I am having a problem setting the drag on one of my two fishing rods. I adjust it by pulling with a fishing scale (per video, set to 4 lb for 20 lb mono line). I get it close (5 lb), measured with the scale, and when I try a second time to confirm, the drag is completely locked up tight. The first time I tried, I snapped the line at about 6--7 lbs (reading on scale).
The reel (and other gear), which I bought at Bass Pro a few years ago when I really didn't (and now barely) have a clue about fishing with anything but my handmade braille cast nets (13.5ft stretched 18.5 lb bridge net and 10.5 ft stretched 12 lb dock net ... cancer #1 took my ability to make and use those away from me) for saltwater (inshore) fishing, is a Shakespeare (50?). It's on a Shakespeare Ugly Stick 1101 7.0" Medium Heavy Action rod. Their saltwater fishing expert at the time told me that this rod, as well as the bigger one I also got, would handle anything I might catch in the NW FL (Fort Walton Beach area) Gulf coast inshore waters (meaning anything from spec to large (probably blacktip for inshore) sharks ... which I REALLY want. :-)
I'd really like to have both rods in use, as I'm not just fishing because I love fish and fishing, I'm fishing for healthy food that I can't afford to buy (cancer #1 forcibly retired me and forced me into social "security" disability). I am working on a small home business to take care of that in the long-term, just for what it's worth.... Right now, though, I'm basically limited to buying the cheapest food in the store...all I can afford. Catching fish year round (or enough to last year-round at any time), however, could easily fix that.
So does anyone know how I can fix this one reel's drag setting? Or do I need to take it to Bass Pro and let them look at it?
Thanks,
--jim
Most of the folks at Bass Pro are not experts on anyting. Most of them are just there for a check. I would have avoid using Bass Pro employees as expert reel repair, archery repair, or gun repair!
Take it apart yourself. Remove the drag discs one at a time and clean them. It may require the use of some very fine sandpaper or some 000 steel wool.
After using the same paper or steel wool make sure that you wipe the disc clean with some alcohol to pick up any particles letter left behind.
Lubricate the drag parts lightly with synthetic oil. What I mean by lightly is get some on your fingers and rub oil on the parts. If the parts are carbon fiber just clean them and put them back together dry without oil. After that the dragon should work fine and smooth.
Drag maintenance is required periodic thing. You should be doing it at least once a year on your inshore or deep-sea reels. On my freshwater bait casters I wear them out every season during Tournament Fishing so I just toss them and buy new ones.
My Penns, daiwa, and Shimanos get the full tear down every year and have worked smoothly for years.
About Bass Pro: noted ... thanks.
As to disassembling the reel, can you point me to any tutorials with either images or video? Ask me to patch a cast net, and assuming my hands remember the knots even though my brain doesn't (very likely), I can do that. Ask me to even know anything about repairing a reel....not so much. I'd probably screw it up.
Thanks!
Thanks. I think I can figure it out from there. For mine, I'll probably end up using generic keg lube, a food-grade silicon lubricant gel used (in brewing) to keep kegs' O-rings in good shape so they'll seal
properly. It's basically good for anything, though (well, not for CO2 lines, but ok for the keg fittings' O-rings FOR the CO2 lines). :-)
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