Penn Senator questions

[bpfishback]

Ok, so I picked up a nice Penn senator 12/0 off ebay. I know it's a bit much for the beach but it was cheap. I have a couple of questions about it.

The lever on the side switches between free spool and drag right? So do you guys leave it in free spool with bait out and then when a fish runs you just slow it down with your thumb and then switch on the drag?

I've also heard mentioned that I have to use my thumb as a level wind, is this true? Last, what is this little cylindrical thing that sticks out of the spool for?

I also bought a kayak so we'll see if I can't post some interesting reports in the near future.

Thanks

[Charkbait]

BP,

I attached some crude images that may or may not be totally correct but I think they are. What I would do is turn the clicker on so it makes noise when you pull line out, and set the drag to just enough pressure that the waves don't pull out line when hitting it.

[bpfishback]

Thanks for the pictures. I had been wondering how to turn on/off the clicker.

[Capt Jake]

The thing on the spool is to tie your line to. I would suggest you tie around the spool. I don't think you will have to worry with a 12/0 from the beach though.

[Coop]

Take your bait out in free spool with clicker on. This will keep backlashes from occurring. When the wind is blowing out of the south or north, I often take the lines out "without it in free spool", I just you a light drag setting. This will keep a large bow in your line to a minimum. The only problem with this is that it makes it extremely difficult yaking and when the waves are breaking, makes it even harder to charge it to get over the wave but it will keep the line much straighter. I am yaking 2 baits out and that can wear you out in a hurry...great exercise.

My drag setting once the bait out is fairly loose. I like the shark to grab and run and then I set the hook by applying pressure with the thumb on the spool. I then tighten the drag up. Just don't over tighten the drag or POP.

[Steve]

A 12/0?
OMG!!! That puppy will hold a whole lotta' 130# line!
You shouldn't have to worry about it busting, just don't let the screamer drag YOU in! LOL
I have the 9/0 with 100# Spiderwire braid, 3300' of it. It gets out as far as I would ever care to wind back in. Of course I leave plenty on the reel.

You will need to rig up a harness to help you hold the reel up while cranking, that 117 is heavy. You can buy one most anywhere. I just use a padded strap from a laptop case and sling it around my lower back. With that and a fighting belt, it works great.

[bpfishback]

Thanks for the tips guys. I think I'm going to spool it with 80lb p-line xtra strong. That should give me around 1000yds I really can't imagine using all of that. A fighting harness and belt are next on my list after a rod.

[Steve]

[Sea2aeS]

I switched from a 12/0 to a 50tw for the main reason being drag, and hook sets. senators have nice drags, but i like to get toothys in as quick as possible to aid in a healthy release with a lively shark, not one thats worn out from slugging it out. shorter fight times lead to healthier releases and most likely the shark swimming off to survive for another day.

I found over time when yakking for toothys that when you set the drag just light enough for the strike, that when you get a hit you gotta crank that star down tight in a hurry and a lot of times the split seconds it takes has resulted in me losing fish. With the leverdrag ill preset my drag at strike to 18lbs and set the drag lever just enough to keep it taught for a run. When i get a run i just pick up the rod, make sure ive got a good hold of it with both hands and shift the lever to strike and come tight a lot better.