# Cork Drags, What happens if you leave them tight



## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

Cork, like felt and leather will compress together if the drag is left tight in storage... When that happens you get two results... You lose the range the drag had - and it gets sticky... Both are bad outcomes and one of the reasons that many reel makers have switched to carbon fiber or similar synthetic materials for their drag washers....

Always back your drag to zero when storing any reel - fly , spin , conventional. You'll greatly extend the life of a drag system that way....

By the way I can tell at a glance when tearing a reel down for repair/maintenance whether the drags have been locked down in storage - it's pretty obvious....


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## Surffshr (Dec 28, 2017)

Thank you. So is there a fix? The reel I’m particularly concerned with is an older Everglades that is “sticky”. Meaning it will still have drag on the spool for several revolutions after backing the drag off to loose.


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## bryson (Jun 22, 2015)

It loosens up after several revolutions? That seems odd. I have an older Alutecnos fly reel that was left with the drag tight for years in the previous owner's closet, and you can see raised up areas where there are dimples in the drag washer face. It prevents a really free spool when fully backed off, but it stays consistent and doesn't really effect anything (it's on a 5wt though, so haven't had the drag really tested hard).

I wonder if your problem might go away just by cleaning the drag well and regreasing it.


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## TheAdamsProject (Oct 29, 2007)

Surffshr said:


> Thank you. So is there a fix? The reel I’m particularly concerned with is an older Everglades that is “sticky”. Meaning it will still have drag on the spool for several revolutions after backing the drag off to loose.


whoa, no need for a "fix". That is exactly how you want it. That is when the drag cork is "sealed" to the spool before it releases. Remember the Post of a Gulfstream that lived in the ocean for sometime and the drag was still good? That was because the drag was "sealed" with the cork and grease. Dont change a thing, do not clean and re-grease. It is exactly how you want it.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

Good advice adam.... Here's how I check any drag - on any reel.... First I back the drag off entirely then turn the handle a few times vigorously to make sure all the washers free up and there's no drag at all (if that doesn't work the drags are all stuck together on a spin or conventional reel....). Next I tighten up the drag only to the point it starts to engage - then pull off line slowly to see if it's smooth and consistent after several 30" strips of line under drag (if it's uneven or changes resistance then you have a drag that needs to be torn down and looked at - the washers may be fine and things okay and if so no change out of washers... otherwise it's new drags period...). The final test (if it's passed all the others) is to set it the way you'd fish it then pull as slowly under drag as you can strip line off the reel... A good drag system will be butter smooth and consistent when you check it out... 

Remember that many new reels these days (particularly high end fly reels) come with a sealed drag that is not meant to be serviced by the owner.... For those contact the maker and arrange for service (and you'll be returning the reel to them....). 

I'm lucky enough to live within easy driving distance of both Nautilus and Tibor (both here in south Florida - Nautilus less than 30 minutes away...). Back in the day Fin Nor was also quite close to where I live but they're long gone now...

Hope this helps


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## Snookicide (Oct 16, 2019)

Sad day when Fin Nor was bought by Quantum not as bad by Cape Fear but still not original. Some of the best drags I have never found, I still fish their Ahab 12 wt reels and original MegaLite spinning stuff 20 some odd years later. When all of that finally goes I’m gonna spend a fortune getting a comparable drag system.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

that wasn't the saddest day for Fin Nor - it occurred long before Quantum came on the scene when the original Fin Nor was sold down here in Miami. In those days you could go to a flea market and buy a great old Fin Nor reel that was in poor condition, take it to them and for a small fee they'd completely re-hab it for you... 

The original Fin Nor existed long before computerized lathing came along and they had these monster old school lathes that every part of the reels were built on. For me the best part was that they were only 30 minutes from my house... At one point I actually made an offer to build proto-type fly rods for them when I was building a lot of fly rods... This was somewhere in the mid eighties when the current fly reels were all the "classic" models and there were still quite a few wedding cake reels around locally before they became collector's items. I had become a Fin Nor dealer in a small way back then so that I could have access to their reels for my rodbuilding customers...

You've no doubt figured out that this was a lot of years ago.... I haven't built rods for anyone but myself in quite a while now...


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