Good Afternoon Everyone, I am new here, and I live in Virginia near VA Beach.
I have a older Penn No. 49 Deep Sea Reel. It was a family friends years ago and basically just let it at my house and has never wanted it back. I purchased my first boat last summer, 2003 Key West 2300 CC and have been fished almost every weekend last summer until new years. I am finally getting back on the water and trying to build up my selection of equipment. I am now rebuilding that No49.
I took everything apart this morning and did a super deep clean, and am now ready to reassemble. After stumbling upon this forum, I have put a plan together, and wanted to see what you guys see/recommend.
I will be mainly using it for trolling for Rockfish, most of the ones i catch are under 36", and trolling for Spanish Mackeral. I am sure I will use it here and there for other situations. And I will more than likely be using braid. I use spider wire camo braid in 50-65lb with a 40lb fluorocarbon leader when trolling.
I will be reassembling the reel with carbontex drag washers, will buy new metal drag washer, also, it looks like the way to go is a carbontex or OEM 113 washer under the main gear? what else do you recommend? and what are the parts # for what I listed?
Again, I am looking to improve the reel and get a better overall product, but not looking to modify the reel, I have seen some very impressive medications, but not anything that I am looking to do.
Once you upgrade the drag with Carbontex washers, you're probably set as long the rest of the reel is in good shape. The reel will handle 30# and 40# lines pretty well. The aluminum spool makes it a better reel because the older steel spools go out of round frequently, especially when used with mono. If you wanted to go all out, you could add a steel gear sleeve and upgraded handle, but in my opinion a stock 49 with carbon fiber drag washers is a very fishable reel.
I agree with AKfish. You are good to go.
Assuming the brass gear sleeve is solid and the handle has no play, you can fish that reel with 40# for yonks. I would be tempted to put a nicer handle on it depending on what it has now. One of the Jigmaster or 112H power handles would go well.
If the handle is loose at all, I would get a new gear sleeve. You could do just fine with brass, but the stainless ones are lovely. I recommend fine threads regardless and either a 66 or 505 star, which are larger than what you have now. With the height of that reel, a clamp is great insurance.
Can't wait to see pictures of the fish you catch!
The Man
What they said ;D Bill
Welcome to the forum !! Congrats on your new boat
IMHO, Carbontex for an under the gear friction washer is not the smoothest option.
I'd use a derlin washer under the main gear. Much smoother thru the drag range, and will last longer too
Ted
What these guys^^^^say. I still fish the 49's for Florida Grouper and Cape Cod Bass and Blues. If you (probably) do not have the aluminum spool a braid dacron backing would be wise, maybe 50 or 80 test. Most shops don't carry the dac any more, so get it online. The lower lever that disconnects the anti reverse can be injurious if a big fish hits with the anti disconnected hence the term knuckle buster. Whenever I have doubts about the abilities of my guests I tie off that lever with a little twine to the cross post "locking" the reel into the anti reverse mode. Good capable reels, hi speed, like a skinny 6/0 Special senator. Keep the bushings lubed.
The part numbers are in schematic when you go to Mystic parts to order. Normally there is a key for full drag washer set, metals, carbontex and undergear. Just get the kit- cheaper and simply easy. The 49 is a cool reel- not for everyone, it's a specialty niche- which exacty suits your purpose. I just loaded one with dacron and added a massive handle from Ted (Maxed Out, above) for a kite / teaser reel. i have others for leadcore and wire striper trolling. The 24-49 handle you have is the largest non-power or counterbalanced handle. They are very nice and sought after, but I agree with the others that a 24-56 powerhandle is great here, or one of the custom options available on the forum. I don't think the 24-112 (3/0) is going to gain you much. Dimensionally and grip-wise, it's barely different from a 24-49 with the counter balance end cut off.
One more thought: If you are thinking of upgrading the spool to aluminum, think about it carefully: To use the newer aluminum spool in an older model 49, you also need a new bridge or be willing to do some serious grinding of the bottom edge of the bridge. Note too that aluminum spools and bridges are quite expensive these days since the reel has been discontinued for about 20 years.
Thanks everyone for the input! Very bad photos, as I am rebuilding the reel now. But this is what my reel, and handle look like! I will definitely be updating to the new style of drag washer. Not too sure about the power handle yet, but will definitely look into them!
Also, where would I want to look for to find a stainless steel gear sleeve? I have seen videos online of people installing them. Looks like all that I would need to do is punch the pin out, install a new sleeve and new pin? No modifications or other parts needed other than that?
Also, I believe my spool is steel with chrome on it?
prolly chrome over brass. when you order drag kit, look for the SS aftermarket sleeve in the same part listing. it will designated as such, prolly with a prefix of AT, CC, PC (all members here).
Also, Is the aluminum spool worth it? I see it is $45 on mystic, which doesn't bother me, just didn't know if it is worth it? What does it improve? Sorry for being so green about this lol.
trolling in a rod holder to catch a few fish a day isn't going to tire you out by not having alum. spool, if yours works. for another ten bucks you could prolly find another 49, complete. I have both, no impact, in the way you intend to use. What i wouldn't do, is spool straight mono on any three piece spool, without 20-30 yards of dacron on it. braid works too, just tape the arbor so it won't slip
Early 50's reel, has numbers and a notched reel clamp.
Quote from: Landon94 on April 12, 2021, 05:56:47 PM
Also, Is the aluminum spool worth it? I see it is $45 on mystic, which doesn't bother me, just didn't know if it is worth it? What does it improve? Sorry for being so green about this lol.
I am as green as they come too, but that stock spool I believe is chrome over bronze. One of the best advantages with aluminum is the weight savings, it is quite a bit lighter.
Using mostly wire line the chromed bronze is fine but a full spool of mono could spread out and wreck the spool, if I have been paying attention in class.
Rob
All good advice above, and you probably already know this but since I didn't see it mentioned - Cal's Grease or equivalent for those drags! yes, dry CF drags will work, but there are Terrabytes of info here on the forum about the benefits of Cal's. Seems like a minor thing, but REALLY makes a difference - you will not be sorry. - john
Afternoon guys, I rebuilt my reel tonight with the new drag washers and under main gear washer. It functions 100x better/smoother which is amazing!
However, the drag only has around 1/2 turn of adjustment and is tight! Any ideas? Didn't know if my under main gear washer is to thick?
Let me know your thoughts.
Could be a few things - here are the easy ones: Do you still have the old factory drag stack, and can you compare stack height with the new stack? It is not uncommon for an aftermarket stack to be different (both taller or short, and it doesn't have to be much) and require some adjustments to be made. Also one common "Doh" (but you will get very little drag pressure out of the reel) is if that top "eared" washer sneaks out of the main gear grooves on assembly and ends up sitting on top of the gear. It's easy to miss if you don't know to look for it. Let us know, we will get you through this. - john
If everything works fine and you're just looking for finer adjustment you could try a fine thread gear sleeve