Penn 49 questions

[H melville]

I have two Penn 49 reels. One I purchased new 20 years ago and another I just purchased used. The used one came with the box that indicates it's a 49M. The "49M" makes a light clicking as you reel it up. The old reel did not. The clicker is off by the way. I opened it up and it was very clean inside and I was able to see that the clicking comes from the dog bouncing on the eccentric cam.  As a side note the older 49 has been serviced twice over the years. Once sent in to Penn and the last time to a Penn reel service center for broken post screws.

This fall the older 49 reel went bad while halibut fishing (the dog would not lock up). I took it apart and found the following. Dog spring broken, bridge post broken off where the gear sleeve pin goes through, and the ratchet on the gear sleeve rounded over. I ordered new parts and drags and will rebuild the reel.

So, my questions are, is the 49 supposed to click from the dog bouncing on the cam?  And what is the correct orientation of the dog spring (what was left of the old reels dog spring does not appear to have been routed the same as the reel I just got.  Thanks in advance

[Swami805]

First off welcome!
Man that's a lot of damage all at once!  Must have been some fish you had there. Might consider a reel that is a little more robust
Theres a few on here with a lot of expirence in fishing halibut with those series penns.  Sure they'll be along soon

[akfish]

Like most Penn reels, the 49 will make a clicking noise if the dog spring is strong and keeps pressure on the dog. If that is the noise your reel s making, I wouldn't worry about it. But you may have another problem: The 49 is **not** a halibut reel, at least not a Pacific halibut reel (it would be OK for California halibut). The 49 was originally designed for wire line trolling and fairy light drag -- not heavy drag and braided line. The gear sleeve will round with anything close to 8# of drag, and the frame -- such that it is -- will torque under heavy drag and shred the gears.

[oc1]

My guess is that your bridge post became loose and started to wobble.  The rest of the damage was caused by the bad post.  I've never had a 49 but would have assumed they were stronger than that.  Why bother to put beauty rings on reel with weak internals?  The tall spool does put a lot more torque on everything though.
-steve

[sdlehr]

My guess is that your bridge post became loose and started to wobble.  The rest of the damage was caused by the bad post.  I've never had a 49 but would have assumed they were stronger than that.  Why bother to put beauty rings on reel with weak internals?  The tall spool does put a lot more torque on everything though.
-steve

Yeah, Sal did an expose on the 49 a few years back trying to beef it up with 349 internals but ran into problems with the spacing on the bridge screws. The two-screw stand isn't made for big fish either. The 349 is the beefier Mariner model with heavier internals and a 3-screw stand attachment (on each side).

I had always mixed up the Mariner models.... until I set them side-by-side. As you go up from 49->149->249 the trim rings decrease from 4 to 2 to 0 and the shift levers also decrease from 2 to 1 to 0. The 249 is a knucklebuster and really stands out, it was the 49 and 149 I kept mixing up. The 349HC looks like the 49 (with the convertible drag lever) except it has a 3-screw stand, and the 349 looks like a 149 (lacking the convertible drag) but has the 3-screw (on each side) stand. I think most 349s have a power handle as well.

[Maxed Out]

  349 is a decent reel, but many parts are obsolete


  Get yourself a decent used 113H with aluminum spool and use the 49 for a paper weight on your desk.....it'll save you all the grief 

Ted

[Keta]

Add a 113HNN kit to a 113H and it will be almost a 349H with a higher gear ratio and parts avaliability.

[Alto Mare]

My guess is that your bridge post became loose and started to wobble.  The rest of the damage was caused by the bad post.  I've never had a 49 but would have assumed they were stronger than that.  Why bother to put beauty rings on reel with weak internals?  The tall spool does put a lot more torque on everything though.
-steve

Yeah, Sal did an expose on the 49 a few years back trying to beef it up with 349 internals but ran into problems with the spacing on the bridge screws. The two-screw stand isn't made for big fish either. The 349 is the beefier Mariner model with heavier internals and a 3-screw stand attachment (on each side).

I had always mixed up the Mariner models.... until I set them side-by-side. As you go up from 49->149->249 the trim rings decrease from 4 to 2 to 0 and the shift levers also decrease from 2 to 1 to 0. The 249 is a knucklebuster and really stands out, it was the 49 and 149 I kept mixing up. The 349HC looks like the 49 (with the convertible drag lever) except it has a 3-screw stand, and the 349 looks like a 149 (lacking the convertible drag) but has the 3-screw (on each side) stand. I think most 349s have a power handle as well.

I was able to make it work Sid, I still have that reel here and it works nicely.
If you ask me though, considering the amount of work needed, I say the upgrade is not worth it.
I just wanted to see if it could be done.

Sal

[sdlehr]

I was able to make it work Sid, I still have that reel here and it works nicely.
If you ask me though, considering the amount of work needed, I say the upgrade is not worth it.
I just wanted to see if it could be done.

Sal

Sorry I didn't remember the end result, but I remembered it wasn't easy.

Sid

[Alto Mare]

 No biggie at all Sid .

Best,

Sal

[sdlehr]

So, my questions are, is the 49 supposed to click from the dog bouncing on the cam?  And what is the correct orientation of the dog spring (what was left of the old reels dog spring does not appear to have been routed the same as the reel I just got.  Thanks in advance

You know, I read this and thought, "that ain't right", and cracked open one of my 49s and had a look. It sure looked like the dog was contacting the eccentric to make the clicking sound. But when I looked closer, it wasn't contacting at all. Like all Penn reels with an A/R the click comes from the dog bouncing off the ratchet on the bottom of the gear sleeve. In this case you can actually see the tail end of the dog (no pun intended) that sticks out from under the bridge, usually the dog is much smaller and completely hidden. The spring is a ribbon spring and pushes the dog into contact with the ratchet 

Here's a pic that should help

[H melville]

Perfect photo, just what I needed.  As for the advice to use the 49 for a paper weight and hunt for a good 113H,  I will get a 113H but the 49 will be promently displayed in the living room of our Alaskan getaway cause the chicks dig em.  At least my wife says it's a sexy looking reel. Thanks all

[mikeysm]

I used my 49L yoyo special at Morro Bay when we went for Iingcod. It worked great.  These reels are still usable and with the frame kit they are light and strong. Add  a stainless sleeve and you have a killer reel. I will be using it in Half Moon bay this week also
.

Mike