Sears Gamefisher TR/43

[natch!]

 I've found this Sears reel which appears to be a rebadged Sealine 300h.
I'm thinking of fixing it up for a friend for use in an inexpensive 40lb. rig.
Looking at the Sealine spec chart I see 29.9 IPT with the stock gear, a bit slow for yo yo I think. Some seem to be using the higher ratio 50H gear as a replacement. Is this a straight swap? Does the pinion need to be replaced too? About what would the IPT be?
  I found a new 50H main gear (p/n 413-9511) for about $20.00. Reasonable?
  Where are we with AT forum approved mods for these things?

Jack

[Porthos]

Went out to the garage, got the 300H setup off the rack, pulled the line from top of spool 'til the end reached the rod tip, made one handle crank 360 to the same position, and measured how far down the end came down the rod. Did this 5 times. Got around 28"; unsure how and what Daiwa measured to get 29.9"...

Looked at what the current Penn Jigmaster 4:1 got and what the current 113H's 4.3:1 got...it's a range from 25" to 34". This correlates to "about right" since the 300H's spool diameter is somewhere between the Jigmaster and 113H.

I'm sensing a whole lot of manic cranking with the 300H (4.2:1) and even the bigger 400H (if Daiwa's 30.5" is to be trusted) for jigging. Trying to thumb and retrieve line evenly while manically cranking would mean disaster for me. Which is why I went with the Fin Nor LT100 spinner setup that supposedly has 45" IPT for jigging on both the 2014 and 2015 SOA trips and will do so again for 2016.

[natch!]

 Well, This friend, Joe, happens to have an excellent aptitude for mania. But just in case I'll dig out my old Newell 533 5.5 and prepare it for service.
  I'll spruce up the Gamefisher (I kinda want to call it a Kenmore) and we'll bring it on the SoA trip. It should also be a good reel for our bay area fishing and well up to albacore trolling should they pay us a visit.

Jack

[Porthos]

...I kinda want to call it a Kenmore...

Could also be Craftsman...

[Decker]

...I kinda want to call it a Kenmore...

Could also be Craftsman...

Is it more of a tool or a washing machine?

[Rancanfish]

I had a Sears Gamefisher 12' boat at one time.

[natch!]

Is a washing machine not a tool?

Neither Joe nor the Gamefisher were able to go on the SoA trip, but together they have caught lots of lingcod, rockfish and salmon. While a little slow for yoyo grinding, I have no doubt that reel would be dandy for live bait fishing yellowtail and any tuna that could be had on 50ish lb leaders. A true bargain workhorse!

Jack