Pennbassadeur 10 - baby steps

Started by Decker, April 10, 2018, 09:12:19 PM

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Decker

Anyone who knows me well knows that my imagination tends to outstrip my time and abilities to get things done.  Thankfully, many on this site are quite effective in getting things done with their hands.  Whatever I can accomplish with a fishing reel comes from standing on the shoulders of others.

I had an Ambassadeur given to me as a kid, and grew to love it, but haven't owned one since.  This site has sparked my imagination to experiment with Penn reels, and I'd like to come up with he best light casting Penn that I possibly can.  I'm thinking of a reel for surf, jetty and bay casting, to use for fluke, tautog, stripers, whatever.  Typically smaller species, but with the ability to handle something up to 10 lbs or so.  You might think of the Jigmaster 146 or Surfmaster 100 as likely candidates, and I love those reels, but find them too heavy for my Pennbassadeur.  

The Penn 10 Mag is one of my favorites.  The level-wind is great for fishing with the family, but gets in the way of serious surf-casting (can't survive a shock leader).   So I bought a Penn 10 that had a broken level-wind, and removed all parts that would inhibit casting. At a hobby shop I found some aluminum tube stock: K&G Metals 5/16''x.014.  This turned out to be the perfect size to take the place of the worm bar, filling the void in the side plates.   The metal tubing only required a little sanding to fit the side plate.   It looks good.

Below is a pic of a  Baymaster 180 with Tiburon frame next to the 10.   This reel is quite a bit lighter than the 10, and both are lighter than the 146 and 100.   The lightness is really nice for comfort in casting.   My 180 has some really thick mono on it currently - not great for distance but maybe good for dropping into the rocks for fiesty blackfish.  The 10 has an over-sized braid, and will be up to some distance casting into beach breakers.   We'll see how big a fish this little guy can handle, and if it is not up to wrestling the surf beasts, the 146 may take its place.   I put "baby steps" in the title because this is a small conversion, and I'd like to do more with time.              




xjchad

Cool idea, and very clean way to remove the levelwind!  8) 8)
Husband, Father, Fisherman

thorhammer

Don't be afeared of that 10: it's my go to for livebaiting stripers in my lake and you wont have any issue with fish out to 20lbs maybe more...remember the 10 has bigger gears than the 9 and is not far off the Squidder in drag. I've been thinking about a solid bar for years, great job!

steelfish

Joe,

did you wanted to use obligatory a vintage penn reel?
penn fathom 12 or 15 would do wonders as a surf reel

I mean, at the end you wanted something that make you remember your ambassadeur, right?
why didnt you went with a abu garcia 6500 or 7000?
The Baja Guy

thorhammer

i cant answer for Joe, Alex, besides wanting to tinker....but  the Mag 10 drag is better than 6500 and maybe 7000 (def narrow reel). Mainly, I just bought a 10 in the box a couple weeks ago for $40. 6500 might go for 80 or more in good shape, and the 7000 over a hundred...then you gotta buy a solid bar from Hatteras Jack. Reel stand is heavier too.

Don't get me wrong, i have several dozen Ambassadeurs but that Mag 10 is an underated little tank, or maybe just a good secret....I'd love an alumium CC frame for them.


John

steelfish

Quote from: thorhammer on April 11, 2018, 12:33:42 AM

Don't get me wrong, John
of course I dont, amigo, that why I was asking, I dont know much about the penn 10 mag so, its cool to know that its an underrated tank, that answers my question.

I have a squidder 146 in really good shape that I built to be used on the beach, but I always ended up grabbing my saltist 20h when going bait fishing from the shore and my 6500c3
The Baja Guy

thorhammer

Hey Alex, I checked the schematics before answering positively, but essentially in replacing the levelwind you make yourself a high-speed Squidder 145 at 4:1, i believe....a nice bit of kit, as our friends in Oz and NZ might say. Same 60 gear and carbontex drag kit from Dawn.

I caught a ton of fish in the surf on 6500C3, but clearly the Penn is an easier service and more drag.

The fathom is obviously new tech and $150 tag...a superior weapon.

i still have a goody box i have to send down to you when I get back in-country.


John

mo65

   I really like your customs Joe. It's nice to see some attention given to models that don't get a lot of praise. In your quest for a Penn light casting reel...have you considered the Levelmatic? It's probably the closest thing to an old style Ambassadeur that Penn ever made. 8)
~YOU CAN TUNA GEETAR...BUT YOU CAN'T TUNA FEESH~


thorhammer

Chad, there are already bars for Surfmasters....how about you build on this with a 3-D bar for a 10 with a rebar in it...

steelfish

Quote from: mo65 on April 11, 2018, 01:24:28 AM
It's probably the closest thing to an old style Ambassadeur that Penn ever made. 8)[/color]

I should have searched a bit about the mag10 before posting  ;D ;D

I just did a quick search on the web and found out the same thing Mo just said, this thing its a ambassadeur but Pennisized

this pic came from the mod Mike is making to his mag10 but I could note easily the size vs the 146 and abu 6500
The Baja Guy

Decker

#10
Wow, I didn't expect such a lively conversation.

John, when you have mentioned catching stripers before on a 10, I didn't imagine you were catching them in freshwater.  Gotta try that sometime!  I saw this movie, "Landlocked: How South Carolina Made Fishing History"  - really interesting how the dam construction along the river led to the accidental development of a freshwater striper fishery.

Alex, you're right, I'm cheap and old skool ::)  My true favorite surfcaster is the Slosh, but I want to do something with a vintage Penn.  Saltists are sweet too, but a little too new for my taste 8)  If I start throwing plugs with conventional, I'll likely get into an Ambassadeur.

Mo, I've never fished a Levelmatic.  They look too much like an Abu copy to get my interest.  Would you put one up against a fat catfish?

One more photo of the 10.  I put a 66 star on it.  Sweet in case I need to button down for a big one.  I ended up putting the original 10-60 on the 180, replacing the smaller 10-180 there.   Three different size star drags to fit the same sleeve - how cool is that?  I couldn't have this much fun with with an Abu or a Daiwa!  I'm like a kid with a box of legos! You should see how I scramble the Jigmaster, Silver Beach, Surfmaster 250, and Live Bait Caster 259 parts in three spool widths  ;D :o 8)  

P.S.  Just saw that ProChallenger is releasing a red and a silver 29L-100 spool.  Gotta have a red one one for my 180!   http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=25031




xjchad

I'm loving this thread!
I have a nice little mag 10 that I snagged for cheap after I read Sal's thread on it.
Husband, Father, Fisherman

Decker

Quote from: xjchad on April 11, 2018, 01:56:32 PM
I'm loving this thread!
I have a nice little mag 10 that I snagged for cheap after I read Sal's thread on it.
Chad, could you post a link to Sal's thread?   I don't know if I've seen that one yet.

thorhammer

Joe, i just reread original post...I used mine flounder fishing also. If you are soaking bait for the species you described, you created as good a reel as you'll need. You might consider the 24-310 handle that has the bigger football knob. A  nice upgrade for cranking back lead across the bottom if you don't want to go up to 24-66. I like the 10-66 star. 

xjchad

Husband, Father, Fisherman