Brakes; What's The Reel Deal

[madweazl]

Just picked up my first bait caster and keep reading conflicting results on what the brakes actually do. Some report they provide braking power right at cast while others at the end of the cast. I spent about an hour casting out in the driveway today to try to get a feel for it and it seems to me they add resistance throughout the entire cast. It took me at least 10 casts before I could really feel a difference between 0 and 10 on my Lew's combo (Tournament SK for what it's worth). Casts took noticeably more effort to cast the same distance with the brake system engaged. So my gut is telling me it is always engaged but if that were the case, there wouldnt be any difference between in and cast control, correct?

 

So, what's the real skinny here? 

[Alpha Male]

The lews tournament ask is a gander Mt specific version of the standard tournament. The reel comes with 2 types of brakes and a spool tension knob. The two types of brakes are centrifugal and magnetic. The dial on the NON-handle side controls the magnetic brakes and it should be labeled 1-10 or low- high. The magnets act on the rotation of the spool and create a magnetic field and slow the spool throughout the entire cast. The second brakes are centrifugal and are adjusted by removing the NON-handle side cover. This is done by a long thumb screw on the handle side just above the handle.on the inside there are 4 spring loaded arms each one controls a brake shoe. When the spool is rotating at high speed they are forced out and contact a race and the friction slows the spool. When the speed of the spool lessens enough that the force of rotation isnt enough to force the brake shoes to contact the race then they are no longer having any effect on the spool.

I would start with 2 brakes on and 2 off. And set the dial to 6 and work your way back from there.

[madweazl]

The lews tournament ask is a gander Mt specific version of the standard tournament. The reel comes with 2 types of brakes and a spool tension knob. The two types of brakes are centrifugal and magnetic. The dial on the NON-handle side controls the magnetic brakes and it should be labeled 1-10 or low- high. The magnets act on the rotation of the spool and create a magnetic field and slow the spool throughout the entire cast. The second brakes are centrifugal and are adjusted by removing the NON-handle side cover. This is done by a long thumb screw on the handle side just above the handle.on the inside there are 4 spring loaded arms each one controls a brake shoe. When the spool is rotating at high speed they are forced out and contact a race and the friction slows the spool. When the speed of the spool lessens enough that the force of rotation isnt enough to force the brake shoes to contact the race then they are no longer having any effect on the spool.

I would start with 2 brakes on and 2 off. And set the dial to 6 and work your way back from there.

Thank you for the input! Nice to know I may not be crazy. I had no idea there was another braking system (a manual would have been nice but I guess you get what you pay for when you grab a combo). I'll have to dissect the reel and check out the centrifugal side for giggles. 

[papajoe222]

The tension the cast control knob provides is constant throughout the cast. Brakes provide more resistance the faster the spool spins (at the beginning) and less as the spool slows. Magnets provide the most resistance the slower the spool spins (toward the end). To really 'test' any system, turn it off and cast without it for a while. When you turn it back on, you'll notice the difference.

Many anglers thumb the spool at the end of the cast and therefore feel that magnetic braking is useless, others aren't concerned with distance casting and see brakes as a hindrance. It is an area of personal preference.

[madweazl]

I kept going from 0 to 10 so I could get a feel for what was going on. New to reels but I applied my experience with suspension and just went from one extreme to the other so I could sense what was happening. 

 

Looked at the reel a bit ago and I'm not seeing anything that would allow me to remove a cover without using a screwdriver. 

[jtesch]

I believe their is a small square spring loaded button on the bottom of the reel that you push away from the side plate, that releases a pin latch and allows the side plate to be removed. The centrifugal brakes will do most of the work wid the mag breaks taking over at the end of the cast

[rippin-lips]

Pull out on this spring loaded pin. It may also be a grooved silver screw. It will have a slot in it. It should loosen with thumb pressure, but you might need to get it started with a small screwdriver. It won't come the whole way out so don't worry about loosing it. Hope this helps.

[Alpha Male]

Look at the pic ripping lips posted. Some lews reels its not a screw and some it is. If its a screw then unscrew it. If its not just pull straight out.

[MickD]

Most devices have their owners manuals available on line.  Go to the brand's website, find customer service, and you should find a link to manuals.  If not there , go to the model number of the product on the website and often manuals are there.

[madweazl]

The reel had a pin just like pictured and it was easy enough to pull on with your fingers. You give the side cover a twist and it pops right off. It was nice to see the setup and I was able to get a better idea of how it worked. It has a series of five magnets in the side cover the rise or drop depending on the amount of brakes that are applied. One of the magnets is constant and does not move so there is always some force applied (hopefully a feature and not a defect ). These magnets are suspended over a flywheel on the body of the reel. It also makes sense that the magnetic braking force would be stronger at the end of the cast because the RPM of the flywheel would be lower. Thanks for the info, it makes much more sense now. 

 

 

[rippin-lips]

Those pins on your spool control the centrifugal brakes. Right now 2 are on and 2 are off. Clicking them in towards the spool shaft turns them off. Being new is leave it as is. After you get comfortable you could turn 1 more off.

[madweazl]

Those pins on your spool control the centrifugal brakes. Right now 2 are on and 2 are off. Clicking them in towards the spool shaft turns them off. Being new is leave it as is. After you get comfortable you could turn 1 more off.

I though that might be the case, thanks for the info. So that is completely different than the tension knob?

[DocNsanE]

yes the tension knob is a constant, you set it depending on the weight of the lure you are using. Tighten down on the tension knob, turn off all of your brakes, hold the rod parallel to the ground, and release the spool using the thumb bar. Since you have it tightened all the way down, the lure shouldn't move at all. Now start loosening the tension knob slowly until the lure slowly starts to fall towards the ground. Now you have a good setting for the lure you are using and you can turn the brakes back on (probably start around half of your braking power, so 2 pins on and 5 on your mag brakes and adjust from there).

[rippin-lips]

There is no need to turn your centrifugal brakes off when adjusting your spool tension. The spool is not moving fast enough to engage them. As for the magnetic brakes they say to turn them to 0 when adjusting the spool tension. Some do and some don't. The tension knob is NOT a brake though it can slow the spool down. There is really no need to use the magnetic brakes on a reel that has centrifugal brakes. I don't own any dual braking reels anymore, but when I did I would only use the magnetic dial as a quick adjustment when the wind picked up. How the reel is set up now will work for all of your fishing. You already mentioned previously that you were able to cast with the mag dial on 0. You're all set.

[madweazl]

There is no need to turn your centrifugal brakes off when adjusting your spool tension. The spool is not moving fast enough to engage them. As for the magnetic brakes they say to turn them to 0 when adjusting the spool tension. Some do and some don't. The tension knob is NOT a brake though it can slow the spool down. There is really no need to use the magnetic brakes on a reel that has centrifugal brakes. I don't own any dual braking reels anymore, but when I did I would only use the magnetic dial as a quick adjustment when the wind picked up. How the reel is set up now will work for all of your fishing. You already mentioned previously that you were able to cast with the mag dial on 0. You're all set.

That is how I setup it up initially based other things I had read and videos I had watched (didnt know it had centrifugal brakes at the time). Once the tension was set, I turned the mag brakes to 5 and messed around with it. I was able to cast from 1-10 without issue though I lost a considerable amount of distance at 10. The difference between 1 and 5 wasnt all that much given how new I was to the baitcaster. 

[retiredbosn]

Given enough time and you'll be able to loosen up the brakes and spool tension knob. If u really want to experience the difference loosen the spool tension knob until the bait free falls, turn your brakes off, cast it! Now that you've experienced a birds nest cut all the line off the reel re-spool and practice some more

[madweazl]

I've had one birds nest thus far; got really aggressive on a cast and lightly feathered it on accident. Slowed the line down but not enough pressure to slow the spool down lol. Lost about 30 yards...

[retiredbosn]

I vividly remember my first and only cast with no brakes and super loose tension knob, lost the entire spool. Overruns happen for me it's typically the first cast, or late in the day when I'm tired and not paying attention. The tension knob IMO plays more into cast control than the brakes. I hardly use any brake now, but if I don't keep at least some tension on with the tension knob I'm going to overrun bad.