Are all Penn Senators marked "4/0" model 113's? No other number noted.

[MrRoundel]

Greetings all,

I just borrowed some gear from a buddy who bought it from a client some time back. One of the reels is a Penn Senator 4/0 with black plates. However, it has no other designation on it, i.e. 113H, etc. The reel sports an orange colored mottled knob. A quick count of the teeth of the wheel and pinion tell me it has a ~2:1 gear ratio.  Should I take it for granted that it is a 113 model? Or?

In addition, this reel had a completely locked up drag. It was locked down hard at the star, and when I tried to back it off, the star moved but there was a direct drive feel happening. The drag washers seem to have been made of the same plastic as the sides of the reel. They must have been baked either through time, temperature, etc. I ordered three carbon fiber washers to replace them. I was able to remove the lower washer in one piece using a sharp screwdriver edge from the back (Tip picked up here.). I'm hoping that the fiber replacements is a good move. I do have tan Cal's grease to treat them with. Any comments are appreciated.

Oh, one other thing, do people ever actually catch fish using vintage gear? I don't think I've seen one youtube video of a guy catching fish with anything but modern, and generally quite expensive, gear.

[Keta]

"Should I take it for granted that it is a 113 model?"

Yes 

"I ordered three carbon fiber washers to replace them."

A very good idea but ordering a 5 washer set, CF and metal,  would be even better.

"....do people ever actually catch fish using vintage gear?"

 Yup.  For some applications a higher speed would be nice. 

[MrRoundel]

Thanks for your response, Keta. I kind of wondered about getting the metals in addition. But since it's not mine, I'm trying to keep costs to a minimum. There's no question that the drag washers were cooked. Is replacing the "metals" advisable because the Carbontex washers are a different thickness and density? In other words, would new metal washers be of different thickness than stock, and thereby affect the adjustment system? Many thanks again. Cheers.

[Keta]

If you ordered a 3 CF  washer set they should be the proper thickness.  5 washer set is smoother and a bit stronger than a 3 washer set.

[oc1]

Oh, one other thing, do people ever actually catch fish using vintage gear? I don't think I've seen one youtube video of a guy catching fish with anything but modern, and generally quite expensive, gear.

It's been quite a while since I used anything other than vintage.  Also, our kids treat fishing stuff harshly and expect me to keep their gear tuned.  They get vintage as well because it's easier to service.  We all catch our fair share.

The sort of people that use vintage gear do not feel compelled to make YouTube videos of everything.

[MrRoundel]

It's been quite a while since I used anything other than vintage.  Also, our kids treat fishing stuff harshly and expect me to keep their gear tuned.  They get vintage as well because it's easier to service.  We all catch our fair share.

The sort of people that use vintage gear do not feel compelled to make YouTube videos of everything.

Thanks, oc1. I was sort of kidding when I said that. I knew that people must catch fish. I just find it funny that in virtually every video I've watched, and looking at the rigs of all of the fishermen, it all looks like a lot newer gear, with nothing vintage. I do see that there are some videos of guys freshwater bass fishing with vintage gear, but not much, if any, of guys fishing much with old salt water gear.

All of my gear is old. My present arsenal is made up of a couple the Penn mentioned here, as well as a Penn Delmar and a Penn 113HLW that I've had since it was new. My lighter gear that I used to use out of Malibu, Ventura, etc., was a Daiwa 30H. I have now added a Daiwa SL30SH and Penn 555GS. The borrowed gear is made up of an Okuma Classic 300L in near new shape, and a nice Shimano Baitrunner 3500B attached to a sweet Shimano jigging rod.

I go out on my first short, 3/4 day, trip in many years on the 17th out of Oceanside. I hope to catch some decent fish with my old gear, as well as my old fishing equipment  , at that time. I doubt if I'll take any video, but who knows. Cheers.

[Surfrat]

There's a YouTuber fisherman - Fish Your Way and he loves to use old reels especially Penns.

[Cuttyhunker]

There's another you tuber that makes pretty clear vids on step by step maintaining your gear named  Second chance tackle or second time around tackle, always starts with "Hi this is Dennis".  He has been helpful.

[thorhammer]

Ha- 95% of my fishing is done with stuff at least 20 years old- 9's, Magtune, Magpower, Abu's, 525Mag, GTI, Senators, Internationals, SS spinners going back to the 80's. I have some gen VI SS's in the box, but the old stuff just won't die. I fish solo, so no video

4/0 with orange knob and those washers just means it's an old 113, before they put that nomenclature on the plates. New drags and keep gettin' it done another 20 years.

John

[MrRoundel]

Sorry I didn't report back on the Oceanside trip last year. It ended up being cancelled by the landing, as there weren't enough people to make the trip. I ended up going out of Ventura. My GF and I ended up catching a lot of fish. Admittedly, and rather disappointingly, as my GF wasn't fond of it, it was mostly Ocean Whitefish/Tilefish. She caught one nice sized rockfish, but sadly it never got into either one of our sacks.    Still, the Ocean Whitefish did make pretty tasty ceviche,and an OK dish wrapping it in spinach, IIRC, and baked in parchment paper. Not getting the rock fish was a bit of a pisser. Oh well...

Oh, and didn't take the reel that I asked about here. Cheers.