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Shimano Talica, more drag than you think...

News Shimano Talica

I have used the Shimano Talica reels for a number of years and have been extremely happy with them. What do I like about them? well to start with they are well designed and are "simple". Shimano have designed the Talica to be functional and durable which in my opinion appears to be the case. I haven't used all of the models available as my preferred fishing suits the size 8 to 20 models.

My go-to size for most of my fishing is the 12, in both single and 2 speed. For heavy applications and deep drops I use the 20, 2 speed. They are a traditional lever design with a single drag on one side and use a combination of one way bearings for the single speeds and manual AR pawls for the 2 speeds.

The standard drag cam is relatively aggressive but it does have a wide throw offering a few options in regard to how you use it. On the bench, the reel will deliver its suggested max drag at the strike position (with full free spool) at full spool. For the size 12 and 20 meaning 10 kg and 14 kg respectively. I have heard many people say, that is not enough drag...obviously everyone is different and that amount may not be for some. As I mentioned earlier, the drag cam is quite aggressive particularly from the strike position to the max position, this is important as my testing shows a significant increase in drag between the 2 zones. 

As an example, my Talica 12 will run 11-12 kg at strike before starting to bind, push the lever all the way to the max position and it will go 20/21 kg...remember this is at full spool. The Talica 20 at 14 kg strike will go 27/28 kg at max, again at full spool. So, if you dial in a higher drag level at the "strike" position than I just mentioned, imagine what your max drag could be?...Could this be the cause of what you thought was premature line failure?

Also keep in mind this is a bench test, pulling the line slowly and smoothly from the reel, no slack in the line, therefore very little spike from startup inertia. I think it would definitely account for a percentage of line breaks, especially in PE6. Once you take into account the depth you are fishing in and the relative reduction in spool diameter, these numbers would be even higher so to me its without doubt.

As I said earlier, the Talica reels have quite a long throw so I'm going to start using that to my advantage or at least try. There are various options to minimise the issues highlighted above. I think one, is to workout approximately what sort of max drag you will need for your fishing location and set that into the "max" position on the reel. Anyway, food for thought...far more drag in that last section than I ever thought.



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