I have a Penn 112h. It has a toppless tiburon frame, a steel gearsleeve, wet drag and a kolekar handle. I have been using the reel for 30lb duty and it works great. Do you think i would have any problems moving it up to 40lb live bait? I just love the way it casts and i seemed to use 40 alot on my trips this year. I presently have an upgraded 113h in the 40 slot
yes, you should be fine. the stainless steel gear sleeve should hold up under 15 #'s of drag with no problems at all. the stack of jigmaster drags will deliver a maximum of 15#'s if you crank down the star until it is vein popping tight. the gear teeth of the softer brass 4:1 penn main gear should also hold up under 15#'s of drag.
but, um, how about using 12#'s of drag as a max. that would be 30% of your 40# mono. also, you really should not use spectra on this reel. the reason is that the spectra will get caught inbetween the lip of the spool and the inner side plate ring. after it's all said and done, it really is a better 30# reel. you can spool it up with straight 30# mono, set the drags to 10#'s (33%) and your're good to go. alan