Too Much Mag??

[Grossy]

How do you tell when there is too much mag when magging a conventional? I am trying to figure this out, where the point is between too much and too little. If the line stays tight all the way out, without any slack at all, is that too tight?

[ffemtreed]

You just need to tune the reels until you don't feel comfortable.

I usually make sure my reels are over magged and then start taking mags out until they get a little fluffy on my during the casts. Then I add a small mag back in or use a bit thicker oil or take some line off the spool just to slow it back down a tad. This is where knobby mags are great to have, you can easily adjust it on the fly and change it with conditions.

If you are casting and not having any hint of a blowup speed that reel up a tad and try again, still not getting even close to blowing it up speed it up again and again. Its a delicate balance and its different for everyone. When fishing I usually stay on the safe side with my reels and tend to over mag them. When I know I am not going to be out long or have a lot of lines out I speed them up and play it on the edge. Just make sure you have a backup reel to use for when you blow up.

[Swace]

Grossy, What kind of a reel do you have. FFemtreed was dead on the money what he said, but there is alot of different reels out there. Stan

[Grossy]

Originally Posted by Swace

Grossy, What kind of a reel do you have. FFemtreed was dead on the money what he said, but there is alot of different reels out there. Stan

I am currently trying to dial in an old Penn Peer #309. I also have a Diawa.

Hope to see you on the sand!

[Grossy]

Originally Posted by ffemtreed

You just need to tune the reels until you don't feel comfortable.

I usually make sure my reels are over magged and then start taking mags out until they get a little fluffy on my during the casts. Then I add a small mag back in or use a bit thicker oil or take some line off the spool just to slow it back down a tad. This is where knobby mags are great to have, you can easily adjust it on the fly and change it with conditions.

If you are casting and not having any hint of a blowup speed that reel up a tad and try again, still not getting even close to blowing it up speed it up again and again. Its a delicate balance and its different for everyone. When fishing I usually stay on the safe side with my reels and tend to over mag them. When I know I am not going to be out long or have a lot of lines out I speed them up and play it on the edge. Just make sure you have a backup reel to use for when you blow up.

Kind of what I thought. I am OK with the Diawa - I get a little fluff about half way out, and then it smooths out just before landing, most of the time. I need new line on before I go back out. But I am finally getting this old Penn casting without nests - well - about 10 times in a row today. I put about 300 yards of 16# braid on with a 50 yard 50# braid leader. It casts much,much better with this braid versus the 20# mono I started with. That stuff was too coiled and was just a nest every other throw. Today I was hitting 75 yards with every cast - 6 or 8 oz., on the medium spinnig rod I have it on right now. But, The line was staying pretty well tight all the way out, and I think I need to back off the mag a little more. I also need to come up with a better rod for that reel.

[ffemtreed]

Just remember when tuning in that rod, the mags will be completly different when using braid --vs-- mono.

The reason is the mono empties MUCH quicker off the spool than the braid . The less line that is remaining on the spool the slower the reel is. So in theory, a mono setup would have less mags than a braid setup.

[Coop]

I agree with Jim, start her off tight (mags at the closest setting possible) and start backing her off. You want just a little fluff. Just keep in mind, when you have a little fluff, you need to always cast with good tempo. If not, that little fluff will result in a major headache.

[Charkbait]

#16 braid is damn thin, may want to go up to #30 which will behave a little bit better in the long run.

[Swace]

Grossy, do you have the magnets glued in your reel or is it a static mag conversion? I know it is a big spool reel. I would try putting 20lb mono backing and then 17lb. Fill about 1/8 to top of spool. If you have a static mag do like Coop said, all the way in, and back off your spool tension knob a little. Short cast at first to seat your line. Remember try to put line back on your reel in a cotton weave style, this way your line will not dig into itself. Remember you are not casting a spinning reel, slow and easy. Now if your magnets are glued in, (how many) know you are going to set spool tension and thumb education to the test. Practice... Stan

[Grossy]

This Penn I am talking about now, I put in ,on a glued in flat nut, a 1/8" x1/8" "rare earth Mag" . The only way to adjust it is to tear down and probably grind a little off of the mag. This is an old reel, probably not the best choice, but I am liking the challenge and learning experience being gained.

I spooled this reel with 16# Dacron - not the super braid. I have a big spool of this stuff, from whatever I have no idea. But, I like the way it casts so far vs the 20# Suffix mono I had on that would freaking nest for no apparent reason. Now I am actually casting instead of fighting with the line after every cast. And my mag has not changed yet , braid vs. mono.

So, tonight before Basketball, I stripped the 30SHA Diawa and put 20# Power Pro Superbraid on. I was getting a steady 90 -95 yards with the mono(?) , but that stuff apparently was not liking my casting practice anymore and started being a major problem. So, now I need to get out and throw this new line. The mags on this reel are also non-adjustable with out tear down. So , where do I go to get magging options for this newer reel? ( I only started this conventional gig in September ). P.S. - Thanks for the input so far from everyone.

[Coop]

Grossy, are you refering to the 30sha about the mags or the penn? The control on the 30 sha is centrifical braking. Put the right brakes on and it can be a very friendly caster. You should have 2 pairs of bushings (different colors) with that reel, unless they changed in the past couple years. One set is for better breaking and one set is for more speed of a loose reel. I can't remember what color the slower ones are.

Did you want to try to put magnets in that reel ot the penn? Let us know, so we can try to help you out.

[ocsnapper]

With the D 30 you can buy a mag kit for it, I for get how much $$ it is.

[Grossy]

Originally Posted by Coop

Grossy, are you refering to the 30sha about the mags or the penn? The control on the 30 sha is centrifical braking. Put the right brakes on and it can be a very friendly caster. You should have 2 pairs of bushings (different colors) with that reel, unless they changed in the past couple years. One set is for better breaking and one set is for more speed of a loose reel. I can't remember what color the slower ones are.

Did you want to try to put magnets in that reel ot the penn? Let us know, so we can try to help you out.

Hey Coop - No extra bushings came with the Diawa 30SHA. I actually would like to fine tune both if it is possible. I need to cast the Diawa now that I put the super braid on, though, before I mess with it. Centrifical braking?

[ffemtreed]

Just FYI for the future:

When you static mag a reel by gluing the mags to the sidewall, glue a thin sheet of ferrous metal on the sidewall instead of the magnets.

Then just let the magnets naturally attract (hold) onto the thin metal. That way you can easily remove/add magnets. Thin washers work great for this purpose.

Also another way to really fine tune the mags is to position them in certain ways. Lets say you have 4 small mags next to each other. Alternating + - + - gives you the most mag force you can rearrange them to + - - + to lessen the amount of drag. + + - - would decrease that mag force even more (speed up the reel).

[Coop]

Mine had a small plastic bag in the box that had 2 pairs of very small bushings. I am suprised it doesn't have these bushings. I assume they still come with these reels. The bushings go on the spindle and when you initially cast, the bushings slide out against the spool and forces the reel to slow down. They work very well and enable very long casts without the need of any mags. It is an excellent long caster without the use of mag controls. They do make a mag kit for the reel that runs between $60-$70.

As far as mags, when I use to static mag them, I used the thinnest ones available of variuos sizes. Like Jim says, use a piece of thin galvanized metal, like duct work. I bought a ac damper from home depot and cut out half moon shapes. One $3 damper will do a tone of reels.