capt ace

http://www.thefishingblitz.com/article_shimano_tekota_drag_repair.html I believe that Atomik sells them with the upgrades already in them, also.

I think that's a good idea since they will be apart anyway. I have seen the drag kits on e-bay for around $9.00 with free shipping. You can call me anytime if you have any questions when you get into the project. I'm glad to help if I can.

Yes Glen, I am. It makes them that much less worry free. I've had a few of the other charters in my marina give me their 600lc's to service. Eventually, the wet drags will need to be serviced by cleaning them and regreasing. If you don't service them, at some time they will begin to get sticky. If I don't get to service the dry drags, it's no big deal. In fact, I usually service my reels once a year anyways and the one thing that doesn't need any maintenance is the dry drags.

The problem with the Tekotas which only occurs with the 700/800 series has to do with the size of the drag washers that they employ. They are about near the size of a half dollar coin. Will they work just fine as they come from the factory? Yes they will but you have to prep the set-ups the right way. Here's what happens. when you crank the drags down on the Tekotas. The fiber washers and the metal washers compress. Remember that the drag washers are good size. What happens is that the grease that's on the washers( these are wet drags)in between the fiber and the metal washers causes a hydro lock due to the compression. When you back the star drag off, the washers remain stuck together with the grease. Hydro locked!!! So... The way to combat this other than putting in a dry drag system, is as follows; First back the drag off. Next, put your thumb on the reel spool putting pressure on it so that when you crank the handle the spool doesn't spin. This maneuver will break the hydro lock free and the drags will work when you reset them. The problem is that if you forget to set the reel up this way every time you put it out, the drags can lock up and create dyer consequences. Personally, I will not run a wet drag system on my charter boat. For the $9.00 or so that it costs for the turny drags from Tuna Tom's and the fifteen minutes it takes for me to install them, I think it's well worth the time and effort. We use Tekota 700lc's for our 30lb dipsy set-ups and what a difference it makes, especially for women and children to successfully fight and land our eastern Lake Ontario kings. It also makes it a lot faster for us to reel and or clear these rods with the bigger reels. And yes, they do have the tournament drags in them from Tuna Toms. After reading Alan Tani's take on the Saltists reels, it did leave me a little bit confused. Alan is a big fan of running wet drags. I'm wondering if one, the Saltists drags are as big in circumference as the Tekotas are and two if they are, then should I grease up the turny drags and try them that way? Right now running them dry for the last couple of years they have been working just fine. In the reels that I have taken apart to service and inspect, the dry drags are wearing just fine and appear to have several more years of hard use ahead of them. The nice thing is that I don't have to grease the drag washers every year to keep them functioning smoothly. Before I installed the dry drags, I used to have to grease the drags even on my 600lc Tekotas to get them to function silky smooth for the entire season. It's a lot easier when I don't have to!!

Happy B-Day!

We have switched over to the Solterras for our 600 and 700 coppers. Used to use the Penn 345gt's. The Solterras pick up line a lot quicker making them easier to use.

Nice....