Sandy, salty reel death: not all reels are created equal!

[MuskieBait]

(09-13-2012 07:52 AM)OldTimer Wrote:  DO NOT PUT ANYTHING ON DRAG ASSEMBLIES or their shafts.

There's a caveat to the though, OT.

It depends on the drag material really, and for most part, you are correct.

However, some of the newer drag washer materials, like felt washers, requires some oil in them as a lubricant. You can just imagine what dry felt will become under pressure and friction.

Another drag washer material that benefits from a LIGHT grease applications are the new carbon fiber washers. It's amazing how silky smooth the drag becomes with these new washers, and you can get a little more on your max drag with them. The tension curve from the drag is also much smoother so you don't get a jerky start and a big spike in tension and then drops off after the spool started spinning. It's more of a progressive curve since the drag is so smooth and there is less inertia to get the spool moving progressively more.

Oh, and @Michael, the drag assembly are the metal washers and the drag washers (felt, graphite, carbon fiber, plastic...yes...even saw plastics in cheap reels...yikes!).