Penn Fathom vs. Shimano Torium

[Fish-aholic]

That AR bearing that is "fixed" is now my problem with my Penn Fathom. I have seen a tut where the bearing is "removed" with some force. A jewelers hammer and 10 socket. A bit tricky for my liking.

Other than the AR bearing I have not had a problem with the Abu style pawl yet.

I know the Toriums have the same "silent" Abu style pawls fitted, but we have overcome that problem with one of two mods.

1. The Trinidad DC pawl spring upgrade as per Alan Tani.
2. The small clicker spring under the pawl secure plate.(The part number eludes me at the moment)

What I found with the ambassadeur style dogs were, the dogs had been installed faulty/heavy handedly from the factory. I found the issue in two seperate reels (brand new) which had a preventative maintenance service before being fished with. It was easy enough to rectify as all I had to do was reposition the two friction sleeves pressed onto the dog. But still, the point is, if those reels didn't pass my hands, the AR would solely of been reliant on the AR bearing.

I don't know what model you have, but here's a link directing you to a Penn fathom 25LW which has a price list available for parts: http://www.ereplacementparts.com/penn-25lw-fathom-25lw-reel-parts-c-186082_186083_186095.html. Key #1 on the schematic shows a new right side plate assembly (already fitted with an AR bearing) priced just shy of $21. Usually a top quality AR bearing on it's own is not far off that price point, nevermind it coming with a new right side plate aswell. Makes you think? 

       

[Joker]

That AR bearing that is "fixed" is now my problem with my Penn Fathom. I have seen a tut where the bearing is "removed" with some force. A jewelers hammer and 10 socket. A bit tricky for my liking.

Other than the AR bearing I have not had a problem with the Abu style pawl yet.

I know the Toriums have the same "silent" Abu style pawls fitted, but we have overcome that problem with one of two mods.

1. The Trinidad DC pawl spring upgrade as per Alan Tani.
2. The small clicker spring under the pawl secure plate.(The part number eludes me at the moment)

What I found with the ambassadeur style dogs were, the dogs had been installed faulty/heavy handedly from the factory. I found the issue in two seperate reels (brand new) which had a preventative maintenance service before being fished with. It was easy enough to rectify as all I had to do was reposition the two friction sleeves pressed onto the dog. But still, the point is, if those reels didn't pass my hands, the AR would solely of been reliant on the AR bearing.

I don't know what model you have, but here's a link directing you to a Penn fathom 25LW which has a price list available for parts: http://www.ereplacementparts.com/penn-25lw-fathom-25lw-reel-parts-c-186082_186083_186095.html. Key #1 on the schematic shows a new right side plate assembly (already fitted with an AR bearing) priced just shy of $21. Usually a top quality AR bearing on it's own is not far off that price point, nevermind it coming with a new right side plate aswell. Makes you think? 

       

Thanks for the link.

It does make one think. Best I take my Penn Fathom 30 back to the shop and see if they will replace the side plate for me. Penn did that a few months after the fathoms were released in South Africa. I might be too late and as luck would have it, that receipt can't be found.

[Fish-aholic]

There's no harm in asking.

Did you by any chance take notice of what the bearings (#40 & #55) were priced at in the link I supplied? Shocked me! They cost more than a right side plate assembly.     

[CapeFish]

That AR bearing that is "fixed" is now my problem with my Penn Fathom. I have seen a tut where the bearing is "removed" with some force. A jewelers hammer and 10 socket. A bit tricky for my liking.

Other than the AR bearing I have not had a problem with the Abu style pawl yet.

I know the Toriums have the same "silent" Abu style pawls fitted, but we have overcome that problem with one of two mods.

1. The Trinidad DC pawl spring upgrade as per Alan Tani.
2. The small clicker spring under the pawl secure plate.(The part number eludes me at the moment)

What I found with the ambassadeur style dogs were, the dogs had been installed faulty/heavy handedly from the factory. I found the issue in two seperate reels (brand new) which had a preventative maintenance service before being fished with. It was easy enough to rectify as all I had to do was reposition the two friction sleeves pressed onto the dog. But still, the point is, if those reels didn't pass my hands, the AR would solely of been reliant on the AR bearing.

I don't know what model you have, but here's a link directing you to a Penn fathom 25LW which has a price list available for parts: http://www.ereplacementparts.com/penn-25lw-fathom-25lw-reel-parts-c-186082_186083_186095.html. Key #1 on the schematic shows a new right side plate assembly (already fitted with an AR bearing) priced just shy of $21. Usually a top quality AR bearing on it's own is not far off that price point, nevermind it coming with a new right side plate aswell. Makes you think? 

       

Thanks for the link.

It does make one think. Best I take my Penn Fathom 30 back to the shop and see if they will replace the side plate for me. Penn did that a few months after the fathoms were released in South Africa. I might be too late and as luck would have it, that receipt can't be found.

Joker, they should do it, I took mine in and they swapped out the entire side plate. Hopefully in summer I can put this reel through it's paces as it is a nice reel but I am worried it may be a bit soft

[Joker]

That AR bearing that is "fixed" is now my problem with my Penn Fathom. I have seen a tut where the bearing is "removed" with some force. A jewelers hammer and 10 socket. A bit tricky for my liking.

Other than the AR bearing I have not had a problem with the Abu style pawl yet.

I know the Toriums have the same "silent" Abu style pawls fitted, but we have overcome that problem with one of two mods.

1. The Trinidad DC pawl spring upgrade as per Alan Tani.
2. The small clicker spring under the pawl secure plate.(The part number eludes me at the moment)

What I found with the ambassadeur style dogs were, the dogs had been installed faulty/heavy handedly from the factory. I found the issue in two seperate reels (brand new) which had a preventative maintenance service before being fished with. It was easy enough to rectify as all I had to do was reposition the two friction sleeves pressed onto the dog. But still, the point is, if those reels didn't pass my hands, the AR would solely of been reliant on the AR bearing.

I don't know what model you have, but here's a link directing you to a Penn fathom 25LW which has a price list available for parts: http://www.ereplacementparts.com/penn-25lw-fathom-25lw-reel-parts-c-186082_186083_186095.html. Key #1 on the schematic shows a new right side plate assembly (already fitted with an AR bearing) priced just shy of $21. Usually a top quality AR bearing on it's own is not far off that price point, nevermind it coming with a new right side plate aswell. Makes you think? 

       

Thanks for the link.

It does make one think. Best I take my Penn Fathom 30 back to the shop and see if they will replace the side plate for me. Penn did that a few months after the fathoms were released in South Africa. I might be too late and as luck would have it, that receipt can't be found.

Joker, they should do it, I took mine in and they swapped out the entire side plate. Hopefully in summer I can put this reel through it's paces as it is a nice reel but I am worried it may be a bit soft

Don't worry that it will be too soft. Some of the okes have been using their 30's for some good Bronzies on throw baits. Those Bronzies were all under 60kg though

I don't know, and would like to know how the 30's are going to hold up to a good sized fish.

[Joker]

There's no harm in asking.

Did you by any chance take notice of what the bearings (#40 & #55) were priced at in the link I supplied? Shocked me! They cost more than a right side plate assembly.     

Yep. I saw the cost involved. Now that our currency has dropped to ±R10 to the $ it will work out quite a penny.

Best I take it back to the store before its too late.

[CapeFish]

The 30 is just a slightly narrower than the 40 so it just has less line capacity so the only thing that will happen is you will get spooled quicker on the 30. The pressure a big fish puts on the reel is crazy though and it often takes an hr or more to bring them in, that's what makes me worry that's when the flaws or poor quality materials make themselves known.

[jonathan.han]

have you looked at the shimano tld star 15/30?  http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=17.0

I second this recommendation. When Alan kept telling me to buy them as he watched me servicing my lever drag gear throughout the season, I insisted I felt more confident with levers, but I've changed through the many days I've devoted to the water annually. I love my 5 TLD Stars which I use for commercial rod/reel for local California halibut and seabass. I do use my fancy lever drag reel still, but I still rely on those TLD Stars and have hardly found any serious issues when I service other people's TLD STars. I would outfit the charterboat with 20 of them, but the current arsenal of 24 Penn 320s does make it easy for the fisherman who has a hardtime using a reel without a levelwind particularly when trolling for local salmon and dropping 20-30 fathoms for groundfish species.

I was given a Squall 30LDlb to field test. I filled it with braided line/PE/spectra/whatever-makes-it sound good and a top shot of 35 or 40lb. It was a nice reel, but the only thing I didn't like about it was the length of the lever. THe shorter throw (length) of the lever makes adjustability a bit less than ideal when compared to most other lever reels on the market.

The Speedmasters and TLD Stars are solid reels with sound design and durability features that have proven themselves over and over.