Reel tuning

Thu Aug 10, 2006 9:22 pm

Alrite lads somebody please simplify the term 'reel tuning' fed up reading articles on the internet saying do this do that, you know the ones im talking about...Are multipliers ready to use from the box? do reels only need to be tuned for maxium distance and tournament casting? Someone sort this out on my head losing sleep :( :cry:

Thu Aug 10, 2006 10:43 pm

Very basically Hairy, Penn 525s are ready to use straight from the box, Abus can take a bit more fine tuning to get them right for you. Just, on first purchasing a reel, while the spool is still empty just make sure that there is a tiny(and I mean tiny) bit play if you try to move the spool from side to side. You can adjust this with the knob on the side, do not however use this as a method of slowing down your reel as it causes them to wear excessively. Give them a cast or two on full mags, if thats ok, you need do no more really TBH. You can back the mags off then to find where suits you best. If you find they run a bit too fast or a bit too slow then either use a drop or two of thicker oil to slow it down or thinner oil to speed it up. I personally think that for an ordinary bloke casting who hits 100 to 150 yards max or so then there is no need to get too technical about it. Line choice and line fill level are also very important for smooth casting. Make sure you leave a gap of a few mm frm the top of the spool to the line level as overfilling leads to disasters :D I use Daiwa Tournament but am very impressed with Suffix Titanium that I tried for the first time last week.

HTH and you can get back to sleep :lol:

Fri Aug 11, 2006 12:45 am

petekd wrote:Very basically Hairy, Penn 525s are ready to use straight from the box, Abus can take a bit more fine tuning to get them right for you. Just, on first purchasing a reel, while the spool is still empty just make sure that there is a tiny(and I mean tiny) bit play if you try to move the spool from side to side. You can adjust this with the knob on the side, do not however use this as a method of slowing down your reel as it causes them to wear excessively. Give them a cast or two on full mags, if thats ok, you need do no more really TBH. You can back the mags off then to find where suits you best. If you find they run a bit too fast or a bit too slow then either use a drop or two of thicker oil to slow it down or thinner oil to speed it up. I personally think that for an ordinary bloke casting who hits 100 to 150 yards max or so then there is no need to get too technical about it. Line choice and line fill level are also very important for smooth casting. Make sure you leave a gap of a few mm frm the top of the spool to the line level as overfilling leads to

disasters :D I use Daiwa Tournament but am very impressed with Suffix Titanium that I tried for the first time last week.

HTH and you can get back to sleep :lol:


Thats halfed the questions in my head cheers good advice....zzzzzzzzzz going to sleep now :lol: :lol:

Tue Aug 15, 2006 9:51 am

each individual you will find likes their reels tuned differently according to experience and the amout of birdsnests they have just had..

it can depend on the reel... i have a new 7ht and find i need to have it slightly tighter at the moment... but i suppose its like a car, you have to drive it a few thousand miles before you can really let go in it...

i found i like my 7ht suites me best with one brake inside(as opposed to the usual two)..

Tue Aug 15, 2006 10:42 am

HairyC, i agree with peteKD, 99% of reels are good to go straight out of the box and are capable of pretty big distances too,once bought setting them up for personal prefferences or fishing situations required is the next step and once done thats that, they are ready to be run in, this intails roughly 40-50 moderate casts to both loosen up all the moving parts and to bed the pinion with the gears.
Tunning is the term used for the use of brake blocks, bearing oils, line level and matching dia lines, or magnetic brake systems these are all to control the reel during the cast. All reels when purchased are geared for fishing they run not so much slow but safe and can be adjusted to suit conditions as needed, hope this helps.

Tue Aug 15, 2006 5:30 pm

paddyc wrote:HairyC, i agree with peteKD, 99% of reels are good to go straight out of the box and are capable of pretty big distances too,once bought setting them up for personal prefferences or fishing situations required is the next step and once done thats that, they are ready to be run in, this intails roughly 40-50 moderate casts to both loosen up all the moving parts and to bed the pinion with the gears.
Tunning is the term used for the use of brake blocks, bearing oils, line level and matching dia lines, or magnetic brake systems these are all to control the reel during the cast. All reels when purchased are geared for fishing they run not so much slow but safe and can be adjusted to suit conditions as needed, hope this helps.


Great advice lads think ive grasped this term now....anyone tach me how to cast with one lol :lol: :lol: :lol: