Penn 100 v Penn 146

[Limey]

Hello All,

Limey in the UK here.

I've just gotten back in to fishing after being interrupted by the birth of kids and life in general getting in the way and have started to cast with a 146L that I acquired, magged and serviced whilst AWOL from fishing duties.

I'm a bit surprised to report that the magged 146L with new bearings doesn't perform as well as my old 100L Surfmasters did on the casting front. It certainly doesn't seem to cast any further (probably less) and is more prone to backlash at the end of the cast particularly at night. Just doesn't seem as user friendly. One of my 100L with the Newell PTFE bearings and some decent lube seems to leave it for dead distance wise.

Just seems a bit weird that the cheaper reel should outshine the dearer, a bit of a disappointment really. Anyone else got a similar experience?

Cheers All

Limey

[Gfish]

My Squidder 146 does probably better than my other small Penn's. Possible reasons it might not: type of line used, inside of pinion & spool shaft need polishing or lube removal or both, possible spool rub( it makes alotta ball bearing noise when casting, so hard to tell).

The line I'm using on it, came on another reel and probabley is old, but it's very supple braid. Try a polish on the inside of your pinion and on the corresponding area of the spool shaft and see if it helps.
Keep us updated.

[Alto Mare]

Hello All,

Limey in the UK here.

I've just gotten back in to fishing after being interrupted by the birth of kids and life in general getting in the way and have started to cast with a 146L that I acquired, magged and serviced whilst AWOL from fishing duties.

I'm a bit surprised to report that the magged 146L with new bearings doesn't perform as well as my old 100L Surfmasters did on the casting front. It certainly doesn't seem to cast any further (probably less) and is more prone to backlash at the end of the cast particularly at night. Just doesn't seem as user friendly. One of my 100L with the Newell PTFE bearings and some decent lube seems to leave it for dead distance wise.

Just seems a bit weird that the cheaper reel should outshine the dearer, a bit of a disappointment really. Anyone else got a similar experience?

Cheers All

Limey

It is very much possible.
I do like both of these reels, but I do have a couple of dozen of the 100 and only a couple Squidders.

Brass bushings get smoother with usage, not the same with ball bearing.

You could dunk the 100 as muich as you want and still catch fish.


Sal

[foakes]

There are a few variables likely at work here, Limey —

Bearings, lube, pinion, spool shaft ends, etc..

But one thing is for sure — and most of the folks on this site know it already — it is hard to argue with the proven simplicity of a SM used properly for casting in Salt conditions.

I like bearings.  They work well.  And I generally replace a few hundred a year.  They are a profitable item when servicing reels.  And they are the first thing to look at when addressing a performance issue on a reel.

The brass alloy bushings in the Penns are simple, effective, and less prone to have issues due to their simplicity.

An old friend that gets better with time if lubed and adjusted properly and regularly...

But the number of ball bearing assemblies in a reel are what sells it to the general angling public.  How often do we see a new sharp looking reel touting that it has 8 to 13 bearings?  Well, it needs them because graphite (plastic) needs bearings to allow the reel to hold up OK during usage.

One time when I was in Glendale, picking up a load of reels and parts from Newell, Carl walked me through part of his operation.  He liked to talk — but I could listen for a lifetime to his knowledge.  He knew a lot about reels — but knew even more about injection molding of high tech composite parts.  That was his main talent and expertise.

He gave me a few of his LC PTFE bearings to try out on my clients.  When I asked him why they were that funky brown instead of black, grey, or some sharp looking color — he said that he just liked to annoy the folks who were too stubborn to use some of his products when fishing in SoCal, South of San Diego, and in Mexican waters.  So he stuck with the brown color because there was no reason to change the formula that works.

His idea was that on a long range, an angler could easily switch out the external LC bushing/PTFE bearings, add a drop of oil, and still clean the old LC's when they got back to working on servicing their gear.  In the meantime, they would have all of the longer casting and smooth dropping they needed when the bite turned hot.

My grandmother, who came from Ohio to California in a covered wagon in the 1800's, walked a lot of the way, raised 6 boys, taught me a lot (I don't think the sun ever caught her in bed, and she was in bed every night before 9:00) — told me to never leave an old friend for a new one — better to have (2) friends you can count on.

I feel that way about the SurfMasters and Squidders — two good old friends.

Just my personal opinions...

Best,

Fred

[Porthos]

...You could dunk the 100 as muich as you want and still catch fish.


Sal

Sal,

Did you take up SKISHING?

[Alto Mare]

...You could dunk the 100 as muich as you want and still catch fish.


Sal

Sal,

Did you take up SKISHING?

No Wai, but would like to try it one day. The 100 Surfmaster would be a good reel for it.

[George6308]

Also add the Penn 180  Baymaster to this list. Same size spool just different side plate attachment.

[Porthos]

Were the new 146L bearings prepped by popping the shields, completely degreased, soaked in TSI301/321 and had the excess tapped out before installing in the 146L?

[Gfish]

Yeah, that'ed probably be the first thing to check.

[Ron Jones]

PTFE bushings are the best! Lately, I've become a fan of PTFE dots inside the bronze bushings. I've seen some bearings spin for ever, and I don't know that you can outdo well prepped bearings with PTFE, but I know that the PTFE bushings are great and never fail.
The Man

[Alto Mare]

PTFE bushings are the best! Lately, I've become a fan of PTFE dots inside the bronze bushings. I've seen some bearings spin for ever, and I don't know that you can outdo well prepped bearings with PTFE, but I know that the PTFE bushings are great and never fail.
The Man

Imagine how many millions they would lose if bushings, lined with this PTFE were to be used on most reels instead of ball bearings.

[Keta]

Imagine how many millions they would lose if bushings, lined with this PTFE were to be used on most reels instead of ball bearings.

Unfortunately the manufactures marketing departments have convinced people that roller and ball bearings are the way to go.  I prefer plain bearings for most applications.  The same can be said of high speed reels for many applications, 3.5:1 up to 4.5:1 is still a good speed for many if not most uses.

[swill88]

There are a few variables likely at work here, Limey —

Bearings, lube, pinion, spool shaft ends, etc..

But one thing is for sure — and most of the folks on this site know it already — it is hard to argue with the proven simplicity of a SM used properly for casting in Salt conditions.

I like bearings.  They work well.  And I generally replace a few hundred a year.  They are a profitable item when servicing reels.  And they are the first thing to look at when addressing a performance issue on a reel.

The brass alloy bushings in the Penns are simple, effective, and less prone to have issues due to their simplicity.

An old friend that gets better with time if lubed and adjusted properly and regularly...

But the number of ball bearing assemblies in a reel are what sells it to the general angling public.  How often do we see a new sharp looking reel touting that it has 8 to 13 bearings?  Well, it needs them because graphite (plastic) needs bearings to allow the reel to hold up OK during usage.

One time when I was in Glendale, picking up a load of reels and parts from Newell, Carl walked me through part of his operation.  He liked to talk — but I could listen for a lifetime to his knowledge.  He knew a lot about reels — but knew even more about injection molding of high tech composite parts.  That was his main talent and expertise.

He gave me a few of his LC PTFE bearings to try out on my clients.  When I asked him why they were that funky brown instead of black, grey, or some sharp looking color — he said that he just liked to annoy the folks who were too stubborn to use some of his products when fishing in SoCal, South of San Diego, and in Mexican waters.  So he stuck with the brown color because there was no reason to change the formula that works.

His idea was that on a long range, an angler could easily switch out the external LC bushing/PTFE bearings, add a drop of oil, and still clean the old LC's when they got back to working on servicing their gear.  In the meantime, they would have all of the longer casting and smooth dropping they needed when the bite turned hot.

My grandmother, who came from Ohio to California in a covered wagon in the 1800's, walked a lot of the way, raised 6 boys, taught me a lot (I don't think the sun ever caught her in bed, and she was in bed every night before 9:00) — told me to never leave an old friend for a new one — better to have (2) friends you can count on.

I feel that way about the SurfMasters and Squidders — two good old friends.

Just my personal opinions...

Best,

Fred

Thanks Fred.  Great story.  Reel history.
Steve

[Limey]

Cheers for your replies guys.

The 146L new bearings were cleaned in lighter fuel before being lubed with 20 grade light oil before being changed to EP140 grade gear box oil which seemed to tame them a bit. I'm fishing 0.45dia #25 line on it casting a 6oz lead. The spindle and pinion all got a good clean before assembly. Its an OK reel but I had hoped for a noticeable improvement over the older surfmaster.

I was lucky enough to get hold of several sets of PTFE bearings that I in run in one SM and ordinary bearings in the other. As already said above I'd guess that the bearings must be correctly worn in and performing well with EP 140 oil and #25 nylon. They are lovely reels with Long Beach torpedo handles on them, a rare earth magnet in the left side plate and an Alan Tani stainless steel gear sleeve. I can get a baited trace about 140 yards with them. The retrieve is powerful enough at 3:1 to just winch in weed, rubbish and whatever else collects on the line. It's great over clean ground where a 6:1 retrieve just yanks hooks out of fish and twists the trace like knitting. I think that any sand that gets in it just comes out ground up finer than before.

If anyone knows of any spare spools for the 100L for sale I'd like to know as Scotts Bait and Tackle list them as Sold Out and we can't get them in the UK anymore.

Tight Lines All

Limey

[Keta]

I think ProChalenger has aftermarket Surfmaster 100 spools.