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Shimano Tranx

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bbfish

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I know this is mainly a surfcasting forum but figured there might be guys with experience with these reels here.  I would say 90% of my fishing is done on a boat these days fishing conventional musky type setups for bass. Over the years I've tried all sorts of low profile baitcasters, curado, abu nacl, abu beast, lexa, and tranx.  I have a few newer tranx and love almost everything about the reel except for the drag.  Slips so easily even when cranked down tight, on the 3 models I have, and my friends as well.  Has anyone had experience with upgrading the drags on these?

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I've had a 400 tranx and own a 500 which I fish a lot. I have friends who all own and fish tranx 400s and none of them have issues generating drag. I verified that the 400 5.8:1 reels get 18-20lbs at full lock while the 7.6:1 is more like 15. The tranx 500 gets all 25lbs. 

 

The only baitcaster I have that doesn't make a good bit of drag is the curado K 200. Maybe 10lbs at max. Fine for what it is for. 

 

So no, I have not had nor seen any of these issues on 5 different tranxs. You could upgrade the washers to carbontex but I don't think that's the source of your problem. 

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I'm fishing the 2-400, we have a bunch of guys that have bought and fished them and every one of them has the same complaint about the drag. Very odd.

 

My 500 has been collecting dust for years since they first came out, just wasnt comfortable in hand, but I agree that model can put out some drag.

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3 mins ago, levari said:

I have the 400 and I have no issue with the drag. I have other issues with it  and now it’s being repair at Shimano..five weeks already but the charge is reasonable.

 

I guess my issue is that once the drag starts slipping it seems to lose its efficiency, as in most drags will come tight on a hook set, once the tranx is in motion it seems to freely slip. Definitely most noticeable on the hookset.  Same issue on the 200 and 300.

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2 hours ago, bbfish said:

I know this is mainly a surfcasting forum but figured there might be guys with experience with these reels here.  I would say 90% of my fishing is done on a boat these days fishing conventional musky type setups for bass. Over the years I've tried all sorts of low profile baitcasters, curado, abu nacl, abu beast, lexa, and tranx.  I have a few newer tranx and love almost everything about the reel except for the drag.  Slips so easily even when cranked down tight, on the 3 models I have, and my friends as well.  Has anyone had experience with upgrading the drags on these?

Depends on what size u have ,  as mentioned the 400/500 have in the 20 lb drag range .  I believe the 200 only has like 12 lbs … I have a 400 that I use for everything , tog , bass, deep water fluke and no drag issues 

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11 mins ago, JBstripes said:

Depends on what size u have ,  as mentioned the 400/500 have in the 20 lb drag range .  I believe the 200 only has like 12 lbs … I have a 400 that I use for everything , tog , bass, deep water fluke and no drag issues 

 

Interesting, I most commonly use my 400.  Drag just wants to slip and slide once its in motion.

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Just now, bbfish said:

 

Interesting, I most commonly use my 400.  Drag just wants to slip and slide once its in motion.

Try either replacing the metal washer or lapping it.

Wet dry sandpaper on glass, should reveal if it's flat or not after a few strokes.

 

I'd start there.

"Panacheless is no way to go through life"

Tims

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1 min ago, Local66 said:

 

  I have a 400hg and I can't imagine needing to upgrade the drag. I'm catching land based tarpon and spinner sharks with it, frequently triple digit fish. It's not gentle, I put the wood to em.

 

Thats very interesting, Ive had 30 lb bass dump more than half the spool locked down.

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1 min ago, bbfish said:

 

Thats very interesting, Ive had 30 lb bass dump more than half the spool locked down.

Then you certainly have a problem. The first fish I put on this reel was a 20lb snook, and I doubt he made it 20 feet from where he hit.

"Talent does what it can, genius does what it has to"
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Just now, Local66 said:

Then you certainly have a problem. The first fish I put on this reel was a 20lb snook, and I doubt he made it 20 feet from where he hit.

 

What is really blowing my mind here is I fish with probably 5 or 6 guys regularly, and we all have the same thoughts on the reel.  I feel like im in the twilight zone right now.

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12 mins ago, bbfish said:

 

What is really blowing my mind here is I fish with probably 5 or 6 guys regularly, and we all have the same thoughts on the reel.  I feel like im in the twilight zone right now.

If it doesn't work for you, use something else. I've worked in the tackle industry for 14 years. Most of my friends are full time guides, we all use different gear because we do different things. My tranx rig gets used when we have bigger fish tight to the shore, mostly during bait migrations when I use bigger plugs. Occasionally I take it to the jetty. For that, it's a good fit for me. I put in enough hours that I trust my own experience over what I read online, and it's probably a good idea if you do the same. I don't owe Shimano a thing, and certainly won't lose any sleep if my gear doesn't work for the next guy. I suppose it would be silly to ask if you used backing. I see a lot of spool slippage at the shop from guys who do their own rigging.

"Talent does what it can, genius does what it has to"
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2 mins ago, Local66 said:

If it doesn't work for you, use something else. I've worked in the tackle industry for 14 years. Most of my friends are full time guides, we all use different gear because we do different things. My tranx rig gets used when we have bigger fish tight to the shore, mostly during bait migrations when I use bigger plugs. Occasionally I take it to the jetty. For that, it's a good fit for me. I put in enough hours that I trust my own experience over what I read online, and it's probably a good idea if you do the same. I don't owe Shimano a thing, and certainly won't lose any sleep if my gear doesn't work for the next guy. I suppose it would be silly to ask if you used backing. I see a lot of spool slippage at the shop from guys who do their own rigging.

 

Nah its not the braid slipping around the spool.  I honestly expected the drag to be great after owning the original large tranx model, that's why I ordered them when my abu's started grinding a bit.  Gave the lexa a shot but on my first decent fish part of the level wind fell off on the first run. Guess I'll go back to the abu beasts, they were great reels, just wanted to give something new a try.

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9 mins ago, Local66 said:

If it doesn't work for you, use something else. I've worked in the tackle industry for 14 years. Most of my friends are full time guides, we all use different gear because we do different things. My tranx rig gets used when we have bigger fish tight to the shore, mostly during bait migrations when I use bigger plugs. Occasionally I take it to the jetty. For that, it's a good fit for me. I put in enough hours that I trust my own experience over what I read online, and it's probably a good idea if you do the same. I don't owe Shimano a thing, and certainly won't lose any sleep if my gear doesn't work for the next guy. I suppose it would be silly to ask if you used backing. I see a lot of spool slippage at the shop from guys who do their own rigging.

slippage is actually as very common issue most dont realize.

even the japanese companies tell you spool braid directly, i dont know why.

i always practice laying down some BS mono before the braid and never had slip.

 

but shimano is general has never been a high drag output reel IMHO.

they are designed more for finesse usage even at "higher" drag numbers, even stellas.

i use 2/3 rule for trading. join date, posts, or vouch. whoever has less goes first.

(*member formerly known as 'ooeric')

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