Colored Penn Help

TongassFisher · March 28, 2018, 05:40:50 PM

Is there such a thing as a inexpensive colored reel? I am putting together a shelf to display my reels in our house, most everything I have gets fished. I thought it might be fun to add a few spotted, or brighter colored older Penn reels to the display. I just ordered a Penn 78 that has the spotted maroon coloring for $12 shipped. Not bad! Are there any other models that won't break the bank? I could do roughly $50-$100 give or take? That excludes me from any of the colored monofils. Mo and Ted have posted some beauties in the past i believe they were long beach models. I've looked on ebay but am not seeing anything which leads me to believe they are very rare and mucho $$$

I'm up for any model especially if it's salmon worthy. Is this a pipe dream?

Any guidance would be much appreciated!

mo65 · March 28, 2018, 07:15:21 PM

There are a few colored reels you can pick up cheap...but not many. The 85 Seaboy is plentiful in the brown/black mottled finish. Mottled Longbeaches are a lot harder to find. In that $50-$100 range you should be able to find the colored Monofils, but they won't be mint. I don't see why any of these reels couldn't be Salmon fished, if properly serviced, and especially if hopped up a bit. What you will find on fleabay varies from week to week. Some weeks it's a drought, others a goldmine, just keep your eyes peeled.

Vintage Offshore Tackle · March 28, 2018, 07:54:50 PM

Trevor, I have gray 25s and green 26s in that price range, even cheaper if you could use display only reels.

Swami805 · March 28, 2018, 08:55:47 PM

I fish 27 monofils with 20lb off the pier should be fine for salmon unless you need a ton of line capacity. Painfully slow gears though. The one I use was my fathers "steelhead" reel he loved it for that back in the day

TongassFisher · March 28, 2018, 09:22:07 PM

thanks everyone for the responses.

How about mottled spools, they seem harder to come by as well. I found a Penn 160 with a mottled spool that looked pretty interesting. Are mottled spool rare and collectable?

Thanks,

Trevor

Swami805 · March 28, 2018, 10:11:58 PM

They could be depending on the model and so forth. If I'm not mistaken I think Moe has one of the nicest mottled penns I've ever seen. If you search here they are some good threads about the hows and whys of mottling.
A lot of those colored monofils have been on ebay for a long time for crazy money. I'm sure Randy has a few nice ones and it's not a pig in a poke like ebay.

mo65 · March 29, 2018, 02:55:58 AM

The Swami is right...some of that eBay stuff is definitely a pig in a poke! Just wade through it. I have bought my colored Monofils there, but I bought reels that weren't shined up with Armor All and over priced. It takes time, but crusty potential shows up. As long as the plastic is right, all the rest can be replaced. Monofil chrome ain't scare, just the plastic is. There's no free lunch though, after paying $50ish for a decent reel and buying all the chrome it's easy to spend $100 on a colored Monofil. Ahh...but the end result is easy on the eyes.
Don't forget there are some colored 85 Seaboys floating around out there too. All kinds of colors show up...red, orange, tan, white...and colored spools too! You mentioned a 160 with a mottled spool. That can make a sweet looking reel, I did this 150, and it just feels great in your hands. The spare Aluminum spool is there if I decide to take it fishing.

Swami805 · March 29, 2018, 03:36:00 AM

Dang Moe, that's a beauty with one of Lou's knob to match.
Moe's right about the monofils colored plates, as long as the plastic parts are good replacing the shiny parts won't cost much. You can put the funky parts on the donor and fish it or put it back on ebay and get some $ back.
really all about persistence and keeping you're eyes peeled.

Swami805 · March 29, 2018, 03:44:34 AM

Here's a few off eBay that we're the bottom end of your range. The narrow grey one had junk chrome but me being me I put a Newell kit on it but another few bucks for some fresh chrome parts would. Make a nice shelfie

TongassFisher · March 29, 2018, 04:01:28 AM

Quote from: Swami805 on March 29, 2018, 03:44:34 AM
Here's a few off eBay that we're the bottom end of your range. The narrow grey one had junk chrome but me being me I put a Newell kit on it but another few bucks for some fresh chrome parts would. Make a nice shelfie

Wow those are some lookers!

Whats that red colored reel?

I appreciate all the good info Swami

TongassFisher · March 29, 2018, 04:12:19 AM

Mo, that was the reel that got me going on the mottled spools. I looked for that post today but missed it somehow. Thanks again for re Posting the pictures, what a resto!

So the 160 was sold when I went back to find it, if I remember correctly the buy it now price was $35 it was the exact same black plates with the same color mottled spool. I should probably have just snagged it, oh well I'll find something else to play with.

Trevor

Swami805 · March 29, 2018, 04:41:19 AM

That's a 27 monofil with rose plates, the picture isn't the greatest. Pretty sure that one's never had line on it and I got lucky due to poor pictures by the seller, it didn't look like much so it didn't get much attention.

mo65 · March 29, 2018, 05:52:09 AM

I scored a Grey 25 Monofil about a month ago. Haven't had time to work on it yet, this is the condition it arrived in. Basically unused, but someone had it on a rod, because they filed the stand to make it fit.(not visible in pic) The plates and spool are dirty, need a good wash, but aside from the buggered stand and dirty plates it's near mint. The first shot is the eBay photo...sheesh...maybe this scared off the other buyers. I really rolled the dice on this one, but I came out a winner at $60 shipped. The second pic I just took a few minutes ago to prove you can find a nice Monofil if you shop a while. 2 years in my case!

Keta · March 29, 2018, 01:52:29 PM

Nice score Mo!!!

I have been wanting a green Monofil 27 for years but the prices are crazy high.

TongassFisher · March 29, 2018, 02:39:12 PM

Man! 2 years is quite a while but wow $60 for that seems like a great deal!

A very nice AT member messaged me with a few links to mottled spool Penns! I'm going to try and snag one but can't decide! Off topic but does a Tani stainless 209 sleeve fit a Penn 180?

I'm doing a stock resto on a maroon Monofil 26 right now, it's quite corroded on the outside but looks unfished from the inside. Have all the chrome parts soaking in simple green right now, we will see how bad the damage is.