Old baitcaster

[SamHerndon37]

I have an old Shimano Bantam curado Cu-200. The other day I went fishing and the drag was not working. I tried tightening the star drag that did not work. I also tried tightening the tension knob but that also did not work. What do I do.

[RenzokukenFisher]

Gotta take it apart and clean it. Find out the drag system used on that model of reel and check out the components as you clean and take it apart. It will be very helpful to find the blueprint to that reel as you take it apart to keep track of the process and find where things are going wrong. There could be something broken or maybe it is just missing a spacer. If all else fails send it to a reel technician and they can help out. Luckily its summer so there probably won't be as many reels in the shop as in winter so it probably won't take too long to get fixed. Goodluck!

[bulldog1935]

After all this time, there's a very good chance the drag washers and spacers have just worn to ineffective thickness.  

 

 

you can find a reel schematic here

[SamHerndon37]

How do I know if the drag washers and spacers are the issue?

[Fishes in trees]

When it comes to reels that I feel aren't performing up to par, I stay in my lane.  I'll either take them or ship them to a repair shop.  It's been a while since I've used DVT (a site sponsor ) but the last time I did he made a couple of old Shimano Calais reels perform better than new for me and It wasn't that expensive.

[roadwarrior]

Simple solution: Send it to Mike @ DVT

http://www.delawarevalleytackle.com/

[FishTank]

I work on a few of these reels every year for a couple of fishing buddies.  Good chance the drag is just shot.  I took apart one this year where the drag washer fell apart in my hand when I took it out and another had been cranked down so tight it had developed a worn spot that curved the ends of the washer.  Not common but it can happen. 

[islandbass]

Hold up. What type on line is on it? Braid perhaps? And if it is braid, do you use a backing or something like tape to prevent the line from spinning around the spool? 
 

If it isn’t braid without a backing, then I’d try the other recommendations next.