Help me unbox and prepare the right way with new reels

Reels are the hottest topic for TackleTour. Everyone wants to know what the latest and greatest is and how they compare to the old guard. What's the best for light stuff, or what's your suggestion for heavy cover. Do we really need different retrieve ratios? It's all in here.
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green weenie
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Help me unbox and prepare the right way with new reels

Post by green weenie » Sat Sep 24, 2022 8:52 pm

Well I went and done it now. I went with an initial 5 jdm metanium reels. First time I’ve bought jdm enthusiast level reels. Have unboxed but want your opinion to get maximum performance. Do I need to do anything to reels before adding to rod and line.

First impressions. Smooth, solid reels but they didn’t spin as freely as I expected by spinning handle and by freespooling. Do they need some Break-in? Do I need to modify, oil, clean, etc?

Brake settings for Braid? fluoro?
Casting dial setting for braid? Flouro?
Using backing for braid on this level reel? How much?

Thanks In advance. I’m excited to try these out on my conquests. Big step up from citicas and old school curados although those did fine for me.

Wes

godshippy
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Re: Help me unbox and prepare the right way with new reels

Post by godshippy » Sat Sep 24, 2022 9:24 pm

You can break them down and relube them or just run them and let nature take its course and it'll smooth out.

I find that recent JDM reels have way more grease than their USDM counterparts.

Drakestar
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Re: Help me unbox and prepare the right way with new reels

Post by Drakestar » Sat Sep 24, 2022 9:36 pm

New reels shouldn’t need any initial oil & grease, domestic or import. But sometimes the reels have been sitting around for a while and they benefit from some initial maintenance.

If it’s not spinning as freely as expected: is the tension knob tightened too much out of the box? That’ll keep the spool from spinning freely (but it’s not a bad thing, a good-casting reel should have spool tension). If that ain’t it, I’d do an oil & grease.

I’d always add some mono backing before spooling on braid to keep the line from slipping.

Dialing in the reels is not a universal thing and I don’t think anybody will have useful numbers. The right settings will depend on the bait you’re throwing. So do the usual: tighten the tension knob until the bait semi-slowly but steadily free-falls. (Too many anglers omit that step once they get good at baitcasting IMO, thinking a free spool + thumbing will lead to best casting distance. But a spool that is too free produces loose line on the cast, which slaps against the frame and slows down the cast.)
Then start the braking setting somewhere in the middle and adjust it after each cast until the settings are the limit (for me that’s usually when I still need to thumb it just a bit at the end of the cast).

Exact settings depend on the weight of the bait but also on the profile (how compact/wide it is, which produces different air resistance and makes it slow down differently).
Last edited by Drakestar on Sun Sep 25, 2022 2:06 pm, edited 3 times in total.

SSS
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Re: Help me unbox and prepare the right way with new reels

Post by SSS » Sat Sep 24, 2022 11:37 pm

Spools are light, so it shouldn't be spinning for that long unless you have dry ceramic hybrid bearings, and you really don't need them since stock bearings in higher end abus, shimano and daiwas are already very good. Just put some line and go fishing with them.

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Johnny A
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Re: Help me unbox and prepare the right way with new reels

Post by Johnny A » Sun Sep 25, 2022 5:56 am

I do 2 things with my new Daiwa Zillions:

1. A drop of oil or two on the spool bearings.

2. Check to see if there is grease on the level wind, add a dab of grease if necessary and turn the handle a few times to more grease into worm gear.

That’s what I’ve been doing for past 5 decades and it’s worked pretty well for me.

Fishing4Fun
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Re: Help me unbox and prepare the right way with new reels

Post by Fishing4Fun » Mon Sep 26, 2022 12:03 pm

Fish them stock first. Then if you feel performance is lacking I would flush and lightly oil the spool bearings. If the gears feel dry add some more grease to them. If they feel overgreased clean them and regrease then appropriately.

Dalleinf
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Re: Help me unbox and prepare the right way with new reels

Post by Dalleinf » Mon Sep 26, 2022 9:47 pm

Fish stock first.

Use braid straight using this approach:
https://youtu.be/ve7kovfr7w0
-Take spool out, pass line through worm gear and then through the side of the reel before tying to the reel. I use uni-knot first and then 2 half stitches. Works absolutely great.

green weenie
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Re: Help me unbox and prepare the right way with new reels

Post by green weenie » Tue Sep 27, 2022 6:46 pm

Thanks all

How should I start by setting those metanium brakes and cast controls?

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