FYI, I purchased a pair of Okuma Coldwater CW-303D reels last night. Everything I read and heard seemed to point in that direction. I was actually able to get in touch with a regional sales manager at Okuma and he was great. Hey, if I could afford a pair of Tekotas, I’m confident that that would have been the best option, but I was able to buy two Coldwaters for the price of one Tekota. You get what you pay for but that one is a no brainer. Plus I was pleasantly surprised about Okuma but the company behind the product and the service that you get from them are just as important, and Shimano has gotten much worse in that department over the years. As an aside, for spinning reels I moved from Shimano to Lews a few years ago, couldn’t be happier. They have a GREAT company behind solid products that are reasonably priced. I still use Cardiff’s and Calcutta’s for casting the big musky stuff but that’s about it. Anyway, Walmart had the best price on the Coldwaters, under $100 before tax. I’ll be eBaying those Magdas in the spring.

[Duplicate post, sorry]

SuperDave1959 wrote:

It makes sense to me that the star washer only has so many threads in either direction. Tightening up while loosening could just be bottoming out on the low end of the drags?

My only experience with star drag prior to these Okuma Magdas was Shimano. I used to use Shimano reels (and rods) exclusively, I just don’t think that they are worth the money anymore, there are plenty of other options out there. In any case, on my Curados, Calcuttas and Cardiffs, when you rotate the star drag…counterclockwise?, it loosens the drag, and it just keeps getting looser and looser. If you don’t pay attention, you can literally unscrew the entire assembly and lose the cap in the process. I’m probably not explaining it correctly, I wish that I could show you but again, from a fully tightened drag position, if I rotate the star drag counter clockwise, it will fully loosen up, but if I rotate the star drag counter clockwise from that fully loosened up position, it tightens up instead of staying loose or further loosening up. If I turn it clockwise from that loose position, it also tightens it up. So I don’t think it’s broken, I think that that is how the star drag on these particular reels behave, it’s just very strange, I’ve never seen a reel do that. In any case, I’m already looking into the next step up in terms of a better quality counter reel. What are your thoughts on Okuma’s Coldwater series, or other line counter options like Abu Garcia or Daiwa? They seem to have some mid range products in the $100 – $120 range. Shimano Tekota would be another obvious choice just too expensive for me.

mark-bruzek wrote:

One can easily tell if there is compression on the drag washers by pulling line out by hand, if no resistance then there is not drag compression.
I own 10-12 Magdas and they are nothing to write home about, they work but thats about it. Step up to the $100-120 range reels next time you buy and you will be able to see a difference.
But I know the gear buying game all to well, sometimes its just what you can afford and it gets you into the game,having fun and thats all that matters right…

There’s most definitely compression on the drag washers, I can tighten the reel down just fine where you could not pull any line out. That wasn’t really the issue, it was a question of whether the star drag was acting normally for that particular reel when it loosens up, then tightens again, when moving the star drag to loosen up. I’ve never seen or heard of that happening before. In any case, yes, I’ve got some great and more expensive reels but I had a hard time finding solid line counters that weren’t outrageous. Do you have any in mind in that $100 – $120 range? My only experiences have been with the Magdas and the Accudepths, I can’t stand the latter, problems with counters all of the time. Magdas have some counter issues but nothing earthshaking and the reels themselves seem fine. They stood up to a season of trolling musky baits so I can’t complain.

I did not do that But now I will. Obviously baitcasters only. A buddy of mine told me for years to just open up the bails on everything. While that might work too, it translates into line lures and hooks floating around my garage. So I like the idea of backing off the drag AND loosening tension on the casting nut instead. Makes for a neater off season. Thanks.