Advice on two Newell reels

[garyal]

I now have a 7 day charter on the Intrepid each July along with the son of my best friend here in Stockton. We have filled the trip with 22 people from Stockton. about half of this group have never fished long range so we will be needing a LOT OF 30 LB. AND 50 lb. outfits, one set per person. Generally the jackpot fish on these trips is under 75 LBS. and these two outfits are all you really need. (Yes, I know I normally bring 7 outfits on a 7 day trip, but two are really all you truly need!   Well, three counting a jig stick, of which I will supply three for communal use by the newbies.

Anyway, I am going thru all my stuff and I pulled out the two Newell reels from the retirement home along with some retired Trinidad reels. The reels are, 1 each: 332-5 & G440-F. A quick disassembly, re-greased and oiled bearings and after more then a dozen years they spin up GREAT and are ready to fish....? Not really! They are both Graphite spool models. The G440-F has a top brace, the 332-5 is  topless.

I am comfortable with the 332-5 configuration for use with 40 LB. spectra and 30 LB fluro wind-on. I want to fish 10LBS. of drag. Should I just get a Carbonex set of drags from Dawn or should I get the upgrade kit offered from a member of this site? I do not think I need to Tiburon this reel for occasional 30 LB. fly lining or throwing a Salas 6X Jr. Any advice?

For the G440-F: I would like to fish 40 LB. OR 50 LB fluro wind-on, on this reel over 60 LB spectra. Therefore, I think I need to upgrade the drag to be able to get a solid 15-17 LBs of drag and I think a topless Tiburon frame for added strength and to get rid of the PITA top bar. The gearing by pen mark and turning handle method is 4.7-8 to 1. I do not recall if this is a stock gear set or not. I assume this should get an upgraded 5+1 drag as well. Any advice? Gear set changes?

I really did not realize how much I missed these two reels! They are so lite and cast so well. I can rebuild the drags on these in my sleep as they needed almost daily drag replacement back in the day when they were used on paddy hopping trips. I do not mind spending money on these as I will keep them and pass them down to my son some day. Each of these reels have caught several hundred fish in their day.

I will personally fish these two reels next July while handling out my accurate Dauntless reels to some of the newbies and I am actually looking forward to it. Heck, I might even put the 332-5 on a cork tape Calstar GF800H, 8 foot jig stick and throw iron with it!

[MarkT]

Keep in mind that the gears/drags in the 400-series are the same as in the 200 & 300.
I would go with Carbontex or HT-100 washers and not the original Newell washers. The 332 is meant to go on a long stick for throwing surface iron so go for it.

[day0ne]

Can I be a "newbie" that you hand a Dauntless to?

[thinkwahoo]

Go with the 5 stack Bryan sells for both reels, will provide more drag and with a smoother start up.

The 440 and 332 are both 5:1 gear ratios, the 440 is a little larger in diameter, and holds more line than the 332.

[garyal]

Great,

Thanks for the advice. How do I contact Bryan?

How about a Penn yellow tail special 113 with narrow Tiburon frame and SS gears? Does Bryan offer a 5 stack drag for that as well?

[RowdyW]

If the 113h has a 3 stack you can get the later 5 stack of HT-100 CF from Scott's Bait & Tackle.

[Bryan Young]

Hi Garyal,

I have a 7-stack but it's not needed for your type of fishing. I also have Penn 113HSP 5-stack drag kit in stock as well for the same price as Scott's if you would like me to ship it with the other drag kits. I also have the under gear carbonate for the 113h as well.  Just let me know what you need in a PM. Thank you, 
Bryan