The Spoonpluggers Forum

I've been looking at some Penn 109 reels on e-bay. I have a question that I'm sure somebody could answer. I have 4 Penn's, 109's and 9's. They all have black sideplates. Ebay has 109's with black sides, green sides, and red sides, and they are all 109's. What is the difference. Some are advertised as for salt-water. What is the deal there. Would somebody shed some light here please. thanks. Lakes here in Minn have hard water now, can't wait for spring. "Jim O." [/list]

I bought several 109's on Ebay. Depending on how old they are, they have been produced in several colors like you mentioned. Also the handles can vary in color too. The only thing that has changed on these reels in the last 60 years is the color and more recently they changed the spools from metal to graphite.

Jim

Thanks spoonplugger for the information. I thought that they were all the same basically. Thanks.

Also be aware the the foot of the reel that fits into the rod handle. I found out too late that there are differant sizes.

Don't do what I did and buy 20 reels and more than half of them won't fit into Buck's rod.

What you can do with the 109's or any brand for that matter, is either build up the "foot" with tape or something. If the foot is to large then just grind it down until it fits.

Or,,,, if you want you can send me all of those no good reels and I'll get rid of them for you

Hello Jim! Another Factor of the 109's I Consider is the Material the Spool is made of, as Penn used several different combinations over the years. These include Plastic, Brass, Aluminum, & Stainless Steel. I have yet to try the Plastic, {Shiny Black}, but w/my experiences to date, would have a difficult time believing it could handle the rigors of Spoonplugging. The Brass which is usually Chrome Plated, & very bright at that, & is Moderately Durable. The Aluminum, which is Anodized Black, & is dull or flat in Appearance. I do not prefer as depending upon your choice of line weight, mine early on was 20# straight across the board due to old, & bad habits, will Flex under heavy loads such as being hung up, something U might run into once or twice, & when the spool flexes the brass gears are displaced & break! This Affliction is also found in the Penn Mag 10, which was Only Made w/Anodized Aluminum Spools {Flat Black} no matter what some Ebay Reel Experts might claim, U can call Penn & verify that 1 as I did. My Preference is the Stainless! I have NEVER Broken any of my Stainless Spooled Reels & that is going back at least a dozen years! Yes they are fewer & farther between, & More difficult to recognize if the Seller is unaware of this. The Spool will Appear a Dull Silver. This is not to bash the other Combinations of this greatly versatile reel, just save yourself some time & $$, & frustration & Line the others Accordingly w/the 12# &/or 17# No-Bo. It proved enuf times to make me believe that only the 20# was capable of disabling those other Spool combinations. WoW! Should U desire anymore of my personal experiences w/these just drop me a note, or call me from the directory, & we won't have to go get knew glasses from another essay! Hahaha. Your Hoosier Spoonplugger friend, Marty. ps; hope this was helpful.

Hey Marty, Thanks for all the info on the reels. Now I gotta check all mine and see what I actually have. Didn't realize that the spools were made of that many different materials. Thanks again. Jim.