Full servicing/cleaning/rebuild of my 9/0

[BryanC]

I am looking to upgrade my drag capabilities in this reel, so I plan to go with a heavier drag system. Will the one from Smooth Drags give me any extra drag power? It's $19, which is about half of the cost of Bryan's. It looks similar to Three Se7ens (dont' think I spelled his username correctly), which was able to put out 65-70 pounds at max - and worked pretty smoothly up until 30-35 pounds. So hopefully this $19 kit will at least increase my max drag output to something close to that. I am going to send them an email tonight to see what I can expect to get out of the reel.

I think the $19 Smooth Drag kit is a 5+1.  If so, it probably gives approximately the same drag power as the stock drag washers.  The Smooth Drag washers might hold up longer, but I've not had problems with stock Penn washers wearing out myself.  The stock (HT100) washers are sometimes a little ragged around the circumference, even when new though.

Bryan's drag washers are a 7+1 kit, and would give considerably more drag than a 5+1 kit.

Adam's (three se7ens) drag insert is a different system.  It takes advantage of both sides of each drag washer, and therefore gives higher drag numbers with the same number of washers as the other designs.  It would likely give you the most drag power of all the options.

[RowdyW]

You can forget about sandpaper to clean up your reel unless you don't mind scratching everything. Try a little 4/0 steelwool (that's 0000) on the chrome and an old tooth brush with mineral spirits or some household degreaser on the rest of the parts. The vinegar will just remove the green stuff. A 15 minute soak should do it.    Rudy

[biggiesmalls]

So it sounds like the Smoothdrags system isn't going to give me much more drag than the system in the reel now. I sent them an email, so I will see what they say about it. Not sure if it's a 5+1 or a 6+1 system.

I'll start gathering some steel wool, toothbrushes, and vinegar - since there is some green corrosion on the spool and a few external parts. Is the degreaser for getting off the Penn blue grease that's on the parts, or just generally cleaning them?

[Shark Hunter]

The reason Bryan's kit is more is because he has thinner drag washers made to accommodate a 7 stack. The normal stack is only 5.
Dawn's kit is just the Carbon drag washers and not the metal washers.
Adam's insert kit is a totally different animal. It uses an Insert in the gear with versa drag type washers to double up the power.
My go to for polishing up that reel is turtle wax chrome polish. Found at any auto or department store.
Here is a regular stock 5 stack.

This is Bryan's 7 stack kit.

This is Adam's kit with the insert already in the gear.
Another thing, If you are upgrading to the Black Pearl stainless gears, you will need a stainless yoke. Dawn at Smooth drag and Scott's has these.


You can use all kinds of stuff to polish your reel up. If the corrosion has eaten through the Chrome. You are not going to bring it back.
The Chrome polish works for me.
It can turn this,

into this,

[biggiesmalls]

Thank you to everyone for the help. I will be placing my order tomorrow, figured I might as well splurge (payday tomorrow) so I'm going to order a 7-stack kit from Bryan . I'll give him a text/call some time tomorrow and make sure he's got one ready.

I don't plan on running stainless steel gears - just the gear sleeve.

Turtle wax chrome polish - got it. I'll pick some up from walmart tomorrow or saturday.

[thorhammer]

All following are my opinions, taking into account your budget, existing and future plan, and my knowledge of having lived and fished in that exact neighborhood (Crosswinds, just past CFA, to be exact)



Island Tackle should have Never Dull if you really want to take it up a notch after the compounding, lasts forever if you keep it sealed and great on any metal. Not sure how good your plates are but automotive head light restorer or marine vinyl (Isenglass) polish will help if they are faded. The last should be also had at Island tackle. If I recall you are over by CFA so a straight shot over the bridge, I expect you know where it is.

If you are getting Bryan's stack, handle and sleeve upgrades, IMO you should load 500 yds 100 lb braid and top with 80 mono the rest of the way (this is how all my are done). If you load straight 60 mono as you mentioned, that is actually at the lower end of the reel's design capability in stock form, so you will actually be wasting money building a 50 lb drag reel  to fish light line. If you back with braid you can fish two classes heavier on your upgrades which would by the 1/3 rule should give you a very easy and smooth 30lbs drag with Bryan's stack (if I recall). You will then have plus 700 yards heavy line to work with, which may be half way out or more just to drop your bait. Even if the fish doesn't run a yard, you need to be able to lay the hickory on with the gear to get him in 400 yards quickly for a healthy release. I caught a bunch of spinners and blacktips in the CB surf drum fishing; the 5 footers are always there as you know. They are an easy enough fight in the surf with heavier drum tackle; HOWEVER, we have seen healthy tigers at the Marriot reef just offshore, and a diver friend of mine has seen big bulls in Snow's Cut...better to go heavy in general and especially at night, regardless of where you are fishing.

I'd replace those guides; not sure they are rated for your intended application. We can discuss if you like; not sure of your timeline or equipment to wrap a rod either for your existing one or for a new build but I can share some equipment / finish tricks to keep you economical if only doing a couple of rods. IMO spend $25 on new turbo guides and gimbal for that rod and fish the crap out of it.


BTW, tool  / farm implement paint from Tractor Supply is the most durable I've found if not using a clear top coat like Voodoo CP Ultra. Just let it cure for a couple of days. Rustoleum will chip easily. Prime blank first.


John






Also, make sure you have the harness and belt in budget if you don't have it, otherwise your sweet setup at 30lbs drag may take off in the dark after a bit.

[biggiesmalls]

Wow, a lot to think about now. I'll just go down the list I guess

I'll look around for Never Dull - looks like Walmart has a can of it for like $5. That should cover cleaning all of the parts, I have to go back and look but I don't think anything is faded on it. If so, I should have head light restorer in the garage that I can use.

I am definitely getting Bryan's stack from him, going to give him an email tonight with my info. Handle upgrades and sleeve upgrades as well - or course . I like the idea of loading some braid on there, I need to talk to Intracoastal and see how cheap they can get me that braid for. I am going in when they open back up (they're closed for inventory for the next few days) to get a few Penn Battles spooled, hopefully they can get me spooled up for cheap enough.

I'll gladly take you up on your offer about the rod - I'm responding to your PM now. I just realized it doesn't have a gimbal on it, seems very odd for such a heavy rod. I believe it's a 40-80 pound blank with the rod.

So to paint the rod, I've got to prime it, paint it, and depending on the paint clear coat it. I'll probably go with whatever's cheaper. Can I use plain clear coat on there with Rustoleum, or do I need the Voodoo stuff?

I've got a shoulder harness right now, planning on getting a belt before I get out on the water again.

[biggiesmalls]

Alright, project is officially in full effect! Just spent $45 at Scott's Bait and Tackle and another $37 from Bryan, plus placing another $45 order from Dawn at SmoothDrags tomorrow. I'll have my new gear sleeve, drag kit, some reel grease, handle arm, handle grip, and SS dog by a week from today.

I've got to pick up some metal polish from Walmart, and then when I decide on new guides for my rod I will order those along with an aluminum gimbal and possibly some new foam grips. Thorhammer has offered to work on the rod for me, he's keeping my rollers in exchange for the labor . After that, I've got to get the beast spooled and then I'm set - until I cough up the money for more SS parts and a one-piece frame!

Can't wait to get this thing finished. By the end of February I hope to have a completed setup (save for SS gears and aluminum frame). I'm off with some fine steel wool, toothbrushes, and white vinegar to clean up all the parts I've got. Will post pics at some point.

[mley1]

Take pics along the way! It's fun and helps me learn when I see everyone's build pics.

[biggiesmalls]

Good news - got my parts in today! Few questions, and I've included a few pics:

1) The stainless steel dog that I ordered from Dawn does not fit the 9/0, so I will return it. Do I need a SS dog with the SS gear sleeve, or was that something that I had no reason to buy? If I do need one, where would I find one?

2) Can I expect to get a few bucks for the old parts that I'm replacing in my reel? I was thinking of listing the old drag set and arm/handle on eBay - of course, any members on here that want it please let me know, I'll gladly send it to you for the cost of shipping.

3) How do I remove the old gear sleeve from its bridge? I've included a picture, I don't have any clue how to get thing off and I don't want to break anything.

4) What's the small pin that came with the gear sleeve? It's in one of the pictures.

That's all I've got for now. I need to figure out spooling (thinking 100 pound braid and then 150+ yards of heavy mono), get my rod done (don't worry Thor, I didn't forget about you - check your PMs), and get fishing. Need to get my rigs ready for the season, planning on getting out there no later than April, and to top it off I've got a new spot - turns out my friend's grandparents have a private section of the local beach and they're letting me use it

[biggiesmalls]

Okay, I have to download the pictures on to my laptop, will post them around 7:00 tonight.

[Shark Hunter]

That small pin is what is holding your old gear sleeve on. It needs to be tapped out with a small punch.

[biggiesmalls]

Gotcha, going to go get it out now. In that case, I don't need to worry about posting any pics yet then. I'll take them this weekend, when I finally get my reel put back together.

Can anyone comment on the use of the stainless dog on the reel? I don't even know where I saw that I would need a SS dog, do I?

One final thing for tonight - can anyone comment on the use of the east Asian braided lines (Hong Kong, China, Japan)? Thinking about ordering 1,094 yards of this stuff in 100 pound test (.02165" diameter) for backing, and then for backing again when I need to replace it (in a few years):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-Strands-Dyneema-Spectra-Extreme-Braid-Fishing-Line-Green-100M-300M-500M-1000M-/371237842380?var=&hash=item566f7fedcc:m:m4c9Blfkl40qIu_OgK_obeg

There was a three or four page long discussion of it on Texas Shark Fishing's forums, and it looked like everyone there who had purchased some and tested it saw that it worked very well doing dry tests with it. I don't know how well it will hold up out on the water though. Planning on spooling my other reels with this stuff if someone tells me the stuff works well. Does the stuff cast well, or should I stick to using it on the yakked setup?

[Shark Hunter]

This is just my personal opinion Biggie, but I don't do braid when shark fishing.
100lb braid will cut like thread if it touches a shell or another shark with tension on it.
If you want the capacity, go with JB hollow core as backing, then a mono top shot.
I usually only do this on my bigger rigs. I run straight 80lb mono on my 9/0's.
I don't have near the capacity on a 9/0, but I have the groceries to put some serious drag down if I have to.
I've been at this game for a couple years and I've seen guys get cut off with 100lb braid too often, especially from shore.
Run top grade mono, Like Sufix superior. It has worked for me in the past.
JMO

[biggiesmalls]

I've heard two conflicting opinions from both members of this board - thorhammer has recommended i go with braid and a topshot, while Shark Hunter is recommending straight mono.

Thorhammer's reasoning was that since I've already spent over $100 on this project, fishing it with straight mono is kind of pointless since it's not pushing the reel to its true potential. With all these drag upgrades and new gear sleeves and power handles, upgrading the capacity doesn't sound terrible.

However...

Shark Hunter's reasoning was that even 100 pound braid is easily cut off, especially when you've got a lot of it out. Straight 80 pound mono was the recommendation given. If I might ask, where do you fish? I will be fishing off of Wrightsville Beach, where quite frankly I don't know what the bottom is like far out - but I do know that at around 50-60 yards from the shore, we've got relatively clear shell-free bottoms, while further inshore is shelly and I don't know about further out - but I would guess it's pretty free of structure. I know our beaches are nothing compared to Texas - so perhaps braid is an option for me. Of course, I would go with 80 pound mono as a long topshot, probably 150-200 yards of the stuff or even more.

Any thoughts?