Penn 113 Questions

[Laying a Line]

Alan,

I have a couple of questions concerning Penn 113 reels.

What is the difference between a Penn 113H, and a 113HL? Is the HL somehow lighter, as it is advertised as a "113 high speed light reel."

Second involves the standard black side 113. I know that the 113 and the 113H have different gear ratios (2:1 vs. 3.2:1). Can the 113 be upgraded to use the gears from the 113H to increase the gear ratio? I only ask because I like the 113H, and may have found a possible "lot" of a few standard 113's. Am I better to just upgrade the drags, and leave them standard 2:1 reels?

Since I have your ear, does the 112 or 112H 3/0 have the drag to fish (troll) albacore? I have a couple, and have thought about using them, but haven't so far.

As always, thank you for your advice.

[Keta]

A 112H will work for albacore.

[broadway]

The HL (High gear and aluminum spool) is a bit lighter than the H (with chromed over brass spool).  If I'm not mistaken, correct me if I'm wrong but the reason they got rid of the HL is because all the 113h's in the past years are all aluminum spool.  As for the 113 gears they aren't interchangeable with the 113h.  Upgrading to greased fiber drags are always a plus! Almost forgot, If your looking to troll use the chromed over brass spool or the aluminum.  If your casting only use the aluminum.  The 112h should do okay with the east coast (false) albies, not sure about the west coasties...the california crew has that answer.  You can't go wrong with the 112h or the 113h cause you can put them both on steroids.  You can upgrade with: alan's stainless gear sleeve, greased carbon fiber drag from smoothdrag, ground flat and lapped metal washers from smoothdrag, stainless yoke, newell gearing/pinion, tiburon frame, and a handle from Alan's guy, Pete. Hope that helps.  
Dom

[Phinaddict]

Skip the  Black 113's.  The Red 113H or HL reels offer significantly more drag and a higher gear ratio.

As for the 112H,  once upgraded to greased HT100 drags, it would be enough....as long as there are no Bluefin swiming in the mix. If so,  with a 112h, you're a lucky man if you land one.

And as Dom said, you can hot rod Penn Senators with all kinds of trick stuff. Taking a 113 and converting it to a YTS, (yellowtail Special), makes a very nice reel ranking high on the coolness scale.

Then again, by the time you are done spending the money for hot rodding it, you could have bought a Pro Gear.....

[broadway]

I have to agree with PhinAddict, you have a better chance on gettin' eaten by a shark in your bath tub than you do catching a 10 lb. blue fin on a 112h.  BTW- my father told a friend of the family (patty) that if she wasn't married by 40 years old that she would have a better chance of gettin' eaten by a shark in a bath tub than to find a husband after 40.  Needless to say she was 44, he thought she was 38.  I wanted to crawl under a rock because I was standing right there when he said it, and I knew she was over 40.  Just thought I'd let ya know where I got that one from.  The old man was right...she's still single at 47!
Dom

[alantani]

the black side plate 113 and red side plate 113h are totally different reels.  only the reel seat and bars are interchangeable.  nothing else. 

albacore get up to 30 pounds locally and you can beat them with 20# test.  the 112h is basically an oversized jigmaster.  i'd rather see you with a 113h.

[Bryan Young]

Then again, by the time you are done spending the money for hot rodding it, you could have bought a Pro Gear.....

I'll be writing up something regarding this reel in the near future.

[Laying a Line]

Thanks for the replies everybody. I figured I would ask about the 113 vs 113H because I had the opportunity to pick up a few 113's very cheap. I let them move on.

The balance of my albacore and halibut gear already are 113H's, so no problems there. I figured I would ask about the 112 as well, as it came with a 113H that I had purchased off the auction site. I have picked up a few reels this way; one auction was for four 113H's that needed some minor attention through cleaning, lube, new ht-100's with Cal's drag grease, and a few other minor parts. The four reels were picked up for less than $100, adding drag washers and a few minor parts, and worked on during the winter a couple of years ago. Alan's tutorials and pics convinced me that I could work on some of my own gear.

Thanks again!

[Whit]

There is something to be said for the 113, and its very low 2:1 gearing.   I like to use one in a wide open bite because you can just crank the rascals right in.  This one is a staple for me on overnighters and 1 1/2 day trips during albacore season. The model is underrated by many.  I did swap out the old brass spool for an aluminum one some years ago, however, to pitch the bait better...

[alantani]

the black side plate penn 113 is the reel that benefits the most from a stainless steel gear sleeve.