High drag, binding and lever resistance

[fishingjack]

Hi Alan,
as you are the king of all things 'reel' I want to ask for some advice about running lever drag reels at high numbers.

On a dual drag jigging master reel, when the preset is turned up to achieve high drag numbers, the binding effect makes the lever feel very stiff. It's pretty hard pushing the lever to full. Is there anything that can be done to reduce or minimise this? 
From what I understand the drag cam shape will apply a slight torque effect when it pulls on the spool.

I realise from trial and error that pushing the preset too far can:

1. result in loss of free spool
2. Bottom out the lever before it reaches max/sunset.

I have the preset set so that i can turn the lever to max and there is free spool but the lever is stiff. Cranking the reel still feels ok. A result of the dual drag design. So I have backed off the preset a bit. Its not as far as it can go.

Would for example using a teflon oil on the lever help? Probably not much?

Thanks for any advice

best regards

-Jack

[JGB]

Jack,

When cranking up the drag preset always use a scale to set the preset. It is possible to set the preset so high that pushing the lever up to full will exceed the design limits of the reel. This can result in damaged bearings or in worst case  break a composite frame on a snag or very large fish.

As far as the pressure needed to advance the drag lever is concerned. It is determined by the design. for designs by Avet, Diawa's
and Accurate the pressure needed is solely drag pressure and friction on the cam, can't do anything about that. In other designs like Shimano's and Okuma's there is a washer under the lever that serves as both a bearing and a friction stop for the lever. I have been able to improve the smoothness and reduce the force needed to advance the lever by replacing this washer with a Teflon washer. There is a trade off with this as the lever will move backwards more easily and at low drag settings may drift back while fighting a fish. The second trade off is you lose much of the tactile feel of how tight the drag is while making adjustments in the heat of battle.
The second thing you can do is keep the cam clean and corrosion free as well as keeping it greased with a good high pressure lube.
The newer designs now employ detentes on the drag lever that give you feedback as you make drag changes. The detentes also help to prevent the lever from moving on it's own.
Try a few things and see what works for you. When you go out fishing to test these changes bring the original parts with you so you can restore the original configurations if your fixes prove to be problematic.

Jim N.

[fishingjack]

Thanks Jim.

Yes I expect a relational increase in lever resistance when increasing the drag setting. Pressure is increasing after all. I just wondered if there are any common tweaks? The drag lever is a clicker type that locks into place on the little pits. Jigging master style.

I was careful with setting the preset too High. I use a digital scales when pulling the line. The reel is set at 25lbs on strike where about 35 to 40lbs can be set but I notice the lever is stiff. I didnt force the lever to full or even strike if I felt it was really stiff.

[alantani]

not much you can do about that problem.......