tricks to locking down a star drag

[yogai]

Are there tricks to locking down a star drag reel? I have heard from a few people and read in several articles that there are ways to get a lot more drag out of say a penn 6/0 than just by turning te wheel as hard as possible. One article mentioned a "cheater tube" or something like that, but didn't explain what that meant. I have also header from several fisherman that there are certain springs or gears or someting that you can adjust to get more drag and really lock it down. Is any of this true?

[Ryan Y]

With exception of taking it apart and putting it back together, im unsure about the drags, but I believe they can be adjusted between lighter and heavier by putting the washers back in different. You may have to get ahold of someone that fixes penns such as a tackle shop. I know the GS series reels are like that.
The cheater tube I think is a something on one of the star drag fingers to give more leverage to tighten it down.
I have a tight enough drag on my 3/0 reels for bottom fishing. I cant hardly pull out any line by hand, and aI can tighten my drag up more if need be. THe 20 lb gags dont seem to have a problem though....

[SEABEAR]

Try a hammer

[the rhondel]

:D ...the R

[Fish Hunter]

Buddy of mine uses visegrips and a hammer to lock down a 6/0 when fishing for grouper. :eek:

[sprtsracer]

OK...I know there is a star drag available for "certain" Penn reels such as the Jigmaster that allows a finer adjustment so that you can tighten it down in finer increments. The threads are a little finer, allowing for more precise adjustment. Don't know if they are available for the 6/0, but what the heck are ya fishin' for with a 6/0 anyway???

[Shooter]

Are there tricks to locking down a star drag reel? I have heard from a few people and read in several articles that there are ways to get a lot more drag out of say a penn 6/0 than just by turning te wheel as hard as possible.

Couple of things,,, #1- if you can't get the drag to lock down tight enough the drag washer might be wore out and need replaced #2- if the drag washer in the penn 6/0 are not wore out and you still need more drag you need a bigger reel.
Most drag washers *except for the older Abus* were made to work with the gearing that they were installed on, Say you have wire line on a Penn 320GTI and you locked the drag all the way down and you hooked into a whale what do you think will happen if the drag isn't able to slip? Poof there goes the rod and most likely the reel with it.
I would check to see if the washers need replaced first then the hammer and pipe wrench. :D

[yogai]

what the heck are ya fishin' for with a 6/0 anyway???

Actually 6/0 was just an example and the reel in question is a 9/0 :)
The drag washers are new, so I guess that the only "trick" is to caveman it and beat the wheel with a rubber mallet or something.

The reason I was asking about this is that I would like to get all the drag I can get out of the 9/0 for goliath grouper fishing. The battle with those things is won or lost (usually the latter) in the first 30 seconds. I have the reel spooled with 300 lb mono and I often get broken off because the drag will slip a little bit. But hey, I'd still rather have the line be the weakest link over the fisherman.

[Samurai]

What kind of drag washers did you install?Greased drags or not?---Lot of ways to get more drag out of a reel.Changing to different washers is probally the easiest.You can also use different "bellville sp? washers" and "tension springs".Smoothie Drags make a kit to change a 4/0 from a 3 stack drag to a 5 stack drag.Not sure they make one for a 9/0.Try google them, imo they have the best washers for Penns.If all else fails,you can allways shove a 2x4 between the bars and spool.:D

[yogai]

What kind of drag washers did you install?Greased drags or not?---Lot of ways to get more drag out of a reel.Changing to different washers is probally the easiest.You can also use different "bellville sp? washers" and "tension springs".Smoothie Drags make a kit to change a 4/0 from a 3 stack drag to a 5 stack drag.Not sure they make one for a 9/0.Try google them, imo they have the best washers for Penns.If all else fails,you can allways shove a 2x4 between the bars and spool.:D

Does the change from a 3 stack to a 5 stack necessarily mean that there will be more drag power available for the reel. Smoothies offers 3 stack "thick" drags and 5 stack "thin" drags for the 9/0. I wouldn't know the difference either makes

[Samurai]

In my experience from changing from the 3 stack/thick to the 5 stack/thin has produced slightly more #s of drag and smoother drag performance.I also play with drag material.For my type of fishing,I like more #s of drag as opposed to butter smooth.For lock down drag,I think the Super Smoothies hands down the best.They are discontinued but can still be found on "the bay".Clean your main gear and discs with brakecleaner and install them dry.I still have a few sets of these but for the reels that I don't have them,I've been using the Extreme Smoothies with good results.The only problem with these is that once some oil get on it,it will be jerky.I'll send you a PM about other sites you can check.---Aloha!!

[rattler]

a little trick i was taught years ago...if the drag slips and you know the are clean(ie: no grease or oil) you can sometimes flip the middle one in a 3 stack and get you back to like new...won't last forever but will give you a trip or 2...

[Digger]

Leverage is the answer. Slide a small pipe over it and hit it. good luck!

[chris storrs]

this might be a stupid question, but wont tightening the drag so tight ya gotta use a hammer/pipe for more leverage just shorten the life of the washers, and make the drag weaker in the future...seems like itd compress em pretty severely...and then ud have to get new washers after a while

im assuming the hammer/pipe deal would be done before a trip, and the drag would stay that tight for many hours

i might be way wrong, i dunno, just dont seem good for the reel

[seajay]

Are there tricks to locking down a star drag reel? I have heard from a few people and read in several articles that there are ways to get a lot more drag out of say a penn 6/0 than just by turning te wheel as hard as possible. One article mentioned a "cheater tube" or something like that, but didn't explain what that meant. I have also header from several fisherman that there are certain springs or gears or someting that you can adjust to get more drag and really lock it down. Is any of this true?
There may be an up grade for the tension spring,also I believe you may beable to use a longer spacer sleeve.Which I believe to be referenced as a Cheater Tube. For my Grouper reel I just hammer down the drags.

[dingbat]

There may be an up grade for the tension spring,also I believe you may beable to use a longer spacer sleeve.Which I believe to be referenced as a Cheater Tube. For my Grouper reel I just hammer down the drags.
The spacer sleeve is brass and will deform under undo pressure. Using a hammer to tighten it down only deforms the tubes and decreases the drag potential. I’ve seen the brass versions replaced with a custom SS tube which helped somewhat.

[Samurai]

Changing the tension spring to a stiffer one or running two will definitely help.You don't necessarily have to find one for a 9/0.Just find one with the inner hole that's same.Try running them like () or like )(.This will help alot,just don't go too stiff or your drag will be either off or on.Penn calls them Tension springs but alot of other companies call them Bellville Washers.

[david123]

got to agree with the above post. Chnge the drag washers as they may be worn out. If that doesn't work, het a bigger reel 'cause theone you are using is to small for the fish you are catching. That's a good problem to have , by the way.

[chris storrs]

if you really want the easiest way to get more drag pressure drop the line level, itll take more pressure to pull the line off with a smaller spoool/line diameter and the same drag setting as a full spool
you could double your drag if you take enuf line off, without even opening the reel up

course if you really need the capacity, this wont work, but if ya just need the stopping power to not get broke off on the rocks itll work great