Spirit of Adventure Charter, November 4-14, 2026

[Jim O]

Are you guys using star drag reels for casting jigs?  It's my understanding the free spool on a lever drag reel isn't as free as on a star drag, and makes for difficult casting.  Is this true?  This was the knock on TLDs when they came out in the 1980s.  Guys were resorting to removing all the grease from the reels and replacing it with either brake fluid or tranny fluid.  I can't remember which.  It did seem to work, but I don't know what the long term effects on the reels would have been.  I hear different stories.

i guess what I'm asking is when to choose/buy one over the other.  Is the star drag reel designed better for a particular application over the lever drag reel, and vice versa?

[MarkT]

I use TranX 500's for surface iron and bombs. Everything else is a leverdrag. Star drags like the Fathom 25sd, Trinidad/Torium 16/20 and Daiwa Saltiga/Saltist 35/40 are great for surface iron! Most die hard surface iron fishermen use them.

[Swami805]

I use star drags for 50lb and below, lever drags for heavier line. Newer lever drags cast better than the older ones but I think a star drag still has a little edge for casting. Somewhat depends on the operator though