danthefisherman Posted February 8, 2019 Report Share Posted February 8, 2019 I've recently had the drag on two baitcasting reels get shot and am wondering if I'm doing something wrong. Does anyone loosen the drag after each outing or maintain the drag washers in any way? Or do you lock down the drag and leave it that way? I loosen up the drag on all my reels after use because I heard somewhere that it prevents warping in a few of the metal washers, but now the drag on my trusty Cardiff is getting weak at an accelerated rate so I fear that the cyclical loading and unloading of drag pressure might be wearing it down. All input is appreciated. I'm no expert when it comes to reels so all I do to maintain them is keeping them clean of debris. Thanks, Dan Badfish562 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badfish562 Posted February 8, 2019 Report Share Posted February 8, 2019 34 minutes ago, danthefisherman said: I've recently had the drag on two baitcasting reels get shot and am wondering if I'm doing something wrong. Does anyone loosen the drag after each outing or maintain the drag washers in any way? Or do you lock down the drag and leave it that way? I loosen up the drag on all my reels after use because I heard somewhere that it prevents warping in a few of the metal washers, but now the drag on my trusty Cardiff is getting weak at an accelerated rate so I fear that the cyclical loading and unloading of drag pressure might be wearing it down. All input is appreciated. I'm no expert when it comes to reels so all I do to maintain them is keeping them clean of debris. Thanks, Dan Dan, I normally do the same tightening before use and untightening of the drag after use and I have not had drag issues from anything other than normal wear and tear which I normally replace during an annual servicing. I find loosing drags after use to allow the drag range to stay nice and incremental due to the drag washers not staying compressed . How long are you fishing it for before noticing issues? danthefisherman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh626 Posted February 8, 2019 Report Share Posted February 8, 2019 I also loosen my drag on all my baitcasters when I’m not using them. I would believe it would help relieve tension and presssure and helping to preserve the drag and it’s components. Thinking about it now I never loosen my spinning reels though. So not sure I would consult a reel tech and get there opinion. danthefisherman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danthefisherman Posted February 8, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2019 26 minutes ago, Badfish562 said: Dan, I normally do the same tightening before use and untightening of the drag after use and I have not had drag issues from anything other than normal wear and tear which I normally replace during an annual servicing. I find loosing drags after use to allow the drag range to stay nice and incremental due to the drag washers not staying compressed . How long are you fishing it for before noticing issues? I acquired all my reels used, so maybe it could be the case of the washers already having wear on them in addition to me using the reels a few seasons myself. I don't fish nearly as much as I would like, but the reels aren't that high end either so wear and tear is expected. The two reels with spent drags are cheap and no longer in production so I can't find new drag washers, but I might have to replace the ones in my Cardiff soon. It was getting to the point where the drag would slip on a hook set and I'd lose the fish. Badfish562 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badfish562 Posted February 8, 2019 Report Share Posted February 8, 2019 13 minutes ago, danthefisherman said: I acquired all my reels used, so maybe it could be the case of the washers already having wear on them in addition to me using the reels a few seasons myself. I don't fish nearly as much as I would like, but the reels aren't that high end either so wear and tear is expected. The two reels with spent drags are cheap and no longer in production so I can't find new drag washers, but I might have to replace the ones in my Cardiff soon. It was getting to the point where the drag would slip on a hook set and I'd lose the fish. Gotcha. Yeah it sounds its time for replacing those washers. I would either, send them to Shimano in Irvine for the servicing or see if there are any Shimano Satellite Service Centers near you. This is usually the best time of year in terms of turn around time. danthefisherman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogervang Posted February 8, 2019 Report Share Posted February 8, 2019 A buddy of mine had the same issue after the first outing, brand new. I opened it up to inspect it and couldn't find anything wrong with it. I put it back together and it worked out perfectly after that. It's been 3 years and he is still using it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badfish562 Posted February 8, 2019 Report Share Posted February 8, 2019 23 minutes ago, Rogervang said: A buddy of mine had the same issue after the first outing, brand new. I opened it up to inspect it and couldn't find anything wrong with it. I put it back together and it worked out perfectly after that. It's been 3 years and he is still using it. Sometimes the new drags need an outing to "break in" properly. I have heard of this time to time but never experienced it myself yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El_Weruso Posted February 8, 2019 Report Share Posted February 8, 2019 (edited) Just my use: But i never tighten or loosen after i'm done fishing haha I just set the drags according to the fishing situation ahead of time. My calcutta 400TE beat the crap out of some 15+ 5lb skipjacks and still works fine and i never thought about loosening the drags after the trip and i keep using it regularly at my park lakes. Haven't had any issues with any spinning or baitcasting reels, maybe just been lucky. Edited February 8, 2019 by Neill Hernandez Rogervang 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SethMuffinson Posted February 8, 2019 Report Share Posted February 8, 2019 Your not using straight braid are you? I once thought my drags were going bad before id heard of ghost spool. If not then maybe the spring washers are bad. I havent had an issue yet with any reel ive owned Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danthefisherman Posted February 8, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2019 34 minutes ago, SethMuffinson said: Your not using straight braid are you? I once thought my drags were going bad before id heard of ghost spool. If not then maybe the spring washers are bad. I havent had an issue yet with any reel ive owned I run both braid to leader and straight mono and tie the line tight to the spool or electric tape so there's no slippage. The issue is the drag is getting weaker so that I keep having to button it down more and more. The reels with shot drags I can now pull the drag out with my hands even with the drag star locked down as far as I can crank it. The drag either becomes super sticky at that point or refuses to hold up to much force. SethMuffinson 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bass the east Posted February 8, 2019 Report Share Posted February 8, 2019 Loosening the drag after each use only preserves the washers that are responsible for the range of drag, not your full drag capacity. Your not the only one with an issue with the Cardiff drags slipping. They only use a single drag stack (one drag washer) and is prone to slipping. My best advise would be to either clean and service your drag with drag washer grease, or replace it with a “carbontex” drag washer. If your not comfortable doing it yourself I can service the reel and upgrade the drags for you. DM me if your got any questions danthefisherman and Badfish562 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tealsprig Posted February 8, 2019 Report Share Posted February 8, 2019 (edited) 23 minutes ago, Bass the east said: Loosening the drag after each use only preserves the washers that are responsible for the range of drag, not your full drag capacity. Your not the only one with an issue with the Cardiff drags slipping. They only use a single drag stack (one drag washer) and is prone to slipping. My best advise would be to either clean and service your drag with drag washer grease, or replace it with a “carbontex” drag washer. If your not comfortable doing it yourself I can service the reel and upgrade the drags for you. DM me if your got any questions Carbontex for sure... you won't be disappointed. A common mistake a lot of people make as well is putting regular reel grease on the drag washers, not recommended. This type of grease is not designed for drag washers, but the Cal's universal reel and star drag grease is, and you only need a small amount. Carbontex washers and a dab of Cal's is a big performance upgrade in any reel. Carbontex make washers for all kinds of reels and I'm pretty sure they can cut whatever you may need. When I was doing my friends cardiffs I was buying the carbontex washers for the Calcutta and they were a direct fit. http://www.smoothdrag.com Edited February 8, 2019 by Tealsprig danthefisherman, Knowtheledge, basskickinrednick and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MA Frog Man Posted February 9, 2019 Report Share Posted February 9, 2019 (edited) My bet would be that it's actually slipping or has cut the electrical tape. You can actually see if the spool is moving while you pull the line. If the spool isn't moving then it's the line slipping. Tie the line around the spool then put the tape over it. That's why it becomes "sticky" sometimes as you describe it. It's grabbing sometimes but then you cast and don't pour right tension on it and have no drag again Edited February 9, 2019 by MA Frog Man danthefisherman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bass the east Posted February 9, 2019 Report Share Posted February 9, 2019 50 minutes ago, MA Frog Man said: My bet would be that it's actually slipping or has cut the electrical tape. You can actually see if the spool is moving while you pull the line. If the spool isn't moving then it's the line slipping. Tie the line around the spool then put the tape over it. That's why it becomes "sticky" sometimes as you describe it. It's grabbing sometimes but then you cast and don't pour right tension on it and have no drag again Also possible. I put about 10-15 wraps of mono backing with a uni knot to to braid prevent that waynem and MA Frog Man 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danthefisherman Posted February 9, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2019 3 hours ago, MA Frog Man said: My bet would be that it's actually slipping or has cut the electrical tape. You can actually see if the spool is moving while you pull the line. If the spool isn't moving then it's the line slipping. Tie the line around the spool then put the tape over it. That's why it becomes "sticky" sometimes as you describe it. It's grabbing sometimes but then you cast and don't pour right tension on it and have no drag again It's not slipping and I'm turning the whole spool. My line digs down deep when I pull so I know it's secured pretty well. I'll mess around with it a bit more but all in all I'm pretty sure the drag washers are spent. I have no clue how many seasons of abuse these reels have had before I acquired them, so I wouldn't be surprised if they're due for a tune up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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