Senators on Ebay

[Shark Hunter]

I have never seen a custom side plate like this. Its on a 16/0. Too Bad it doesn't say Shark Hunter!
Something else pretty weird. A 10/0 polished up by a Jewelry store? With No Chrome, I don't think it would stand up too well. Got Milk?

[Tightlines667]

Man..those are sum peerty reels there!  Are you sure the one is polished bronze, not anodized gold? 

[Shark Hunter]

Yea, Its Brass.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Penn-Senator-10-0-116L-/251395446669?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a8856178d
Meticulously polished until all the chrome was gone!

[BMITCH]

WOW

[Ron Jones]

Talk about prep work!
If I was in the market I would get that and have it shipped to an Industrial Hard Chromer. Prep is the biggest part of the job.
Ron

[Robert Janssen]

Yes, I was just about to say, the hue and lustre are reminiscent of gold plating.

If not, then after all that prep work, it might be worth considering.

Here is a gold-plated one for comparison:

(edit: Holy smokes that came out big! Sorry; not my pic- it came that way.)

[alantani]

reminds me of scrimshaw.

[Penn Chronology]

I have never seen a custom side plate like this. Its on a 16/0. Too Bad it doesn't say Shark Hunter!

Hello Daron,

Well, you picked a very interesting 16/O with some Blue / Blood American Heritage. This 16/O was presented to someone in a very wealthy American Family with over 150 years of American wealth, possibly more. By its age I would suspect it was a special gift in the 1960's to Mr. Fredrick Hanes Lassiter:

                                """                   (Charles Babcock, Stockbroker, Dies. New York Times, Dec. 15, 1967.) His daughter, Barbara Frances Babcock, married Frederic Hanes Lassiter, a Yale graduate. His father was chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Richmond, Va., and of the Lassiter Corporation in Charlotte, N.C., founded by the bridegroom and his brother, John Hanes Lassiter. His grandfather, John Wesley Hanes of Winston-Salem, founded a tobacco company that was merged into R.J. Reynolds, as well as the Hanes Hosiery Mills, Washington Mills, and the Wachovia Bank and Trust Company. (Miss Babcock, 1954 Debutante, To Wed in May. New York Times, Mar. 18, 1962; Barbara Frances Babcock Is Married. New York Times, May 6, 1962.)            """"

               I was the buyer of this reel and I still own it. I have sold a few other 16.O's but I find this one hard to part with because I know there will never be another. The tail plate is a piece of engraved polished aluminum with a milled edge in order to fit the the trim rings back onto the reel.

                This reel has a had a very limited,if any real use. I was not able to remove the aluminum plate from the tail plate without creating damage, so I did not try too hard. The clicker button was probably reattached to the tail plate by the people that created the tail plate. I do not believe Penn would have attached the clicker button back to the tailplate with a mild steel round head common slotted screw.

               Once I removed the line from the spool, the cross bars and stand looked like they had corrosion but it was actually just sticky dust and dirt.

              They actually cleaned up so nice that I figured the reel could not have been too used. I think it was just stored somewhere.

             This 16/O was probably sold at an estate sale and wound up on EBay when you and I saw it.

             After all was done, it actually turned out pretty nice.

I removed about a quarter mile of heavy Dacron line and I have it on a separate spool. The line is good and anyone that wants it is welcome to it. I will never put it back on the spool.


It all looks good and sure is different than your run of the mill Jaws reel.

By the way, the engraved name on the boat, Barhala, in the tail plate scene was the name of the Sport Fisherman owned by the family.

[Shark Hunter]

Wow Mike! Small world we live in!

[Tightlines667]

Yet another beautiful, one-of-a-kind treasure.
Small world indeed!

[Maxed Out]

      Very nice showpiece Mike.....that reel has found a good home and deservedly so.

[Penn Chronology]

Wow Mike! Small world we live in! Wink

I was surprised to see this reel noticed here. Actually I did not see it, Superhook saw it and let me know about it. Many times Ray is my eyes and ears on the internet. That is because my eyes and ears do not work as well as they used to.................... 

[Shark Hunter]

I used to troll wherever I could Mike looking for Senators. I am finally getting better. I had it Bad!
I still do, just not near as often. I've toned it down. glad you ended up with that reel.

[Penn Chronology]

               Actually, this 16/O is a modern reel for me. I know that is weird because this reel is over 50 years old. Most of the fishing I do does not require Senators. Big game to me is Striped Bass or Bluefish, so  Jigmaster's, a Long Beach or Squidder's are perfect for me. I am more likely to go light than heavy. I caught a 38 inch Striped Bass once on a very light rod using a Penn 10 level wind reel.

               I love casting to bluefish with my spinning tackle using braid. They don't break off and drag you all over. Occasionally they do break a rod, I guess something has give.

               But, when it comes to trolling online for vintage big game tackle for resale, rebuilding, studying the history of or collecting, then I am happy.
           
               I see big game fisherman as modern day adventurers. You battle the fish, the waters, the weather, the costs and whatever else gets in the way of landing a trophy fish that is very capable of doing heavy damage to you if you let your guard down for one moment. So, as all those thoughts start stirring around in my head, I go buy a big game reel I know nothing about and then I learn all the history I can about it.

               I do have one personal rule. My hobby supports my hobby. I could not do it any other way. I do not collect fishing reels to make money, but I have to break even in order to do it. That can be a challenge sometimes.

[Decker]

That is a beautiful sideplate!  I wonder what was the etching technique used?   If some machine shop genius on this site could figure out how to do that, it would open a whole other dimension for customization.