Had something hit a trolled lure and ripped out 50 yards or so of line before the 17lb mono broke. The drag was smooth at first and got 'grabby' before the line broke. I want to upgrade. What do you recommend?
You can only do so much with the tiny drag on those reels, but carbon fiber is of course the best option.
Sounds to me like you need greased carbon fiber drags. That "grabby" thing is what we call chattering. It's a herky-jerky feeling...as the drags slip then bite...slip and bite...easy way to loose your fish. I just fixed a 5500C for my brother that was doing this also, the greased carbon fiber drag washers made it smooth as silk. 8)
Thanks MO. I'll get a set and do a change-out.
x3 As above greased cf - best thing since guacamole :)