Origins
In 1932 Otto Henze left his position at Ocean City Reels and established the Penn Fishing Tackle Manufacturing Company at 492 North Third Street in Philadelphia, PA.
First Products
The first Penn reels were the Model F and the Model K. These conventional reels featured bakelite side plates, but the Model F had metal reinforced sides.
Patent
In 1933 the US Patent Office issued Mr. Henze a patent for his reel design. Today's reels still use the same basic design.
New Models
In 1936 Penn began producing its Senator model, followed by the Squidder in 1938. Although the Squidder is no longer in production, both reels are still used by anglers today.
Present
Penn currently manufactures over 220 different model reels, and its equipment was used to land over 800 IGFA world records. Penn's top of the line reel, the International, is responsible for over 220 of these records.
Article Written By Stephen Byrne
Stephen Byrne is a freelance writer with published articles in "Nor'East Saltwater," "Sportfishing" magazine, "Pacific Coast Sportfishing" and "Salt Water Sportsman." As a fishing charter captain, he was also interviewed for a feature in "Field and Stream." Byrne studied environmental science at the State University of New York at Delhi.
