22 wrote:

 take your credit card to Fishing specialist-ha ha1

Problem is there is almost no magnetic strip left on that card! But yeah, why start skimping now?

 

[miles]

Hiya

There's nothing wrong with those Penn Senator reels. They were the big game anglers only choice waaaay back in the day. The sure have landed VERY many exceptionally large fish all across the globe.

The quote you made above was reffering to a commercail fisherman, who put the reel into freespool, with the ratchet on, and stripped the line off whilts bait fishing. The YF hit the bait and took off. He obviously put the reel into gear!! On a leverdrag, this is fine, but on a star drag, thats ASKING for trouble!! Much like FORCING your gear lever into gear whilst driving, WITHOUT using your clutch!! Needless to say, the reel didn't like that abuse and exploded on him!!

If you are keen on using them for bait fishing, ALWAYS leave it in gear. Should you want to strip line off the reel, simply loosen the drag. Remember to ALWAYS just use the drag.

I've caught PLENTY of YF on bait and trolling with 9/0's, 10/0's and 12/0's (you don't get 11/0's). The 9/0 is a smaller reel, whilst the 10/0 and 12/0 share the same body, just a bigger spool. (like the Penn 49 and Penn49A or 500 and 501 jigmaster)

This is my buddy Gamie with a very large YF taken on a Penn 12/0, puls a few more 12/0 in action shots.

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see in the photo below, i still use 12/0 and 10/0's for trolling purposes:

 

 

Ok, so after saying that THEY do work, here's the downsides. They have VERY poor drag systems. Even AFTER upgrading their drag systems, due to them being star drag reels, they can NOT offer the quality of a lever drag's performance.

Your fights are going to be difficult ones! They have no low range and even though the gear ratio is quite low on the reel, its still FAR from being a two-speed type reel. Be prepared for VERY long fights. Read the old fishing books and you'll hear stories of VERY, VERY long fights with these type of reels.

Coupled with the poor drag and the star drag, you won't be able SET the reel for your line class, which means you will not know how much drag there is. This means you will not know how hard you can pull. EXPERIENCED anglers can get a feel for it, but as a novice, you will lose many more fish.

We actually HANDLINE most of our fish after hooking them up on a 12/0, simply because its quicker. I'm am definitely NOT recommending that you handline tuna, as its a VERY dangerous excercise, which can VERY easily result in your losing a limb or digit.

Watch the start of this video clip and you'll see two of my crew members handlining a YF on a penn 12/0. One handlines, the other is reeling the line onto the reel:

[flash=425,344]http://www.youtube.com/v/NBLfK73QsDg&hl=en&fs=1[/flash]

 

 

Ultimately, it depends on YOUR finances. If you don't have the cash to buy new or upgraded tackle, then USE what you have. I would how-ever recommend that you buy two speed lever drags, if finances are tight, like they will be when one buys a new boat (so MUCH stuff you need to buy!!), look at the Shimano TLD 2 speed or TYRNOS or the Okuma range. If you have TLD25 single speeds, they will also work on the smaller class YF. Anything over 70kg's and you'll have the fight of a lifetime!! I've taken YF over 80kg's on TLD25's, so they are EXTREMELY nice reels. The best part, they double as your yellowtail trolling reels!!

Start scrounging around for second hand Tiagra's or Penn Internationals. I bought my reels, one every few month, that way it isn't such a heavy capital investment in one go.

Another option is to sell your Penn 12/0's and use that money to finance a better reel.

Hope that helps!!

Regards

miles

 

[Whaler]

Miles! you have given me a crazy idea! i'm going to bring in carbontex washers for a senator 10/o that i have from my skiboat days, it hasent worked for 10 years and will require a compleate rebuild, witch i will do! then you are going to test it for me and give me your unbiased opinion! how does that sound?

 

[miles]

SWEET!! Will do

 

[benniejordaan]

Miles has such a way with words. But ya, I agree with Miles. Look after those reels and they will look after you. Use them properly, lubricate them and service them very often. I think one thing about the new reels is that they don't get serviced and still they perform. With those older reels they need to be babied a bit more.

 

[will101]

Miles jy is 'n ster maar ek het jou mos al gesê. Who would want to buy these reels?
I see on the back of your boat you have a very short rod with a reel on it - I have something similar: what exactly do you use it for, or is it just there to get the "handline" away from the gunwale?
Using them for trolling seems like a good idea - I'm not keen on the 12/0 just because it's such a monster. Most people freak when they see such a large reel! Your'e right of course I have a 9/0, 10/0 and 12/0. I rigged the 12/0 up to a PENN International 50lbs rod, tied the line to my security gate, strapped myself into a harness and pulle the crap out of that gate. Yep, the drag was very sticky indeed. Of course these reels were probably serviced 20 years ago last.

 

[miles]

Who would want to buy these reels?

The commercial tuna anglers will buy them. You will have NO problem selling the 10/0 and 12/0. I bought some 12/0's BRAND new a while back, YES, they do still make them!! Paid R1800 a reel. The prices have how-ever gone up to R2500-2800 NEW. They normally sell for R500-R1000 second hand, depending on condition and model. The older models had stainless steel spools, which are more desirable, as they do not corrode, like the newer alluminuim spools.

The 9/0's are a bit of an oddball. They don't carry enough line for the commercials, as they tend to be a bit small. They sell for roughly R1200 new. I sold my 9/0's WITH Shimano Tiagra 30/50 rods for R1000 for rod and reel. Don't know what you'd get for the 9/0 on its own. Just a guess would be in the R400-600 range.....

 

I see on the back of your boat you have a very short rod with a reel on it - I have something similar: what exactly do you use it for, or is it just there to get the "handline" away from the gunwale?

A big reel mounted onto a short metal rod is called a "short stick". When you start commercial fishing, you aim is to catch as MANY fish in as SHORT a possible time. Fishing with a rod and reel is FUN, but you also need skill. Many of the crew on tuna boats do not possess the skill to use rods and reels. They are handline fisherman. So, the shortstick is basically a handline. The reel keeps the line, neat or orderly as well as having a ratchet which indicates when a fish has taken. With a 12/0, it generally takes 2 fisherman to fight and a land a YF. One handlines the fish, the other simply reels the line onto the reel. This is to keep the line AWAY from others. SHould the tuna decide to turn and run, the reels drag will then release line. If the line was just laying on the deck, it could easily tangle around somebody and do serious damage.

I use Penn 80vs or Tiagra 80w's on my short sticks. This way, when a fish grabs, you simply put it into low range and you basically have a winch!! One man uses the set-up and needs no assistance.

We load 1.5mm to 2.0mm mono onto the reels. The thicker line offers excellent abrasion resisitance and is VERY easy to grip, should you handline.

 

As you can see from the above photo, the short stick fits into a holder in the gunwhale.

For trolling purposes, think of them as glorified bungees!! The reel simply holds the line and the RATCHET will sound when a fish takes. You will still have to handline the fish back in though.

 

Servicing your Penn 12/0's is VERY, VERY easy. They are VERY simple reels. I'm not very mechanically minded, yet have no problems stripping and cleaning my 12/0's. I've replaced a few bearings on my older reels. They're available at some bearing shops, like Bearingman and cost very little, less than R20. A quick clean and lube and they'll be ok again. Because of the thick line we use, i haven't changed my drags yet, but will do so pretty soon, just to keep things in good working order.

 

When it comes to fishing 99% of my fish is caught on bait. For most recreationals, 70-80% of their fish will come on bait. You can see that bait fishing is where most fish will be caught, which means you will need at LEAST 2 decent bait rigs, ie, 50W reels with matching rods. This is the bare minimum.

For trolling, you will need 4 flat rods and two uprights. You can get away with 4 flats and 1 upright. I would keep the 9/0 and spool it with 80lb line and use it as a trolling rod. Then all you need is another 4 trolling rods.

You can use yellowtail tackle to troll for longfin. SImply use the same yellowtail sized yamashita's. Its RARE that a YF grabs these smaller yamashita's.

YF's will clobber the bigger yamashita's as well as the x-raps, so always troll these lures on tackle thats capable of handling YF's.

Happy shopping!!

Regards

miles

 

 

[Xander]

Will 101, feel free to send those bad boys my way if you don't want them. I still use 4 different Penn reels. All of them date back to the late seventies (purchase date) and they still going strong! I have 2 x 49A's, 1 x 49 wide spool, 1 x 12/0, 1 x jiggmaster. All working everytime i go out on my boat.