Penn 49 With A Wide Spool

[Ed Barrett]

I recently acquired a Penn 49 reel that has a wider spool than the regular 49.

The spool for this reel measures the same diameter as the regular 49, but the width is 2½ inches and is made of plastic with a larger arbor than the regular 49. The stand is a 30-200 and the posts are 2½ inches.

Any information regarding this reel would be appreciated. Are extra spools available for this reel? Thanks, Ed

[ak-fish]

You have a Penn 49A. They are fairly rare but not too rare because I've seen a couple. My understanding is that they were made for the South African market. Those that I've seen had plastic spools. I've never seen one with a metal spool.

[kingfisher]

Here are two photos of a Penn #49A with its box .It was sold on ebay in Australia. Unfortunately I found out about it after the auction had finished. It is from a later era to the usual that is seen.





I do have a wide plastic spooled #49 probably from the '40's It does not have the "49A" on the side plate just "49". I do not have a photo to show.

[Ed Barrett]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the information and nice pictures. The side plate just says "PENN 49" no "A".

Does anybody recall what the one on eBay went for?

Is there a replacement spool for the 49A? The one I have is plastic.

Best regards,

Ed

[kingfisher]

Ed,
The one sold on ebay Australia was a year or two ago and I don't remember the sale price.
Ak-fish said he has not seen a wide metal spool and neither have I.
A replacement may be hard to find as not many of these reels turn up.
A couple of years back I did see two 49A's for sale in South Africa on an internet site not much like ebay and I was not very trustful of the way the sales were conducted so I did not bother trying.
Ray

[Ed Barrett]

Hi Ray,

Thanks for the information. The reel I received is very nice and everything works okey. I just was wondering if Penn used a spool from another model to make the 49A? Apparently they went to a lot of work to make a spool for such a limited market. The double levers with a wide spool seemed to fit the bill for the people using them in Africa.

Again, thank you for your comments. I appreciate all the information you folks furnish me. Ed

[m3040c]

Hello Guys,

The wide spool 49A was made for the export market to South Africa and also sold here in a uncataloged model called the King Salmon. As far as I know they are the same reel except the one sold in the U S was not marked with A after the logo. Documentation is pretty loose on the U S model but I have one of each. I wold not call them rare but if you are looking for one, it will take a while to come up with. Just another point of confusion from Penn.

[m3040c]

Here's a quick look at the 49A:

[Ed Barrett]

Hi Mike,

I got a call from a gentleman who claims to has a Penn 49 with the letter A after the embossment on the side plate. He told me that he is debating about selling in on eBay. I asked him what he wanted for it. He told me that if and when he listed it the opening bid would be $299.99 with out a buy it now. I told him that it would be a little too rich for my blood, but wished him well. I am inclined to keep mine with out the “A” after the Penn logo.

Thanks again for the information regarding the genesis of how the 49A came about. Why this old “knuckle buster” didn’t make the Penn catalogs is a mystery to me. It apparently wasn’t a trolling reel like the original 49. Why the anglers in Africa wanted this particular set up is also a mystery to me. Any help in this direction will be appreciated. Ed

[m3040c]

Somewhere is South Africa, I assume, Penn had a sales rep and that sales rep must have had requests for a wide 49. Once the investment was made, by Penn, into the plastic spool and a new mold plug, a business process must have begun. Enough have to be sold to cover the costs and make some profit on the initial tooling and from that point, demand, in house stock and marketing makes the rules. Penn probably made one mold plug for the 49A but they had many plugs for the 49, so why not sell it here and export it also, at least until the spool stock runs out. I do not believe a metal spool was created for this model, I have never seen or heard of one.

In order for Penn to create this model, all that was needed was a new mold plug and a spool. The other parts necessary to create the size were sitting on the shelf in the Squidder and Penn 49 bins.

Here's what I find interesting about this model. The Penn 49A was probably introduced in the 1940's, possibly pre-war but probably late 1940's when all the Penn 49's had plastic spools, so this over sized spool was made in plastic and always kept that way. The Penn 49A that I have, has no part numbers on the stand but does have them on the tail plate spool bearing, the star wheel and the scalloped handle screw. Which tells me the reel is a transition reel when not all the parts were identified with part numbers yet. A box from the 1940's which states over sized spool arbor does exist,
but it has a $10 price, which was the lowest price a Penn 49 was ever advertised at and that was in 1939, 40 and 41. The box label printing indicates a 1949 or earlier reel and the price is the price for the first gen 49's. The Model name, King Salmon was never used in any catalog. Penn 49's were simply called Deep Sea Reel's that were designed for wire line trolling, even with the plastic spool they were sold as wire line trollers and speced out that way.
Because Ray had seen these Penn 49A's for sale in Australia, in 1960's type boxes but still having plastic spools, which were long gone by that time on American 49's, tells me the wide spool versions were never updated to metal.

So, here is another Penn conundrum. We have a reel and a box with no documentation of its existence.

so what else is new

[m3040c]

By the way Ed, I have never seen any of these wide spool 49's sell at as high a price as the person you mentioned will be asking. I will not say that the price is too high but I will say it would be too high for me to pay. I just can not justify $300 for any Penn 49.

BUT, lately Penn reels have been trading higher, so, what do I know?

[kingfisher]

Ed,
You don't need to part with $299 . One will turn up on ebay for less than half that.
From a movie called " The Castle" comes a good quote for someone who wants an over inflated price : Tell him "He's dreaming" .
There is a fishing tackle shop in California selling stuff with dreamer's prices on ebay and his website has unbelievably high expectations too. Could be why they don't sell .
Ray

[Ed Barrett]

Thanks a million for the replies. to my inquiry regarding the 49A reel. I want to especially thank Mike and Ray for sharing their knowledge with us old Penn reel fisherman and collectors.

The other person who may know something about the manufacture of the 49A is Mike Quinn who work for Penn many years. I haven’t heard from Mike in a long time. I will try and contact him and see what he knows about this reel. Best regards and again thank you. Ed

[m3040c]

i would love to hear Mike Quinn's opinion on this or any other Penn reel.

[fishhead]

I recently picked up a Penn 49 with the wide plastic spool. It is a very cool reel and I have only seen one once ever on Ebay in the last 15 years. I believe it sold for $300 plus shipping. My reel does not have the A after the 49. The 49A appears to be an older model than the 49. Either one of these wide spool Penn 49 reels would be a great find for sure to any hardcore Penn reel collector.

[m3040c]

I recently picked up a Penn 49 with the wide plastic spool. It is a very cool reel and I have only seen one once ever on Ebay in the last 15 years. I believe it sold for $300 plus shipping. My reel does not have the A after the 49. The 49A appears to be an older model than the 49. Either one of these wide spool Penn 49 reels would be a great find for sure to any hardcore Penn reel collector.

The 49A is always a great find in the USA. If you lived in South Africa, you would not have much trouble finding one. Very few were marketed here in the USA. If you have a wide 49 spool, you can build up the 49A with a Jigmaster stand and bars. Even finding the spool is a trick. They are not available in any of the Part Houses, nor at Penn. Hang onto it, as time goes by, they are not going to get easier to find.

[BAP-62]

They are hard reels to find. Last one I know of sold for $449.00 plus shipping, on eBay 11 months ago. It was marked 49A.

[fishhead]

Wow, that's a lot of bank. I guess it all depends on what someone is willing to pay.

[1morecast]

Not sure if this thread is still active, but after 22 years searching for a (functional) 49A while living here in New Zealand, I just found and bought one for NZ$65!

Growing up on the South African coast of what was then Natal, not far South of the Mozambique border, surf fishing from the glorious beaches into the Indian Ocean was what we did. These were largely used for casting, not on boats hence the Bakelite spool. The challenge was casting a large bait with adequate sinker / weight (old spark plugs were popular) in large seas and putting it behind the last set of breakers.

Most of us started with spinners, the Penn 500 Jigmaster for more weight and distance, then graduated to the 49A, usually matched to a 16ft “cast master” rod, with a short butt. The spools were always Bakelite to minimise chance of an over wind (“birds nest”). By 14 or 15 most of us could put a full sardine (pilchard) or half-shad and sinker behind the breakers at night without an over wind, time after time. The inside edge of our thumbs generally had a thick permanent callous from breaking the spool on the edge of the spool.

Thrilled with my new (old) reel!

[john elder]

Congrats on your find, 1more...that is certainly a toughie. You have dredged up an old post that is really sad for all the regulars on the board; three of the posters have passed away in the last few years. Kinda freaky in that the odds of that happening are, fortunately, still pretty low.

John

[1morecast]

John, so sorry to hear that. Condolences to you. I can’t help wondering how the seller of mine (2nd hand trader) came by mine. It has clearly made its way (like me and thousands more) from SA and has probably ended up in an auction of household goods or a deceased estate.

It is well used, marked with decades of hard use, scratches and wear. But no corrosion and as smooth as the day it was made. Well used and well serviced.

I don’t plan on thrashing it. It’s not much younger than me! But I think it deserves a fish or two.

[m3040c]

Not sure if this thread is still active, but after 22 years searching for a (functional) 49A while living here in New Zealand, I just found and bought one for NZ$65!

Well, we lost some really special collectors. I was very close with these passed collectors and I am feeling the void in my daily life.

Love hearing about the South African reels, especially the 49 A. Penn exported a number of models to South Africa but the Model 49 A was the only one that was altered in its frame size to fit the wide plastic, later fiberglass reinforced plastic spool. All the other "A" designated reels went to South Africa with the special "A" marked boxes but were the same reels sold in the USA.

You never know where on this planet one will turn up. The first 49 A I found was in a tackle shop in Alaska, through a friend that lived in Texas. It was brought in to the shop for repair by someone vacationing from South Africa in Alaska. That vacationer never returned to pick up his reel and the shop owner sold it to me. He had no idea what it was and neither did I. That particular reel began an adventure of learning about the fisheries in South Africa and the Penn export models going to that part of the world.

There is a renewed interest in the Model 49 A. I do not expect anyone here was watching, but last week an early Penn 49 A marked reel and box sold on eBay for $1500. The reason for the high price was the box moreso than the reel. It is the only first generation 49 A box I have ever seen. I was quickly priced out of the auction because of the super high price the package was bid to.




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