Old Penn Senator fishing reels?
Anyone else enjoy them?
I have a strange fascination with old gear of all sorts. I love using old tools, old guns, and now, old fishing reels.
A friend of mine asked if I could fix his fathers old reel and I said id try. It turns out to be a vintage Penn Senator 14/0. A truly mammoth example of retro style and USA quality craftsmanship. It is a beauty and got me to thinking I would like to own something like that. Then I started thinking, I bet that thing can be put back into service?... so I did some looking on the net and sure enough folks restore them, modify them and still use the old senators to ketch serious fish to this day.
So I started looking on E bag for a few old Penn senators for my self. I decided on the 3/0 size as it will work best for my intended uses. (Catfish, carp, sharks, stingray, halibut, striper.) Honestly I could have gone with a number 2/0 because I use braid and its small diameter allows for a lot more vs mono on any given spool. A few reasons I went with the #3/0 is, one. The number 2/0 are much more rare. Two, The #2/0 never was made in a "special high speed" edition. Three, the 2/0 was not built as a surf/big game reel and so the drag system is not up to par for my plans.
:steering:
My plan is to dissamble both reels, clean, inspect and polish all the bright work. Then i will use the heavy duty frame of the black senator with the high speed gear set out of the red reel. The "special" part is the red side plates hold roller bearings vs the black plates use bushings.
So, my plan is to build a high speed, roller bearing reel in the heavy duty case. Use all best looking bright work and have one bad ***, high speed, ultra tough vintage surf casting reel.
I plan to mount that reel to a brand new, high end 13 foot surf casting rod. Im gonna take that babby out to the jetty, put 8oz of lead on, some fresh cut bate and rip that sucker WAY out into the channel.
Turn on the old bait clicker and sit back in my lawn char with a beer and wait.
Click...... click
Click
..click click
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
:thumbsup:
Anyone else enjoy them?
I have a strange fascination with old gear of all sorts. I love using old tools, old guns, and now, old fishing reels.
A friend of mine asked if I could fix his fathers old reel and I said id try. It turns out to be a vintage Penn Senator 14/0. A truly mammoth example of retro style and USA quality craftsmanship. It is a beauty and got me to thinking I would like to own something like that. Then I started thinking, I bet that thing can be put back into service?... so I did some looking on the net and sure enough folks restore them, modify them and still use the old senators to ketch serious fish to this day.
So I started looking on E bag for a few old Penn senators for my self. I decided on the 3/0 size as it will work best for my intended uses. (Catfish, carp, sharks, stingray, halibut, striper.) Honestly I could have gone with a number 2/0 because I use braid and its small diameter allows for a lot more vs mono on any given spool. A few reasons I went with the #3/0 is, one. The number 2/0 are much more rare. Two, The #2/0 never was made in a "special high speed" edition. Three, the 2/0 was not built as a surf/big game reel and so the drag system is not up to par for my plans.
:steering:
My plan is to dissamble both reels, clean, inspect and polish all the bright work. Then i will use the heavy duty frame of the black senator with the high speed gear set out of the red reel. The "special" part is the red side plates hold roller bearings vs the black plates use bushings.
So, my plan is to build a high speed, roller bearing reel in the heavy duty case. Use all best looking bright work and have one bad ***, high speed, ultra tough vintage surf casting reel.
I plan to mount that reel to a brand new, high end 13 foot surf casting rod. Im gonna take that babby out to the jetty, put 8oz of lead on, some fresh cut bate and rip that sucker WAY out into the channel.
Turn on the old bait clicker and sit back in my lawn char with a beer and wait.
Click...... click
Click
..click click
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
:thumbsup:
