PENN GLD30II Drag Problem

[ijlal]

When trolling deep-diving lures, line keeps pulling out even under quite heavy drag settings and I have to apply extra drag to stop this. The same does not happen on my other reels with equally smooth Carbontex drags. I have serviced the reel many times. Another symptom is when line is pulled out against drag, it is smooth and had no startup but is inconsistent; the drag seems to alternate between more and less drag. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

[Tiddlerbasher]

Is the line (especially braid) slipping on the spool?

[ijlal]

Is the line (especially braid) slipping on the spool?

I know what you mean. Yes, the line is braid (not tied directly to the spool, but to a few yards of mono backing,) but no, it's not the line slipping on the spool.

[Tiddlerbasher]

Have you checked the drag cam is correctly seated?

[ijlal]

Have you checked the drag cam is correctly seated?

Yes... it wouldn't work correctly if it wasn't

[ijlal]

Hi Alan,

I would be grateful if you also could please advise me...

The drag is not stable, but varies. To demonstrate the problem, I reverse the function of drag by applying light drag of around 3-4lb. I hold the spool so it does not turn, and I crank the handle slowly. What is happening is the handle moves smoothly and then at four certain points, 90 degrees apart, it sort of gets resistance and tends to stop, once past that point it again moves smoothly, and then after 90 degrees, the same thing happens. I think you'll get an idea now, what is happening.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Thanks!

[alantani]

the drags on these larger reels will often not function well at extremely light drag pressures.  this single drag washer can be uneven, it can have several high spots, and those can catch, making the drag feel uneven.  at 15 pounds of drag, these high spots are all compressed down and they are often not noticeable at all.

for heavy drag settings with the line slipping, is it possible with the deep diving lure is simply exerting too much pressure?  this is a problem see with planers, not so much with the lures themselves.  if the drags are dry, there might be "wet" spots that have water or oil that are causing the drag to stick occasionally.  if the large carbon fiber drag in this reel is greased, you should not have this problem. 

and finally, remember that the single most common cause of the problem that you initially described is spectra that is slipping on the spool.  it might be good to double check the line anyway.  also see if you can set the reel to 15 pounds at strike and get a smooth drag. 

[ijlal]

the drags on these larger reels will often not function well at extremely light drag pressures.  this single drag washer can be uneven, it can have several high spots, and those can catch, making the drag feel uneven.  at 15 pounds of drag, these high spots are all compressed down and they are often not noticeable at all.

for heavy drag settings with the line slipping, is it possible with the deep diving lure is simply exerting too much pressure?  this is a problem see with planers, not so much with the lures themselves.  if the drags are dry, there might be "wet" spots that have water or oil that are causing the drag to stick occasionally.  if the large carbon fiber drag in this reel is greased, you should not have this problem. 

and finally, remember that the single most common cause of the problem that you initially described is spectra that is slipping on the spool.  it might be good to double check the line anyway.  also see if you can set the reel to 15 pounds at strike and get a smooth drag. 

Thanks for your reply Alan!

As for uneven drag, I do have a greased Carbon fiber washer... The problem is more so on high drag.... When I serviced the reel a month or two ago, this was not a problem. Does this reel take in water very easily? I do wash it with freshwater after every trip.

As for line slipping, no, it is not the spectra slipping... As I said, I have a few meters mono backing that is tied to the spool, and I had this problem even before, when I had just mono on it.

I'll have to open it up again and try figuring out the reason. I have the bellevilles configured as (()) and I do get a very decent drag at strike with free spool. There is no startup inertia.

Have a great day!!!

[ijlal]

I guess I had reversed the drag pressure plate during some service... changing directions seems to have resolved the uneven drag problem.

Still need to test the line slippage when I go out fishing.

Thanks!

[alantani]

if you changed the belleville configuration from "()()" to "(())", it might be possible the the "(())" configuration is not wide enough and the pressure plate might not be able to put enough pressure on the drag washer.  measure the width of the two cofigurations and add a thrust washer or another belleville to match widths and see of that helps.  alternatively, go back to the "()()" configuration and see if your drag range goes up.