Penn TRQ40

Sylvester · March 09, 2012, 08:02:29 AM

Hi Guys,

I have a Penn TRQ 40 that I have been using for the past few months. It is one very sweet reel and has a very nice smooth cranking action as well as a very smooth casting action. I just cannot seem to get the drag to work smoothly with the HT-100 drag washers. If it is greased up and ready to to go for a days fishing it is fine. The drag is a little coarse but not sticky at all. After the first wade, our reels get submerged often here in SA, the drag starts acting up. It should be noted that we practice a very unique type of shore based game fishing here in South Africa. The drag becomes very snatchy and unpredictable. I recently had a 3hour plus fight with a fairly large Bronze Whaler that was most unpleasant due to a snatchy drag. I did manage to land the fish but had some hair raising moments with the fish taking 3 blistering runs, first one just 0n 550m, second 300m and third one another 550m run! Now with a fish making such long, and fast, runs the mono filament topshot (about 250m) acts like a bit of a shock absorber but still the jerkiness of the drag was very disconcerting.

My other reels (Shimano Trinidad 40, Torium 30 as well as other Shimanos like Speedmaster and TLD 20/40 Star drag)all have leather drags which are serviced often. These work superbly and very rarely cause any problems at all. Besides the initial startup inertia when you take it out the bag and put it on the rod ( which is easily overcome by cranking the handle while holding the spool) the drags work superbly for months on end. I would ordinarily dump any standard washers in a reel and replace with leather immediately but because of the Penns unique design it is not possible.

Please help, how do I fix this problem?

Irish Jigger · March 09, 2012, 08:55:06 AM

Leather drags! This should be very interesting.

Sylvester · March 09, 2012, 09:07:02 AM

Quote from: Irish Jigger on March 09, 2012, 08:55:06 AM
Leather drags! This should be very interesting.

They are very popular here, I cannot say why they work for me but lets just say they do. So many people punt the Carbon fibre drags but I just can't seem to get them to work for me. Other guys here are using them and are loving them.....I must just have bad luck with them. Maybe I am not using enough grease......I don't know! I would really like them to work but am having no joy.

Top fish was the one taken on the TRQ 40 and bottom Pic is one taken on leathers.

borntofish · March 09, 2012, 09:18:49 AM

Penn reels with the HT100 washers are sold dry. You can grease them but you must use a special drag grease such as Cal's grease. What grease are you using?

PS: I haven't heard of anyone using leather grag washers in a long time!

Tile · March 09, 2012, 09:21:37 AM

Look for high spots on the steel wshers and check the inside of the maingear for burrs. If you find some sand them on a sharpening stone to get rid of the high spots. The leather drag washers have the ability to conform to any unevenness on the steel washers because they have a small degree of compresibility.

Sylvester · March 09, 2012, 09:22:49 AM

Quote from: borntofish on March 09, 2012, 09:18:49 AM
Penn reels with the HT100 washers are sold dry. You can grease them but you must use a special drag grease such as Cal's grease. What grease are you using?

PS: I haven't heard of anyone using leather grag washers in a long time!

I am not using Cals grease. I use a grease that we use here in our dye machines as it is heat and water resistant. I don't recall the brand but a very High grade grease. I have greased them and when freshly greased are fine. Problem comes when we swim/wade onto the sand banks to cast. the reels get submerged and then the drag goes crazy on me. The reels with the leather seem unaffected by this. The majority of our top anglers use Leather. Carbontex has gained a big following but myself and others are not convinced. I tried them once in one of my Toriums but didn't like the feel!

Irish Jigger · March 09, 2012, 09:23:17 AM

Wow! great fishing you have there in SA. Looks like the leather drags work ok for you.You will get all the info re greased carbon drags on here when the sun rises in the US.

borntofish · March 09, 2012, 09:39:49 AM

Quote from: Sylvester on March 09, 2012, 09:22:49 AM
Quote from: borntofish on March 09, 2012, 09:18:49 AM
Penn reels with the HT100 washers are sold dry. You can grease them but you must use a special drag grease such as Cal's grease. What grease are you using?

PS: I haven't heard of anyone using leather grag washers in a long time!

I am not using Cals grease. I use a grease that we use here in our dye machines as it is heat and water resistant. I don't recall the brand but a very High grade grease. I have greased them and when freshly greased are fine. Problem comes when we swim/wade onto the sand banks to cast. the reels get submerged and then the drag goes crazy on me. The reels with the leather seem unaffected by this. The majority of our top anglers use Leather. Carbontex has gained a big following but myself and others are not convinced. I tried them once in one of my Toriums but didn't like the feel!

That makes sense. Leather washers are usually used soaked in oil - so this would make them somewhat waterproof. Perhaps you should try keeping your reel dry when wading out with some sort of waterproof cover. Might help your reel to last longer too!

Sylvester · March 09, 2012, 09:44:28 AM

We use Nickel compound which is massaged into the leather to give it the required lubrication. Obviously the Leathers do not last as long as the Carbon Fibre washers but hell they are smooth as silk.

I realise that one has to move with the times but with our type of fishing I want to be sure my drag is going to be 100% before I make the switch. Using this Penn is a good way to build some trust.....if I can just get it working properly! Are the HT100 washers the same as Carbontex? They look and feel the same.

Sylvester · March 09, 2012, 09:51:10 AM

Quote from: Tile on March 09, 2012, 09:21:37 AM
Look for high spots on the steel wshers and check the inside of the maingear for burrs. If you find some sand them on a sharpening stone to get rid of the high spots. The leather drag washers have the ability to conform to any unevenness on the steel washers because they have a small degree of compresibility.

I'll look for any problems there.....I hope there isn't though. It is quite a high end reel! Luckily I didn't have to buy it, I won it in a fishing comp!

Squirmypug · March 09, 2012, 10:03:34 AM

Carbontex is alot like ht100s, if your drag is jerky I would think it is from the grease you are using. You should try some Cal's drag grease or Shimano drag grease. Have you used the ht100s dry yet to see if they would get jerky when water gets on them?

Sylvester · March 09, 2012, 10:11:03 AM

Quote from: Squirmypug on March 09, 2012, 10:03:34 AM
Carbontex is alot like ht100s, if your drag is jerky I would think it is from the grease you are using. You should try some Cal's drag grease or Shimano drag grease. Have you used the ht100s dry yet to see if they would get jerky when water gets on them?

Never tried them dry.....I did fish the reel straight out the box, just spooled it and went fishing. It was jerky from new. I just put it down to the Carbon Fibre drag.

Squirmypug · March 09, 2012, 10:19:34 AM

Sometimes right out of the box reels have a little grease on the drag washers.Try cleaning them off really well and install them dry. There may be a plastic washer under the main gear. Those usually get alot of grease on them and may make the drag jerky, try cleaning that washer off also.

Sylvester · March 09, 2012, 10:28:25 AM

Do you think they will work better dry than with grease?

Squirmypug · March 09, 2012, 10:38:34 AM

I like Ht100s greased with Cal's, but I also use them dry and they are great. If using the wrong kind of grease they can get sticky, thats why most people use Cal's or Shimano drag grease. If the grease you used isn't Teflon or PTFE based that could be the problem.