# 525 Mag has a stronger drag than 535, 545, and 555.



## Paul McDonald (Jun 20, 2004)

I was looking through the 2007 Penn catalogue and came across the pages detailing the graphite series reels. According to Penn the reels have the following max drag numbers.
525MAG 15lbs
535GS 9.5lbs
545GS 13lbs
555GS 11lbs

I found it interesting that the 525 has a stronger drag than all the others and the 545 has a stronger drag than the 555.


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## toejam (Jan 28, 2005)

NIce report, Paul,,,, may I add that on the 525mag you can lower your max drag setting by rearranging the drag-washer stack, which will give you a broader range of settings ,, I like to match my max drag setting on my 525 to the line that its spooled with,,,,,


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## SALTSHAKER (Dec 5, 2002)

*drag*

Mag 525 is one heck of a reel overall. Holds up well and not too bad to lube and clean even when you have five thumbs like myself.... salt


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## BLUESMAN (Nov 4, 2003)

*ToeJam*

Glad you mentioned the "versa drag" on the penn 525's it's a nice feature that I explored right after fighting my first large striper on the "heavy" setting. If you own one of these reels you should look for the "versa drag" instructions in the owners manual.


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## chris storrs (Aug 25, 2005)

535 at 9.5lb...... pathetic....


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## Redhorse (Mar 1, 2006)

Well, I already own a 545...and the 525 will soon be on it's way. Looks like I got the only two I'll be wanting out of that line up  

I'm assuming those #s can be changed with aftermarket drag components...?


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## trowpa (Jan 26, 2006)

Not trying to argue -just an honest question as I'm still learning...

Why would you ever need more than 5-6 lbs drag (based on setting drag to 25-30% of the 17lb test most use on these reels....)

Is it the assumption that the drag would work smoother when it is capable of a higher max pressure? Or some of you actually planning on setting your drag to over 50% of the lines breaking strength?


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## chris storrs (Aug 25, 2005)

trowpa said:


> Or some of you actually planning on setting your drag to over 50% of the lines breaking strength?


exactly, i fish about 9 lb of drag on 17 lb line...no reason not too ....tie good knots,check for frays and your good to go...gets the fish released quicker so ya can get another bait back out...

the 9.5 max setting(assuming its correct) doesnt give ya much pressure for stopping down giant southern rays and big biters..considering 20 lb sufix can easily handle alot more tahn 9.5 lb of drag...might as well fill up the 535 with 14 with that kinda drag max 

all IMO


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## Carolina Rebel (Aug 25, 2005)

Sure is nice to have that in combination with my 50lb Power Pro.


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## chinookhead (Dec 13, 2004)

*Chris*

Chris I have no idea about reds, but my experience has been if u put too much pressure on bass u will pull a lot of hooks out......I experienced this when I first switched from using abus to my daiwa shv's (lost 3 on 1st day using them) which have a much stronger drag and more cranking power and I am using mono. Also, strong drag was fine with blues.


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## Mark G (Nov 15, 2004)

*agree on both accounts*

too tight of drag can result in pulled hooks -sometimes, which is why drags are adjustable in the first place- nothing wrong with having more drag available when you need it tho- for horsing in bigger fish- no since in playing a big fish to the point he's completely spent- if it can be helped- and no since in letting a big ray spool ya every time either.


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## notso (Jul 18, 2005)

chris storrs said:


> exactly, i fish about 9 lb of drag on 17 lb line...no reason not too ....tie good knots,check for frays and your good to go...gets the fish released quicker so ya can get another bait back out...
> 
> the 9.5 max setting(assuming its correct) doesnt give ya much pressure for stopping down giant southern rays and big biters..considering 20 lb sufix can easily handle alot more tahn 9.5 lb of drag...might as well fill up the 535 with 14 with that kinda drag max
> 
> all IMO


Chris,

The only problem w/ that is that if you have your drag set to 9lbs w/ the spool full ( I assume that's when you check it w/ a scale) then if you're down to 1/2 spool your drag is now @ 18 lbs & it keeps going up as line gets pulled off. It's a physics thing....


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## Mark G (Nov 15, 2004)

notso said:


> Chris,
> 
> The only problem w/ that is that if you have your drag set to 9lbs w/ the spool full ( I assume that's when you check it w/ a scale) then if you're down to 1/2 spool your drag is now @ 18 lbs & it keeps going up as line gets pulled off. It's a physics thing....



Another valid point, which is why I actually back off the drag some if I have made an extremely long cast or playing a fish that has finished a good initial run.


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## chris storrs (Aug 25, 2005)

pulled hooks isnt as much a problem with drum at all as it is with stripers..sharks its not a big problem, with rays its a blessing but dont happen often

i also understand the "physics" of the changes in drag pressure at different spool diamemters...but how hard is it to pull a lever back slightly or rotate a star ....put the heat on a fish early, and when your spool starts getting smaller if its actually running far enuf for it to matter, back off a little bit on the drag, the pressure on the fish stays around the same.... takes practice but it works...

if ya dont give him the heat early whatcha gonna do when ya gotta 30 yds of line left and your fish is still going strong?...

read a post by DD not long ago bout a big drum,(55" if i remeber correct,sure not every drum is gonna run that hard, or be that big and you can only hope for one that big in a lifetime, but who says what cast itll be on)he got getting him way down on a 9000 abu, im fishing daiwa 20s and the like, so ill continue to put the heat on my fish,and reserve the right to put more on em,yall do as you please


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## notso (Jul 18, 2005)

fair enough. I too like to put a fair amount of heat on 'em early.


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## AtlantaKing (Jul 7, 2002)

Even though I hate to resurrect old threads, I feel like I must chime in since I own 3 out of 4 of these reels (525 Mag, 545GS, 555GS). The numbers quoted are either typos, or have some fine print attached to them since all of my 5x5 series reels will pull at least 15lbs of smooth drag. This stands to reason since all of the Penn 5x5 reels share the same drag components and washers and are mounted in similar frames.


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## Paul McDonald (Jun 20, 2004)




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## AtlantaKing (Jul 7, 2002)

Paul, I believe you. I'm just saying that the catalog is most likely a typo.


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## chinookhead (Dec 13, 2004)

I doubt it's a typo (it would be several)......it would be pretty dumb for Penn to under-estimate their drags, but who knows. Have u actually measured 18# + on your 545?

Atlanta king, since u have all of these reels it would be interesting if u ran a little test for us. Tighten down the drag and tie the line to a spring scale and give us a report.


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## AtlantaKing (Jul 7, 2002)

chinookhead said:


> Atlanta king, since u have all of these reels it would be interesting if u ran a little test for us. Tighten down the drag and tie the line to a spring scale and give us a report.


Will do.


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## Lipyourown (May 11, 2005)

Perhaps they are taking the spool circumference into account so the smaller spool would appear to have more drag?


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## Rockfish1 (Apr 8, 2005)

well that certainly is good to hear about the 525 mag as I have 2 of them in transit to me right now... sounds like the ideal reel to spool up with 20# power pro...  

I'm curious as to how they'll fit into the arsenal of Avet's, Internationals, Calcutta's, Squidders, and Abu's...


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## chinookhead (Dec 13, 2004)

20# pp is going to give u a headache on that reel....it's a pretty fast reel....I use 17# mono, but I have friends who do fine with 50# braid (under this # braid on a fast reel like this will be prone to backlash and it will knot easily)


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## toejam (Jan 28, 2005)

AtlantaKing said:


> Will do.


Unless all the reels are new then tis test will not confirm much since there will already be wear on the drag washers of varying degrees.........


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## BentHook (Dec 22, 2002)

I just checked my 545gs and got 16lbs of drag after I warmed up the drags a little.The reel is three years old and is used about 50 days a year on bull reds,sharks under 40 lbs and king fishing off the pier.
The 11 lbs on the 555 is also wrong, I'll check it when my son comes back in the morning.I'm sure it's right at 16 lbs also.
You can change the way the drag washers are lined in the reel to give a lot less drag if you wish.


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## Newsjeff (Jul 22, 2004)

Seems kinda funny that max drag would be lower on the larger GS series reels.

I don't have any scientific proof on this, but it seems when my drag starts to slip it helps to raise my rod tip. 

Higher tip = added drag on da fish.


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## Jesse Lockowitz (Feb 13, 2006)

only fish i dont put a good amnt of drag on are specks, and king macks...


rest get the hammer..drum...cobes..poons..sharks..bla bla...etc.


oh yeah! i dont slam spots either 



Jesse


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## Newsjeff (Jul 22, 2004)

JL, why ya want to hit a drum with a hammer?


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