Any disadvantage with older reels?

[Regor]

Hello all, First time poster here.

If an older reel (and gear) is still in good working condition, am I disadvantaged because I may not have some new technology?

Why? I was left my father-in-laws old gear when he passed 13 years ago. 4 tackle boxes full of gear, and an old 6-pack cooler with 4 reels stored in it.

I have used an abundance of the freshwater lures/etc over the years, but I am just now getting into fishing from the yak in Saltwater.

Reels:
Penn 65
Penn Delmar 285

Ocean City 112
Ocean City 905

Thx

[Jimmyz123]

If it works and you haven't any problems with it I can't see how that would be a problem. I still use my Penn jigmasters regularly. Sure there are many advancements with the newer reels and rods, but I have been outfished and I have outfished people with older gear. It's not the rod and the reel, it's the person using them.

[ken aguilar]

I'm with Jimmy, if it works it works!!! Plus I think vintage gear is cool!

[Oolie]

no disadvantage if they're well maintained, and if the drag is bad, you can always upgrade the drags.

the only difference is that newer reels have quicker gear ratios, which isn't always important.

i've landed a thirty pound yellow on a shimano tld5, with really rough gears, and i've also landed my first legal wsb on an old ass rod.

the reason old reels work when they're worn out was that they were designed with clearance in mind.

the same reason that newer engines run on thinner oil.

[Nic D]

I stand corrected,,,

thanks Jerimiah

[-scallywag-]

I'm only familiar with the two penn reels and they are really undergunned for targeting trophy pelagics....small drags and low gear raitos (2.5:1 and 4:1) are probably better for catfish, rockfish or maybe halibut in the bay.

modern engineering, machining and materials have made it possible to have much stronger reels in the same size, but lighter package. My favorite budget kayak reels (under 120 new) for LJ are the Sealine 30,40,50/ penn 535, 545,555/ shimano TLD star and the TLD 15 leverdrag...all can be found used for $60-80.

I would also stay away from the older penn 500/501's although alot of guys swear by them....they are just not built to fish 40lb mono or the braided lines we use and they are very close to the price of the other reels I mentioned. They make good sabiki reels tho!

[Regor]

Thanks all. Interesting replies as a whole.

Taking into account my experience, my gear, the wide array of fish in the area, I think I'll try and plan some of my first salt trips by targeting small anyway, and leave the big boys for all those experienced yakers out there

I'm sure as I learn and get some experience under my belt, I'll make that jump up and either try my gear on something bigger, or grab a reel a little more suitable.

[Jimmyz123]

Check out E-bay and some of the listings on here for some reels and rods to upgrade to. I have bought a lot of good gear lately for not too much money. I bought a nice TLD20 for $65 loaded with 65# braid. That's not a bad deal right there.

[stairman]

Originally Posted by -scallywag-

I'm only familiar with the two penn reels and they are really undergunned for targeting trophy pelagics....small drags and low gear raitos (2.5:1 and 4:1) are probably better for catfish, rockfish or maybe halibut in the bay.

modern engineering, machining and materials have made it possible to have much stronger reels in the same size, but lighter package. My favorite budget kayak reels (under 120 new) for LJ are the Sealine 30,40,50/ penn 535, 545,555/ shimano TLD star and the TLD 15 leverdrag...all can be found used for $60-80.

I would also stay away from the older penn 500/501's although alot of guys swear by them....they are just not built to fish 40lb mono or the braided lines we use and they are very close to the price of the other reels I mentioned. They make good sabiki reels tho!

Stay away from jigmasters?That reel has caught ten times as many 40 # yellow tail and 50 # tuna then all the two speeds combined!
They are not for 20# or less and they need to be maintained but I have a couple that are 30 years old and I still use them.I ahve caught yft to 65 pounds on a 501 .....baited right back up and caught five more that day betwwen 35 and 55.....but you go right ahead and shine that 250$ reel and send it to the man at the factory for a forty dollar rebuild every year.
I also own the cool new reels but disrespecting the jigmaster is like calling me a washed up old man(even if i am)....the nerve of some people!
(i would have used the sarcasm font in some places here but i couldn't find it)

[Oolie]

i still think old tackle works fine.

depending on what you're doing though, if you're trying to horse a yellow out of the edge of a kelp line on braid, an old reel probably isn't up to the task, but if you're just doing some open water, give it a shot, cause trial and error will help you figure out if it's gonna work or not.

[Dean Machine]

Yep, jig masters do the job just fine. I know, they are not shiny. If you can't catch a large fish on a jig master I dont know what to say. They are SUPER easy to mainain. This is a MAJOR bonus when considering a reel. I have come to be very fond of this reel despite my first impressions before I actually used it and caught big fish with it. I have abused it compared to what I do with other reels and it hasn't complained yet.

Of course there will always be something better out there that we all think we need sometimes but its not always necessary. When I bought my extreme kayak it seemed to be the kayak that everyone wanted, now it seems like if I wanted to sell it I would have a tough time, but it works for me for now. Now all the hype is hobie, but I don't think that will be my next kayak (nothing against hobies) because now I have enough experience to know what works best for me.

After a while you will figure out what works and what doesn't and what is worth a little extra money but you've got to start somewhere and I don't recommend going out and buying all the hype. Try to spend aslittle as possible and fish as much as possible and you will be fine. At least try fishing with your reels for awhile and see what you like and don't like about them before upgrading. You'll be better prepared to find what will work best for you.

Good luck fishing.

[T-Rex]

The Penns will work fine and they're easy to maintain. I had a Penn 65 Long Beach for years and caught lots of big fish with it. I still use my Penn 500 and 505 Jigmasters on the yak. That said, new reels do work a lot better - more power, better drags, tighter tolerances in a smaller & lighter package.

Don't know much about the Ocean City reels except they've been out of production for a loooong time. Like Penns, they're probably easy to maintain, but good luck finding parts!

[MalibuJohnny]

Originally Posted by Regor

Hello all, First time poster here.

If an older reel (and gear) is still in good working condition, am I disadvantaged because I may not have some new technology?

Why? I was left my father-in-laws old gear when he passed 13 years ago. 4 tackle boxes full of gear, and an old 6-pack cooler with 4 reels stored in it.

I have used an abundance of the freshwater lures/etc over the years, but I am just now getting into fishing from the yak in Saltwater.

Reels:
Penn 65
Penn Delmar 285

Ocean City 112
Ocean City 905

Thx

That's some real cool stuff...clean em and put them somewhere so you can take em out once in awhile...

I have used PENN Reels as long as I can remember ( I even have a 12'o a 10.o and a 6.o they must be over 4o years old)...never really wanting to spend big $ on reel I would wash after every use or have to spend big $ to have tme serviced. But to each thier own!

Beside that I wouldn't like to post here asking if anyone found my $350.00 reel in the surf...

Still use the first one I got at the pawn shop...real dark side plates, orange handle, Newelled out!

Anyway check out these reels http://www.fishingfury.com/dream-reels/

[taggermike]

If the older gear works then keep on killing fish with it. Just make sure the drags are replaced on time to keep things smooth. I keep telling my self that when my old Newells and original Daiwa sealine finally die I'll replace them with some thing more modern. Except my old reels just keep on keeping on. I landed a 35lb YT on Tuesday with an original black and blue Daiwa SL30 that I bought used for $20 about 10 years ago. The old reel performed flawlessly. Keep using your old gear until you need to get new gear. Mike

[young mola]

ive got an older squidder that i just converted to a 146 via accurate frame and spool and upgraded the drags and bearings (thanks ebay) the thing is so smoothe and sweet now, although for the money i spent on it i probably could have gotten nicer a new reel

[Fiskadoro]

Originally Posted by Regor

Reels:Penn 65 Penn Delmar 285 Ocean City 112
Ocean City 905

All these reels are ancient, essentially antiques, built over half a century ago and they were the low end reels even back then when new.

They are all geared very slow 2.5 to 1 vrs the 4.9 to 1 and 6 to one gear ratios we use now.

These are not like Jigmasters or Squidders, which were considered high end performance reels in their day, these reels older cheaper reels, just one step above direct drive knuckle busters of the 1920s.

The Long beach 65 was introduced in 1941 it's advantages back in the day was fairly light in weight and that it could hold a lot of line, and they were cheap. It has a weak drag, only a 2.5 to one gear ratio, and it's frame is very susceptible to twisting with lines over 30lb.


I used to use these surf fishing for sharks in that surf back in Texas as kid back in 1973, because you could buy them cheap for around twenty bucks.

This reel is too slow for iron, and not tough enough for spectra. In theory you could buy the newest drags for it you can get, fill it with straight thirty mono and you could slow troll macks with it for seabass and yellows. That said it's the bottom of the barrel, as far as choices go today.

Still Penn made those reels for fifty years for a reason. They can actually catch fish. I've landed hundred pound+ fish in the surf on a long beach 65, using my thumb instead of the drag to stop them, and for you with the choices you laid out it's the best reel of the bunch. The only one worth putting line on IMO.

I have one of these still, but haven't fished it in thirty years, and wouldn't even consider fishing it for anything other then rockfish. That said with straight thirty mono, new bearings and a new set of drags you could land fish with it.

The Delmar is a museum piece with un-reinforced plastic side plates, and copper bushings instead of bearings. I think it had a 2 to 1 gear ratio.



It's big claim to fame in the day was that is had a three piece brass spool and therefore could fish mono. The previous version had a bake lite type plastic spool that would split if you put mono on it, this one is the M version named for it's metal spool.

It predates the 65, and is weaker all around with less drag (leather if I remember correctly), and has a very weak foot to side plate connection with only four screws through brittle bakelite type plastic side plates.

You could in theory use it for rockfish, but if you put any pressure on the sixty year old sideplates are just going to crack, and it will fall apart.

I have one of these and never have fished it. I thought about it: took it apart and cleaned it, but the side plate cracked when I tightened the screws for the reel foot. Just not worth it IMO, if you hook a good fish you will probably have something go wrong with this reel.

The Ocean City reels were a cheaper alternative to the early Penns. Here's a 112..



They were considered junk even way back in the seventies, now you can buy them on ebay for three to five bucks. Too few spacer bars, four screws in the reel foot, bushings not bearings, these reels tend to distort and seize if you hook anything big with them. You could I suppose use one as a sabiki (bait) reel. I'd just toss them in the trash.

Almost anything built after 1970 will blow all those reels away. I personally wouldn't even consider trying to upgrade the 65.

Buy some used Penn jigmasters and you will be much better off, as with them you have a decent chance of actually landing the fish you hook.

Jim

[Regor]

Thanks all !

Jim - you've got some good history there. I can not get out to try anything till this weekend or later.

Will probably clean all of them up the best I can, and at least fish with the Penn, while displaying the rest as a historical remembrance to my father-in-law who fished a lot with these reels.

[Oolie]

i had no idea the reels were that horrible back then.

you could just get a couple penn 500s, you'll live.

btw, that tld5 with the rough gears i mentioned earlier killed another fish today