So recently I was very fortunate to chase tuna and mackerel on the NSW north coast. All went well:
Some mighty battles occurred because I was using our light 702 combo to maximise casting distance with 40 gram metals. The 4000 size Ryobi reel was warm to the touch when these speedsters hit the after burners:
So before heading off I asked Tim to service all the reels I was taking. In particular, upgrading felt and synthetic fibre washers to carbontex where needed. That was probably the best call of the whole trip. Reminded of that on Monday morning when a client who bought carbontex washers to upgrade his Stradic sent me this pic and feedback:
"Thanks Andrew. Check out the cheap drag washers they put in the Stradic Ci4+."
Facebook reader David M observed:
"Wow, that’s very ordinary for that price bracket. Reminds me of the oiled leather in daiwa Millionaires 30 years ago, smooth but only lasted a week on the striped tuna."
Especially since carbontex drag washers are not expensive! From us, anyway. $22.50 for a sheet - delivered. That will do up to 7 reels so, maybe $3 per reel:
Here’s how to swap your drag washers, on a typical spinning reel. Firstly, remove the spool:
Carefully pop out the circlip which holds the drag stack in place:
Lay out the drag stack. There will be fibre washers and steel washers in the mix:
Take one of the fibre washers, and clip it to a sheet of our carbontex using a bulldog clip:
First drill the centre hole using a correct size drill bit. Then cut the outside of the washers using an old pair of braid scissors:
Apply a little grease on both sides of the synthetic washers. From what we have observed and despite what some tackle fanatics say, pretty much any kind of quality grease is okay. Brake caliper grease works well. Reinstall the drag stack in the same order.
Steve phoned last week and said he’d been quoted $65 on precut drag washers for his Tyrnos 30. I told him that if he wanted to cut them out of our sheet using a drill and an old pair of braid scissors it would cost $23 including delivery – AND, there would be enough material left over for another four or five reels. He liked that idea:
"Hi Andrew, thank you for posting the sheet of your carbontex. It was very easy to work with and to cut out the required drag washers for my overhead reel. They work amazingly good at a fraction of the cost of original parts. Cheers, Steve"
Youtube fishing identity Luigi P writes:
"I bought a sheet off you and have now converted all my reels. Along with quality drag grease and a good service the reels are now as good if not better than new. Silky smooth drags are bliss on those quality fish battles."
Depending on the size of your reels up to seven can be done from one of our business envelope size sheets. In general – but not always – 1.0mm washers suit spinning reels and 0.5mm washers are used for bait casting reels. But if you’re not sure, it’s easy to remove one washer and measure it on edge against a plastic ruler. One thing to mention:
Avoid sandwich material. See the white line in the middle of the top sheet? That manufacturer has glued carbon fibre on both sides of a thin fiberglass sheet. Always go for ours, shown on the bottom. Black 100% carbontex, all the way through.
Give it a try. The best investment you’ve ever made. Now’s a good time to get it done, while most of the country is suffering bad weather. Have your reels ready to go for when the weather clears.
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