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.



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

I called my pastor years 5-6 years ago on my birthday after I was Baptized. He had been transferred but we still kept in touch. I gave him a 4-5 piece bamboo fly rod and he was so excited. Even more so when I handed it to him when we met for lunch. My buddy has been trying to sell me a i think Penn fishing rod. He bought several many years ago and they are brand new. I’m a budget fisherman too so they are out of my budget but I hear they are very nice. Not positive the are Penn Rods but they are name brand from years ago.

cool i love fishing

since about 90% of my fishing gear is in the back shed and accessible to the kids ive made a point of only buying the spincast types
they seem to be a little less quick to get tangled then the open reels

diymirage said:

cool i love fishing

since about 90% of my fishing gear is in the back shed and accessible to the kids ive made a point of only buying the spincast types
they seem to be a little less quick to get tangled then the open reels

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Ayeeee the yards and yards of extra line I had to spool out to rid my Penn from those casting rat's nests
They were sure good at draggin' Bonita and Barycudas back to the boat though.

I've got at least four of them that I use on the beach and off the boat when we are in Florida. I always make sure to back the drag off and wash them down good when I get home. Caught some pretty big fish, rays, and sharks with them and they don't complain. When I lived in Santa Rosa I used them for Ling Cod and Halibut, but reeling up from 350-400 feet was a PITA. Nothing like fresh, killed that day halibut! I miss Northern CA but you couldn't pay me enough to live there again

The only Penn I've had the slightest trouble is my little 965 that got beat up sometime ago. The bigger ones have been bulletproof. I think I picked this one up in the 80s. Awesome for dropping 20oz of lead down with a year old , freezer burned salmon fillet, 500' and yarding up a flatty. The locals all used electric reels. I'm still using this for sharks in the gulf 10 years later. I'd bet many of those electric ones are toast.

Always liked the narrow spooled Penns, easier to guide the line back on evenly.
Was there one called "Sailfisher" ?

@diymirage


Pm me.

Those are cool old reels! Fishing is my go to now. I could never get the hang of them, but I honestly didnt invest a lot of time in them. Always used a spincaster. Mitchell was my 1st quality one as a young kid.
Caught this today.

When I was younger 12-16 my stepdad was an avid ocean fisherman. We would fish the California coast twice a month or so for 2 or 3 days at a time. He swore by penn gold reels. He had every size, shape, color, imaginable. Man that brings back good fishing memories. I spent some good times behind a penn reel.

4spdragtop said:

Those are cool old reels! Fishing is my go to now. I could never get the hang of them, but I honestly didnt invest a lot of time in them. Always used a spincaster. Mitchell was my 1st quality one as a young kid.
Caught this today.

View attachment 1715755933

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So. Long story short. I got an extra casting reel. I dissembled, cleaned and polished it as best I could.
You care to give a conventional reel another try?

I got one for ya, no cost. ( you gotta have it spooled up with your choice of line but the reel and shipping is payed for already.
Let us know if you want it and its yours.

When I get bored or depressed I buy something, usually tools. I finally bought my fishing license last week and around this time last year I caught 26 bass in 2.5 hours. I took my sons fishing stuff and talked him into stopping as he drove right by there on his way for work. He caught 8-10 bass in an hour. We had a blast. Now I’m looking at fishing stuff to buy. Lol

Thank you! VERY GENEROUS of you. I have an oldie here from Dad. Not the quality of yours, but if I'm so inclined I could try it. I've been going "thru" rods n reels lately....so I just bought a new Shimano setup. Nothing extravagant but I've had great luck so far!
Thank you again, pass it forward to someone less fortunate then me, or a young gun?

Cope said:

So. Long story short. I got an extra casting reel. I dissembled, cleaned and polished it as best I could.
You care to give a conventional reel another try?

I got one for ya, no cost. ( you gotta have it spooled up with your choice of line but the reel and shipping is payed for already.
Let us know if you want it and its yours.

Click to expand...

That Direct Drive Shakespeare needs to be on the mantel. That is a nice set up. It wont cast for spit but it is very nice.
The direct drive is just what it says the handle and spool spin as one. Lots friction in the system=not good for casting.

Someone sent me your name in a PM.

Shoot me a PM.

If you are into watching youtube disassembly repair videos this guy's tackle repair channel is really enjoyable.