The Squidder is Penn's classic surf-casting reel, introduced in 1938 and made for nearly seventy years before the original design was discontinued in 2006. It is a free-spool, star-drag reel with no level wind: the caster's thumb controls the spool on the cast and lays the line on the retrieve, which is exactly why surfcasters liked it.
The 140 is the standard-width spool, the 145 a medium width and the 146 the narrow version, and Penn added a left-hand 140L in 1941; parts interchange widely between them. The maroon and butterscotch Bakelite examples are the ones collectors want.
Squidders respond beautifully to a clean and fresh grease, and aftermarket upgrade kits for faster casting are common, so treat a converted reel as a modernised product rather than a vintage original. Our latest snapshot found about 50 listings, most working reels at $45 to $75 delivered.
The catalogue files it under the 1940s, the earliest decade it lists; the design dates from 1938.