penn 49

[sturg]

             Hello fellow fishers I am a newbie to this site with limited experience rebuilding reels and would appreciate some advice.I like to fish sturgeon from shore.Most of the fish I catch are in the 3 to 6 ft range (30-100lbs)due to rocky/snaggy shoreline in my area it is necessary to cast 50 feet or more with a 12oz weight plus bait.Having tried many different reels from Avets to cheap Penn 330's and discovered The #49 penn is the perfect reel for this because of its fast retreive(weights get hung up on rocks near shore if you cant bring it in fast enough)line capacity and narrow spool for smooth casting.Levelwind reels wont work because i use braided/mono combination (mono having better abraision resistance)and the heavy mono causes frequent birds nests when casting.The 49 however has its problems namley the weak and jerky drag similar to the the 320/330gti and the fact that parts reels are hard to find where I live because of thier popularity with trollers.My questions are as follows:how much better are the carbonfibre drag washers and would they improve the jerkyness when cranked down?and secondly should I even be using this reel for 100+lb fish or am just destroying good trolling reels?

[Ron Jones]

If you search this forum you will find that this reel is discussed a lot. I think it is clearly an apropriate reel for what you are doing because it is working. You can do many things to this reel but to start switch to carbon fiber drags and by all means a stainless gear sleeve available from here from Alan or from Mysticparts.com. For casting I recomend looking for an aluminum spool. That and a good service with TSI and marine grease will get you going.

Ron

"Edited as per Moderators to correct Scott's Bait & Tackle over to their new store name Mystic Reel Parts / www.mysticparts.com"

[akfish]

The best thing you can do for a 49 is to fit it with greased carbon fiber drag washers -- Penn HT-100s work fine -- and if your reel does not have an aluminum spool, by all means get one. The steel and chromed brass spool are notorious for going out of round; in fact, this could be part of the reason for your drag feeling jerky. One catch is that the bridge assembly for an old steel spool 49 won't quite work with a new aluminum spool, so you'll either have to get a new bridge or do some serious filing on the bottom edge of the old bridge.

A steel gear sleeve helps a lot too, although you can get three brass gear sleeves for the price of one steel one so it might be cheaper to just plan on changing the gear sleeve after a few large fish.

The reality is that the 49 was not intended for 100 pound fish (it was originally designed for wire line trolling for salmon and trout) but people up here still use them for halibut. I sell quite a few rebuilt ones out of the shop.

[Alto Mare]

There are a few additional things you could do to that reel, some are listed here. Definitely not a job for beginners, but you have to start somewhere. If you wanted to give it a shot, go for it! In case you get stock, i'm here to help.
This one will handle a 100# fish.
http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=6197.msg60219#msg60219
I tested this reel and its doing just fine.
Sal

[sturg]

Thanks for all the replies.I will order a set of hts from Mikes.Which model came with the alum. spool ?Currently using the plastic one.Experiencing a lot of side play about 1/16" when I last assembled this reel the gear sleeve was tight and the post was firm in the bridge/plate that came from a donor reel with a broken sideplate
.Followed the Penn diagram upon reassembly and re-used the fibre washer between sleeve and main gear was tight and only played a few fish since so maybe it disinegrated.Not sure if the washer comes with the drag set.My first mariner lasted 3 seasons before post became loose in the bridge tightened it up using a brass rod in a vise and a steel
punch that held up till I found a donor reel.Hopefully with a smoother drag I can use this reel the rest of the season.Refuse to buy anything made in china again even though its probably more cost effective to just buy a 330 every couple years .My dream reel would be a large diameter narrow spool like the Penn 49 with bearings and a lever drag.Thanks again for replies will let you guys know how it goes. Curt

[Norcal Pescador]

The best thing you can do for a 49 is to fit it with greased carbon fiber drag washers -- Penn HT-100s work fine -- and if your reel does not have an aluminum spool, by all means get one. The steel and chromed brass spool are notorious for going out of round; in fact, this could be part of the reason for your drag feeling jerky.

Ditto.
I had a 49 with the steel/chrome spool and I improved the freespool and intermittent dragging with a lightweight (aluminum) spool. Loaded it with 40# mono. Very happy with it.

[alantani]

for the penn 49, i would switch out the brass gear sleeve for one made of stainless steel, then change out the drags to carbon fiber, and then add a larger handle grip.  you have a jigmaster gear sleeve in this reel, so figure 12 pound of drag and the maximum working drag for this reel.