Penn 650ss

[spottybastard]

I have two Penn 650ss coffee grinders from the late 1980s.  My question is what is the max drag that I can get out of them?  And how does one go about upgrading the drags on them?

Mike

[Bryan Young]

Upgrading drags are easy. Just remove the spring clip and replace felt with greased HT-100s.  I cannot recally the size though.

[Gxnefishing]

the size you need is 6-155 and its two of them per reel.

[Alto Mare]

Or you could replace all 3 with the 6-155 carbon fiber and use the 6-60 for under the spool, also carbon fiber with a touch of Cal's. It is also a good idea to  replace the drag knob with the one that comes  with the seal, part# 52N-650. believe it or not you could get close to  20lb with these reels, bottoned down all the way, but I would keep them under 15lb. An additional dog is also a good thing.

[Bryan Young]

Sal knows.

[spottybastard]

"An additional dog is also a good thing."  Forgive my ignorance, but what does this mean?

[Alto Mare]

"An additional dog is also a good thing."  Forgive my ignorance, but what does this mean?

Sometimes the dog will fail on a big fish, it's nice to have a buckup.

[alantani]

quick guess, maybe 5 pounds working, 8-10 pounds if you don't mind the reel blowing up in your hands.   

[Alto Mare]

Mike, these are the reels that most of us use here in the NE. I've cought stripes up to 44lb with these reels, I have one posted here"my striper". The 650SS has all brass gears, non of that cast aluminum crap of today's models...hold on to it. I personally believe that your reel can be pushed to 15lb with no problems. Sal

[spottybastard]

I was actually thinking of taking them on a two day tuna trip out of San Diego.  The main reason is because I'm a crappy caster with a conventional.  I've notice that a Jigmaster is only rated to about 13 or 15#s, and are pretty standard for a short range tuna trip and my 650s are a log easier to cast.

[alantani]

i tried a spinner on a 7 day trip and failed miserably........

[Alto Mare]

Mike, although those 650ss are nice reels, I believe that they're not big enough to play with the big boys. Don't misunderstand my previous comment, if that reel needed to be pushed to its limits, it would stand up to the test. I heard of 100lb fish being cought on the 650ss in the past. Those reels would be happy fished at around 10lb. I usually don't do this, but let me know if you want me to put together a spinner that would stop 100lb tuna on its track. I could customize a Penn 9500SS with two dogs, power handle knob and a bailess kit, so you won't have to worry about bending the bail on the boat. If you go with a used but in good shape reel I could probably do it for around $200.  Just let me know. Sal

[spottybastard]

Maybe I'll get a Penn Battle or a Diawa Emblem® Pro-A

[redsetta]

G'day Sal, would you recommend the manual bail kit (ie https://www.mysticparts.com/PennParts/Parts/69-9500.aspx) for my upgraded 9500SS (http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=3074.0)?
Seems like the last potential upgrade (I've since added the original gears - cheers Tom) and I haven't come across these before...
Cheers, Justin
PS I'm usually bouncing 300-400 gram knife jigs for kingfish with this set up.


"Edited as per Moderators to correct Scott's Bait & Tackle over to their new store name Mystic Reel Parts / www.mysticparts.com"

[Alto Mare]

Justin, it's really up to you. Some like the kit and some don't, I happen to like it, but it takes a little of getting used to. If you do a lot of casting and have lost some nice jigs in the past from the bail snapping  on you, go for it. If you don't have it, you can't bend it . Sal