can i improve the poor condition of my okuma drag system?

[dremarquis]

now that i also fish lake O, i have purchases some daiwa sealine reels - man they seem great - i only hope they last like folks say they do. i began fishign the fingerlakes last july and bought 2 okuma magda pro 20 dxs.

the drag worked fine last year but now they suck big time - the drag will be way too loose, turn the star 1 freaking millimeter and it's way too tight. Finally find a spot where its just right, then check it 10 minutes later and it's completely tight.

is there any kind of repair/maintenance i can do to improve the drag or should i just throw those reels away.

i have heard mixed evaluations of the accudepth reels.

what are the best reels for trolling the fingerlakes and/or for flatlining or running off of planerboards in lake O?

many thanks for any info,

dre

[fireplug]

If you are going to trash the Okuma's, send me a PM.

Personally I have little experience with these types of reels, only have 2 that are used for walleye trolling and 1 big one for Muskie, so I cannot help, sorry.

[Trolling Keuka]

I have 8 of these reels and can say I haven't had a problem with them. I wonder if you got a bad one out of the bunch. I have had real good luck with these reels. Granted the fish in Keuka Lake aren't the size of the salmon on Lake Ontario but that have worked well for me. Now I will have to cross my fingers and hope I don't have any problems. A couple of buddys and I are headed to Lake Ontario Sunday and his boat is loaded with Okuma reels.

[Billy V]

Youu can have the drags re-worked in the Okuma's if you want to keep running them. As far as the Daiwa's go, the Sealine's are great. I have some that are 12 or 13 years old that have never had to be repaired in any way. The old Accudepths were an OK reel, but the drags were suspect. Some guys had bad luck with them, but I never did. The new Accudepth Plus is actually Sealine drags, gears, clickers, but with busings instead of bearings. It's just a different frame. I have four on board and have been running them on my wire divers all season and they've lasted beautifully. I wouldn't hesitate to run more of them, especially at $50 apiece.

[muskybob]

is there any kind of repair/maintenance i can do to improve the drag or should i just throw those reels away.

Call Okuma at 1-800-466-5862. I believe they have a drag kit that you can fix the drags with, or you can ship them back to Okuma to be fixed. Let us know how you made out.

[ilv2bfishing2]

Tuna Tom

4583 N. Lakeshore

Ludington, MI 49431

231.843.4557

I BOUGHT 2 USED OKUMAS OVER THE WINTER THAT HAD THE DRAGS REBUILT BY TUNA TOM . THE REBUILDS ARE HEADS ABOVE THE FACTORY DRAGS. PLAN ON SENDING HIM A FEW REELS OVER THE WINTER. LOTS OF GOOD FEEDBACK ON GL ANGLER. LARRY

[dremarquis]

WOW! - i just called the Okuma # that muskybob provided and got excellent customer service. Basically, all i need to do is mail them the reels and pay $8 to cover return shipping for both reels and they'll fix em up! they didn't even require me to find and send receipts.

thanks a bunch muskybob!

dre

[muskybob]

Glad to help. That's what we're here for.