Okuma Coldwater Drags

[krawler]

Past 2 seasons drags on these reels have been very sticky.  They either creep when you tighten them down or when loose they are still too tight.  Has anyone experienced this issue and has a drag washer replacement fixed the problem enough that you were finally happy with their performance?

 

If no fix, I'm ready to throw in the towel on these reels.  

 

Thanks

[sszoldra]

They can be replaced with carbon fiber drag washers. It's really not that hard to do them.

[Sam N. Slayer]

That’s not the problem. They already have carbon fiber drag washers. It is a common problem with just about all Coldwaters. Read Rochester Reel Repair Facebook post from February 11, 2020. Just search for them on Facebook.


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[NymphO]

I find the best and only way to properly "set" my okumas, Coldwater or convector, is to reel against the drag to "free" it up. So when letting out, sometimes loosening the drag doesn't work as it should, so when I reel against the drag or just reel in line, it frees the drag and everything seems to be perfect. Hope that makes sense

[lrg355]

I have 8 of the Coldwater 453 series. They acted just as NymphO described. Got frustrated after 2 or 3 years of use. Called Okuma USA and complained. Even though they were out of warranty they gave me a authorization number to send to Tuna's for warranty repair. Talked to the guy there and he explained that even the latest Coldwaters continue to have this problem. I sent them out, about $25 for shipping. They put in the new drag washers and they are very good now. All the sticking and creeping is completely gone. I have since changed the drags in my spring brown Okuma reels and they are much better.

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[Chowdaire]

I've replaced the drags in all of my coldwaters,153's and 303's, with Tuna Tom's and changed the spring washer configuration as shown on that Rochester Reel repair post. They're pretty good now.

[Sai]

I replaced my Okuma CW453 washers with Tuna's dragmaster carbon fibre washers and they feel so much more responsive, smooth, and even. Can't understand why they couldn't just include better drag washers in the first place.

[Silver Fox]

Last year I sent out all my new Okumas to Scott in Michigan and he put all new carbon fiber drags in them. Are they like the old saltist? No, but they are much better.

[fisherdude]

Different reels , Fishing the Finger Lakes my seth green rods are the most important part of our set up . They have penn 309 reels on them . The drags were not the greatest from the start . I would like to put carbon fiber drags in them if possible over the winter with the season ending in a month . Is there any reel repair shops in Rochester someone would recommend to get this job done ?