I have followed the posts on knobby versus static mags with interest and some amusement. There is a place for both although I prefer the knobby type myself. I don’t believe that the static magnet is a preferred option worldwide as someone stated. I am not aware of any standard commercially available reel that has this: they are all modifications which can, incidentally, easily be done at home if you are at all practical. Your version won’t be as professional as Cuban Cigar’s but it will still work and is much easier to do than a knobby conversion. If the static mag was so popular then the manufacturers would be making reels with them installed already and they don’t as far as I am aware. There are plenty of knobby mag reels on the market though.
A major criticism of the knobby conversions is the knob size: well they were made big originally to allow tournament casters to adjust them easily while the lead was in the air but for fishing you don’t need that (nor do you need ceramic bearings for that matter). Indeed Penn used to make a reel years ago (a 970 or 980) with a “knobless†knobby mag adjustable with a screwdriver so surely someone like Old Salt can come up with a low set knob version. When you are fishing I only ever adjust mine between casts if I change to a less/more aerodynamic bait or lure or when the wind changes so you don’t need the large knob for inflight adjustment.
Someone criticised the strength of the magnets in the knobby. If you get a knobby mag reel which has been modified professionally then I would be surprised if the magnet wasn’t powerful enough. It is not in the interests of the person who modifies the reel to sell it like this. If you buy a kit to do it yourself like Blakdog’s he offers two strengths of magnet for example. If you do need a stronger magnet then replace the original with a N52 from Ebay: they are cheap enough. If you don’t want to go this way put some thicker oil in your reel’s bearings. There are plenty of ways to slow a reel down although the “cast control†on the sideplate is not the way to go as someone pointed out. There should be a small amount of play (not 1mm as someone else said).
So let’s stop the arguing and the points scoring!
Tim
A major criticism of the knobby conversions is the knob size: well they were made big originally to allow tournament casters to adjust them easily while the lead was in the air but for fishing you don’t need that (nor do you need ceramic bearings for that matter). Indeed Penn used to make a reel years ago (a 970 or 980) with a “knobless†knobby mag adjustable with a screwdriver so surely someone like Old Salt can come up with a low set knob version. When you are fishing I only ever adjust mine between casts if I change to a less/more aerodynamic bait or lure or when the wind changes so you don’t need the large knob for inflight adjustment.
Someone criticised the strength of the magnets in the knobby. If you get a knobby mag reel which has been modified professionally then I would be surprised if the magnet wasn’t powerful enough. It is not in the interests of the person who modifies the reel to sell it like this. If you buy a kit to do it yourself like Blakdog’s he offers two strengths of magnet for example. If you do need a stronger magnet then replace the original with a N52 from Ebay: they are cheap enough. If you don’t want to go this way put some thicker oil in your reel’s bearings. There are plenty of ways to slow a reel down although the “cast control†on the sideplate is not the way to go as someone pointed out. There should be a small amount of play (not 1mm as someone else said).
So let’s stop the arguing and the points scoring!
Tim
