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Post by Pete D. on Dec 30, 2014 15:21:18 GMT -5
Hey guys, got some el cheapo Okuma Magdas. They work fine when you need 8 reels in a jiffy. The drag on these things stinks. You either have the fish pulling line, or the line locked up tight. There is no in between. Anyone have any place where I could get some upgraded drag washers to get a few years of decent use out of these things? Thanks!!
For now I'm going to start buying 6500's 1 by one.
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Post by striperjohn on Dec 30, 2014 17:02:01 GMT -5
Some guys on here do not like the Ambassadour 6500s but I love em. I have 17 of them the youngest being about 12 years old and the oldest is 40. Only thing I have ever had to do to them is replace a couple of lineguide worm gears, in total, and a drag washer here or there.
Key to them is maintenance.
Sent from my SM-G900R4 using proboards
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Post by Pete D. on Dec 30, 2014 17:38:13 GMT -5
They are great reels. Thanks for your reply!
Now back to the Okumas. Who makes upgraded drag washers for the Magdas?
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Post by FishON on Dec 30, 2014 18:22:46 GMT -5
I don't know about drag washers. Heck, I don't even know what they are.... But, I will say I just bought an Okuma Magda the other day. After reading your post I am thinking I should of stuck with all Daiwa reels.
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Post by Pete D. on Dec 30, 2014 20:23:25 GMT -5
I don't know about drag washers. Heck, I don't even know what they are.... But, I will say I just bought an Okuma Magda the other day. After reading your post I am thinking I should of stuck with all Daiwa reels. FishOn, For the money they are a decent reel. I have caught some decent fish on them. What do you expect for a $35 reel, ya know? The Daiwa Accudepth reels are LEAPS AND BOUNDS better than these Magdas are. They are also about twice the price. I would be very satisfied if all of my downlines were accudepths with line counters. The drag washers are the washers that live just behind the drag nut. When you tighten or loosen down the drag nut, this is what provides friction that either stops, or allows the line to be pulled from the reel while at rest. I have heard that just applying some quality drag grease will help with these reels. Maybe I should give it a try. I typically fish 12lb. leaders here at Lake Anna, so there is not "sweet spot" on my drag to allow a decent fish to pull drag. I have lost a few nice fish because of this. Heck, I have some nice Abu Garcia 7000's for catfishing, and almost lost a 37lber. because it decided to bite the rod that had a Shakespeare Tidewater reel on it. Shitty drags on those reels too............ |
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Gator
New Member
Posts: 1,534
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Post by Gator on Dec 31, 2014 10:22:55 GMT -5
Hey Pete, hows that little one doing? As for the drag on the magdas, I would start by replacing the oem washers with Penn washers and grease them up fairly well. Or you can go to www.smoothdrag.com/the carbontex washers are awesome. Can't go wrong with the 6500's either. |
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Post by Pete D. on Dec 31, 2014 11:15:33 GMT -5
Gator,
She's doing great!! So much fun, and she hasn't cut too much into my fishin' time. Thanks for your advice!!
Just in case someone else runs into this thread, I talked with Andy and Tuna Troubles reels, and here was his reply. Very in depth and super fast!!
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Post by mwardncsu on Dec 31, 2014 11:34:36 GMT -5
I used to have the Magda's and had a couple that were like that - would slip or stick with nothing in between. If $8 and a bit of time improves the performance then that's deal.
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Post by Pete D. on Dec 31, 2014 11:58:37 GMT -5
I used to have the Magda's and had a couple that were like that - would slip or stick with nothing in between. If $8 and a bit of time improves the performance then that's deal. Agreed. Now that I am invested in them I may as well get em working as best as I can. I will post back with results in a few weeks once I get them installed and start using them. Andy is very willing to help. Awesome guy!! |
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Post by Pete D. on Jan 4, 2015 11:20:03 GMT -5
Got all the new drags in. First reel took me 30-40 mins!!! Last one (8th) took about 5.  Its good to know your reels insides so if it has an issue you can already know where to start. I am going to reset my drags and all that jazz. The guy from Tunas told me to clean the old grease off the metal washers, and put the new drag washers in dry. From what I can tell, I will have a lot more room to change drag settings for different weight leaders. I fish 12lb fluoro leaders and these drags just were not setting properly for the 4-6lb. relief that you should run with 12. Another AWESOME upgrade that I did, costed $1.29 per reel, was changing the clickers/bait runners from plastic to copper. The sound is a lot louder, and there is quite a bit more resistance when the drag is open and clickers are set. I may actually enjoy using these bait runners now!!   |
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Post by FishON on Jan 4, 2015 15:08:01 GMT -5
Sutor, thanks for the update
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Post by Pete D. on Jan 4, 2015 20:29:35 GMT -5
Sure thing! The older magdas were exactly the same as the newer "pro" models, except they used felt washers. The new magdas come with carbonite washers, very similar to the carbon fiber ones I just put in my reel. Point being, if you are satisfied wth your drag I'd leave it be. The clicker would be a nice upgrade though!
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Its good to know your reels insides so if it has an issue you can already know where to start. I am going to reset my drags and all that jazz. The guy from Tunas told me to clean the old grease off the metal washers, and put the new drag washers in dry. From what I can tell, I will have a lot more room to change drag settings for different weight leaders. I fish 12lb fluoro leaders and these drags just were not setting properly for the 4-6lb. relief that you should run with 12.
