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One year
ago, I had never heard of “magging” a reel. In
fact, before becoming a regular reader of the Texas
Surf-Masters website, I hadn’t heard of a LOT of
important fishing procedures. I can’t take sole
credit for this article. Credit belongs to all the
folks who chipped in advice as I begged for info on
this alien thing known as “magging a reel.” Being
a “Do it Yourselfer”, I decided to give it a go.
After all, if it failed to help, the reel would still
function as before. So, here are the results of my
first magging trial.
The reason for magging a reel is to try to control the
reel's spool to prevent a line overrun during casting
and increase the reels casting perfomance. The
magnets that are placed in the reel's sideplate create
an "eddy current" that manages the reel's
speed at a controlled rate avoiding time consuming and
line eating tangles.
I chose the Penn 67 because I have three of them. I
figured that if it worked, it’d be really neat. I
also have a Senator 4/0 (113H) which is almost
identical in size. My Penn Jigmaster 500 may also be a
candidate. For you researchers out there here are the
stats:
Reel:
Penn Long Beach 67 (chromed brass spool)
Line:
30# Spiderline with 15’ shock leader (50# line)
Rod:
Shimano 9’6” (TDR) 15-30# line weight
Weights:
4oz & 6oz pyramid sinkers
Site:
Open field at local school
After
purchasing 25 earth magnets (.375 X .01) from Lee
Valley Tools, I headed for Home Depot to get some
epoxy. I decided to go with the kind that sets in 4-6
minutes. Some sets in 90 seconds, but being a rookie
at this, I guessed I might need more time in case of
corrections. Lee Valley sent about fifty 1/4”
washers with my order. I didn’t order them. Maybe
they do that all the time. I don’t know. Now I was
ready. Magnets (NdFeB), washers, epoxy, and a little
working knowledge about what I was doing.
After removing the left side plate, I cleaned it
thoroughly with mineral spirits to remove any grease.
Once dry, I mixed the epoxy (just a little dab) and
glued three washers to the side plate. Do not let them
touch the clicker spring as it can create problems
with the clicker. After those washers set well, I
attached three magnets to each, in a North-South-North
arrangement.
(nine magnets total). However, they would not allow
the spool to go into place. I knew that the magnets
should reach to within 1mm-5mm of the spool (with a
1mm clearance being optimal). I decided to epoxy a
second layer of washers on top of the others. After
they set up, I tried placing two magnets on them in
the same NSN order. This proved to be a good close
fit. So, I had two magnets on each of the washers. Six
magnets total. Off to the field to give it a go.
I took along another Penn 67, identical
to the other, but w/o the magnets.
 Same
line, same rod, weights, and caster (me). Casts were
alternated between the two rods. Note: “Moderate”
backlash means I had to strip about 10 or
more yards of line after the cast. “Mild” or
“Minor” backlash means I had to strip about 4-5
yards of line. No backlash is perfection! With the
non-magged reel, I made three casts. They were as
follows: 55yds./moderate backlash; 35 yds./bad
backlash; 61 yds./ very mild backlash and my thumb was
on FIRE! With the “magged” reel: 58yds./no
backlash; 70yds/no backlash; 70
yds./minor backlash. Only a 9 yard improvement BUT, my
thumb still had skin on it! I had used much less thumb
pressure with the magged reel. Average distances were
much better with the magged reel.
I knew
there was room for improvement, so I added two more
magnets and tried again the next day. Four casts were
made with the 4oz. weight. They were 78yds./no
backlash; 70 yds./moderate backlash; 74 yds./mild
backlash; and 76 yards/ moderate backlash. Using a
6oz. sinker, two casts resulted in distances of 68 yds./mild
backlash and 77 yds./ no backlash. I wasn’t too
excited about these results. There was some
improvement in distance, but thumb pressure was the
same. I wanted less thumb pressure. So, two more
magnets were installed. This had to work because there
was no more room for more on the side plate (see
photo).
With ten magnets in place, I chunked the 4oz.
weight twice to a distance of 78 yards each time, with
no back lashing. Hmmmmm. I put on two more ounces of
weight and made 4 more casts. Distances were 74, 77,
78, and 80 yards with no backlashes and again------I
had no blisters on my thumb and all skin was accounted
for. Yeah!
My
conclusion: The magnets helped slow the spool enough
to increase distance without excessive thumb pressure.
Would an aluminum spool require
fewer magnets? I would think so, but for the Penn 67,
I’d start with at least six (3/8” X 1/10”)
magnets even on an aluminum spool. Is it worth all
the effort/expense to gain 19 yards? Maybe. It might
get you to that next gut or to that spot on the
jetties where the fish are hanging out. But if you
have ever had soggy, wet skin and had to cast a
screaming reel, you know the joy of not having to
thumb that spool so firmly. Ice should be usedfor fish
filets---not thumbs!
I have to
think that some of the improvement I saw was due to
practice. I may have gotten a better feel for that
rod/reel setup after casting three straight days. (I
guess my research background is showing). Wind was not
significant enough to matter. My 6’5” torso heaved
to reach that 80 yard mark. Practice had nothing to do
with less thumb pressure though. On the
non-magged reel, excessive pressure was needed every
time.
I wish I
could put two more magnets in. I think that would be
perfect, but ten is definitely better than none. I
believe the same number of magnets will work in the
Senator 4/0, Penn 66, and maybe the Penn 68. I may go
with 1/4” magnets on my Jigmaster. If you are lucky
enough to have aluminum spools, I have no doubt you
will see big improvements early in your trials.
Thanks
again to all who chipped in with advice and to Whopper
for putting this up for y’all to see. If this helps
put you on some fish, save a few filets for me! I hope
to meet some of you when I come down from Georgia next
summer. Until then, I’ll be looking for your stories
on Texas Surf-Masters.
Tight lines, everybody!
By Adrian
Devine
Aka “Wannabefishin”
If you have any
comments or questions, be sure to post
them on the Surf-Masters Message
Board
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