First time Pro Gear owner

[Jenx]

I've never really payed much attention to Pro Gear reels, nor have I ever really had a desire to own one, but over the years I've noticed that the smaller "Albacore Special" reels seem to be pretty sought after, so when a clean 282 came up for sale I picked it up mainly out of curiosity.

Maybe it's because I have only been working on modern reels over the last couple of years, but I was really pleased to discover how easy this reel was to break down and service. I might have bought this out of curiosity, but I will definitely be keeping it as a backup.

I do have a few questions:

I was able to find the line specs for the 282 online but not the drag specs. Can anyone tell me what the drag rating is on these reels?

I also remember reading somewhere that some of the older Pro Gear reels have interchangeable parts with Penn reels. Is the 282 one of these reels?

And lastly, I'm not a huge fan of the stock handle. Does anyone make after market handles for these reels, or are there any Penn handles that work with it?

Thanks.

[day0ne]

The 282 isn't one of the Pro Gears that the parts interchange with Penn parts. Perhaps some like the handle will. The Classic series (25x, 54x, 454, 44x) and the Pacifica series (2000, 2500, 3000, 3500) are the ones that most parts will interchange with Penn.

[MarkT]

I don't think I've ever seen any drag ratings for them. It's not on the box my 280 came in! It gets more than enough to fish 30# which is what I use it for.

[Rancanfish]

My guess is 15-20lbs max.

[Jenx]

Thanks for the info.

[rogan]

I got 330 yards of Daiwa j-braid 50lb and a 50 yard topshot of 30lb mono. Cut my own CF drags and drilled out the PG riveted handle so I could install a 50mm Pro Challenger knob. I haven't fished it yet, but I would keep the drag under 15lbs max. As mentioned, these PG reels do not have Penn compatible parts, so any broken or worn out parts and the reel is toast unless you can find a donor reel.

[JasonGotaProblem]

Wait there's no parts support for pro gear reels? Well I just lost all interest.

[thrasher]

Wait there's no parts support for pro gear reels? Well I just lost all interest.

But they're shiny

[Rancanfish]

Thrasher, sshhh. lol.

I have a great collection of Pro Gears, some new in the box. I love the fact people are still interested in them. I'll post a pic when I get back home in a week or so.

Like was mentioned, some models parts are made of unobtainium. (501's, CS series, etc). All the Penn based models are upgraded and would be the ones fished.

Fortunately I will never need more than 15lbs drag.

[handi2]

They are overbuilt reels rarely needed anything but bearings that are available.

I can punch perfect fitting Carbontex drag washers for it too.

Tiburon makes a wonderful offset handle too. I use Tiburon handles on most of my reels