Jigmaster vs 112H

[Fishermanny]

Hello all, I'm new to this forum, but I've been reading really good info on these pages for the last couple of months. I've recently acquired many old penn reels, which first off I think are beautiful. I want to thank Alan Tani for putting all of his instructions online here, as I've rebuilt several of them thanks to him (a Jigmaster 500, Jigmaster 505, a LongBeach 65 and Longbeach 68, and a BeachMaster 155). I've put HT-100 drags on all the reels and greased them up. That's all I've done. The question that I have is this: with the reels that I have listed here, is there a need for me to get a Penn Special Senator 112H. I've seen on many of the posts that the Jigmasters, (with the original brass gears) shouldn't be subjected to high stress situations, (more than 10lbs drag?) Is the 112H any "stronger" than a Jigmaster? They both hold only 3 of the HT-100s, right? So, I've read that putting in ss gears in the Jigmaster would make it stronger that way you can use the smoothdrag drags, do the 5+1 drags, and not break things. Can you do the same to the 112H? Is it worth it or am I getting the same basic reel? I know that they both use the same gears (or maybe I'm wrong). The reason for my question is that I have a friend who wants to sell me his 112H for only $20. I know it's only $20, but I already have 5 other Penn reels. Can the 112H be made faster or stronger? I also have questions on the LB68 which I think I'll ask on another post, about possibly changing out gears etc on that one. But again, the main question is, is the 112H "better" than the Jigmaster? Thank you all for your input.

[broschro]

if it were me I would keep the Jigmaster and move up to the 113 or 114 size reel for your bigger bottom real,and use the jigmaster for your lighter set up.

[Bryan Young]

I would say that they are essentially equivalent reels.  I believe the jigmaster was intended for surf fishing with jigs and plugs where teh 112H was intended for trolling, and therefore has greater line capacity.

[Bill B]

I'll start my reply off with the statement the 112H is my favorite reel...the size, strength, metal spools and the red side plates.  I like the little 3/0.  Fishing in California I've used on all my 1/2 and 3/4 day deep sea trips and never felt out gunned...but then when the big fish showed up out came the 113 and 114.  Upgrade the drags, ss gizzards and a double dog, you'd have a fish killer for sure.  I would keep the others, for the kids and visitors, but my go to reel would be the 112H. 

[saltydog]

I have both and as Bryan said I use my jigmaster for surf fishing, live bait and throwing irons while my 112H is for deep jigging and heavier applications. I have tanked them both to the max and with braid you have the ability to catch fish way bigger than they were intended to catch. I personally like the size and feel of both reels, but they do have different purposes.

[Fishermanny]

Thank you all for the replies. I have gone twice since these posts, and have used my Jigmaster 500 on the 1/2 day trips with 30# mono, the biggest thing caught being a good sized white seabass (28" or so) and some sculpin and rockfish. Nothing too big yet, though, (everyone has a story like this) I did hook something that was pulling on my reel HARD, and even with the drags to the max on the 500, it was still pulling string! But it was short lived, (only pulled for about 15 seconds) before it got away.  But that made me think that maybe I should be using something a little bit stronger, with more drag. I didn't break anything, yet. So far, I'm not sure I need it yet. I guess I'll find out in a couple weeks when I go on a full day trip. I'll be taking the 505HS, & the Long Beach 68, which I've double dogged and has stainless gears. If after I see I need something bigger, then I may step it up to a 3/0 or bigger. Thanks again all!

[Ron Jones]

One thing to think about with these reels is that a fish will be able to move line off the top of the spool of the 112H set to the same drag as the 500. The 3/0 size is by far my favorite sized reel, it fits my hand well and I can cast it well. I would personally go with it every time, but a fish that can pull 20#s will have a harder time overcoming the 500s thinner spool.
Ron