TackleTour

I fish with a guy who consistently has this problem on every reel he owns. I saw him pushing up the thumb bar after every cast and asked him what the problem was. Three different manufacturers, Daiwa, Quantum and some Johnny Morris reel all broken thumb bars that don't reset with turning the handle. This seems like user error but I can't tell that he's doing anything wrong. Can someone lend some advice I can share?

If they aren't broken and work fine when you are using them, then there are 2 likely causes:
1. He is reeling while the lure is still pulling line.
2. He is keeping his thumb on the bar and blocking it from popping all the way up when he starts reeling.

Also depends which 3 reels you are talking about. If they are all older with decent wear (or an angler rough on gear), it isn't THAT uncommon of a problem. I have only had 1 reel ever do that, my gen 3 Revo Winch. My Winch did it almost every cast, I broke it down, cleaned it good, and sold it. The high school kid who bought it off of Facebook said it didn't ever do it to him. Maybe tell your friend to try a good cleansing?

He mentioned it happening with a Daiwa, which is odd because the thumb bar is directly connected to the clutch. You can reengage the reel by pushing up on the thumb bar instead of turning the handle. I could see it happening with an Abu, at least the few I'm familiar with, if it was taken apart and the thumb bar isn't insert above the pin that trips the clutch. Although, upon reassembling it that would be instantly recognizable, so I don't know....

Had a couple reels come in with after market drag washers installed. Seems some have the washer under the drive gear a bit too think. It allowed the kicker to miss the cog. Put the OG washer and they worked fine again.

Just a suggestion. May not be your issue, But figured I'd pass it on. Some are cutting their own washers and not matching proper thickness to oem..............