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Lumpy Drag

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James9118
Posts: 1657
Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2013 6:59 pm
Answers: 0
Location: N.Wales

Lumpy Drag

#1

Post by James9118 »

I have a Scierra XDA reel for fishing on the river (plus some casting lines on some spare spools), I have to say it's the most awful piece of junk I've ever had the misfortune to use. From day one the drag has been lumpy, yesterday on the river I had two over-runs when stripping the line out against a normal drag the resistance suddenly dropped to near nothing!

I have stripped the drag mechanism and it appears the drag washer is a piece of recycled plastic - with a pattern printed on it as if it's been cut from a child's play mat :glare:

Does anyone have any suggestion to get this piece of junk running smoother or should I just buy a quality reel?

Cheers, James
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Graeme H
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Joined: Fri Jan 25, 2013 2:54 pm
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Location: Perth, Western Australia

Re: Lumpy Drag

#2

Post by Graeme H »

Buy a decent reel ... :)

A poor drag is a sign the rest of the reel has probably had short-cuts taken in the manufacture too.

Maybe get a Dannielson? I've never heard anything bad about them. I've got the Dry Fly, but that has no drag whatsoever. Still, the workmanship is great and it suits the purpose I bought it for (teaching).

Cheers,
Graeme
FFi CCI
Bendix
Posts: 181
Joined: Fri Jan 15, 2021 12:23 pm
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Location: Denmark

Re: Lumpy Drag

#3

Post by Bendix »

I’m with Graeme on this one!

Buy a decent reel.

I don’t know how it is in the rest of the world, but here in Denmark, it has been common knowledge for many years, that Scierra is nothing but cheap Chinese junk... And not only their reels, but also their rods and waders. In fact, there is a saying about Scierra rods here in Denmark, that you “know them by the snap”, because they have a high tendency to break...

So, do your best to avoid any products from this brand in the future, and you will be a much happier person.

/Bendix
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Paul Arden
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Re: Lumpy Drag

#4

Post by Paul Arden »

Welcome to my world! I have a lot of reels where the drag has either dropped to nothing or works both ways! Personally I find that this adds an additional level of excitement. I once stuffed a reel with grass by the way. http://www.sexyloops.com/picofday/stuff/grassdrag.shtml Have you tried this?

Cheers, Paul
It's an exploration; bring a flyrod.

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James9118
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Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2013 6:59 pm
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Location: N.Wales

Re: Lumpy Drag

#5

Post by James9118 »

Now that is a bit bizarre because I did find what looked like a blade of grass sandwiched inside the drag plates - this is on a reel I bought supposedly as new. It's quite possible that it worked its way in there from my use (a lot of grass casting obviously) but a weird coincidence given your post.

Cheers, James
George C
Posts: 342
Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2018 7:30 am
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Re: Lumpy Drag

#6

Post by George C »

Depending on your washer size this company produces a well respected product. They have a pdf of available dimensions for reels not listed.
https://www.smoothdrag.com
George C
Posts: 342
Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2018 7:30 am
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Re: Lumpy Drag

#7

Post by George C »

Another issue that can cause a drag to 'skate' is moisture. On conventional reels that are likely to get wet it is normal to grease carbon drag washers to avoid this. Doing so seems counter-intuitive but provided the film is kept very thin (and the drag system can generate sufficient compression) it works well.
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sms
Posts: 446
Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2013 7:12 pm
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Location: Southern Finland

Re: Lumpy Drag

#8

Post by sms »

One possibility for the free spooling is iar/one way bearing. If there is one in that reel, it is the likely culprit as if it doesn’t engage, there is no drag at all.
I'm here just for the chicks.

-Sakke
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