98 Silver Beach No Star Drag

sdlehr · April 07, 2016, 09:54:00 PM

Please post your questions about the chronology of this reel in this thread.

Penn Chronology · February 04, 2018, 06:33:45 AM

This category has been sitting for over a year with no posts, so I figure I would throw something out there. I was talking with a friend of mine about how scarce the Silver Beach Model 98 is. I have not seen one for sale in a few years, so I figure I would post a few pictures. Has anyone seen one for sale recently?

Mine is a 1938 model which makes it a hair more special because of the handle.

mo65 · February 04, 2018, 12:24:35 PM

I haven't seen any pop up either Mike.

broadway · February 04, 2018, 04:46:29 PM

I have to agree... that is one tough find, nice reel Mike!
Dom

Swami805 · February 04, 2018, 05:35:21 PM

I have a 98 silverbeach or at least most of one. It has the wrong handle, handle nut and spool. Any way to tell the age so I can find the correct parts. Here's a few pictures. Thanks

Penn Chronology · February 05, 2018, 08:30:39 AM

QuoteI have a 98 silverbeach or at least most of one. It has the wrong handle, handle nut and spool. Any way to tell the age so I can find the correct parts. Here's a few pictures. Thanks

The closest I could come would be to say 1939 to 1942. You could get a torpedo handle from any Long Beach 60 or 65
from that era and use it on the Model 98. Here is a NOS Model 97 with a handle that would be correct for your reel. This NOS Model 97 does not have a drilled spool, it is pinned.

Cannot see your spool, so I do not know what is wrong with it. It should be a non-part number spool but it does not have to be a drilled spool.

My model 98 has a spool without part numbers but it has a pin, not a hole. At the tail plate on my Model 98 has a Hershey Kiss clicker button even though the reel has the old 1938 handle. So the rules are variable.

Swami805 · February 05, 2018, 01:39:06 PM

Thanks, the spool has a part #, 29-99, so I figured it wasn't correct. Might be a tough spool to find. That 97 is a beauty, thanks for posting

Penn Chronology · February 06, 2018, 06:44:40 AM

QuoteThanks, the spool has a part #, 29-99, so I figured it wasn't correct. Might be a tough spool to find. That 97 is a beauty, thanks for posting

You are correct. If it has a Part Number, it is the wrong spool. The Model 97 is a pre-war reel, no part numbers back then.

erikpowell · February 06, 2018, 07:43:07 AM

I like the knurled thumb bar on that.
Was it common on other reels too and from what years?

sdlehr · February 07, 2018, 12:52:43 PM

Erik, I've seen those knurled posts like that on Long Beaches as well. They're all from the same late '30's era.

Penn Chronology · February 07, 2018, 03:34:33 PM

QuoteErik, I've seen those knurled posts like that on Long Beaches as well. I think they're all from the same era.

I find he knurled bars on a few different models, including reels with star drags. They are really pointless on a star drag reel, which tells me that Penn was simply using them up. The knurling was to give a friction type surface for use with a Thumb Stall. So, if the reel has a drag, it is unlikely to need a thumb stall. That is my opinion only; but, it seems logical to me.

sdlehr · February 07, 2018, 04:50:16 PM

Quote from: Penn Chronology on February 07, 2018, 03:34:33 PM
QuoteErik, I've seen those knurled posts like that on Long Beaches as well. I think they're all from the same era.

I find he knurled bars on a few different models, including reels with star drags. They are really pointless on a star drag reel, which tells me that Penn was simply using them up. The knurling was to give a friction type surface for use with a Thumb Stall. So, if the reel has a drag, it is unlikely to need a thumb stall. That is my opinion only; but, it seems logical to me.

It does seem logical, but it is probably also simplistic and ignores that man is a creature of habit, and a lot of early (even into the 30's) reels with star drags also have an obsolete thumb stall (star drag really came about in the teens).... my take has been it is because the older fishermen were used to it and wanted it even if they didn't need it. Old habits die hard. Perhaps Penn was trying to use them up, perhaps it was part of a marketing ploy to appeal to older, seasoned fishermen who didn't need that newfangled star drag contraption. They aren't mutually exclusive.

Tightlines667 · February 07, 2018, 06:06:25 PM

The only Penn reel I have with one is a Seagate. I have several reels from this period that had Pflueger leather thumb stalls mounted on them.

John

Penn Chronology · February 08, 2018, 06:08:02 AM

QuoteThe only Penn reel I have with one is a Seagate. I have several reels from this period that had Pflueger leather thumb stalls mounted on them.

Of course Penn never offered a Thumb Stall; but, a non-drag reel like Model 98 calls for one. most thumb stalls you see are Pflueger, although they were made by other manufactures. Pflueger installed them on their own reels and also sold them separately. The ones you see with the Bulldog logo are the ones that Pflueger sold separately. The ones that were installed by Pflueger as a standard reel part had no markings. I would say that they could be useful on a star drag reel as an enhancement to the drag or a controlling factor. Especially when used by a fisherman that was accustomed to using one.

I know that when I am fishing for certain species, I leave the reel in free spool to feed the line and when doing so, I am controlling the line with my thumb. I am very conscious to engage the reel but have set the hook many times in the free spool mode and would have appreciated a thumb stall when that happens. Of course I am not accustomed to using one, I am more accustomed to burning my thumb before I get the reel back in gear.

sdlehr · February 15, 2018, 05:22:07 PM

Quote from: Penn Chronology on February 08, 2018, 06:08:02 AM
most thumb stalls you see are Pflueger,

Pflueger patented the thumb stall first CLICK HERE in 1921, which would've expired in 1937 if the same 16-yr protection was given back then. The patent design is different than the design we commonly see, but I'm guessing the wording was general enough to patent the idea, not the exact design (maybe I should've read it?).