I can't for the life of me understand why the reel does not have perfectly good line lay from purchase (maybe they do). Why the need for the washers.
My knowledge on fishing and tackle is very limited, but I was watching some reel tech replacing a clutch on Youtube and I wonder if not these are clutch friction plates?
Carrying clutch spares is strange though.
I understand what you are saying Sam but I can safely say with all the reels I have ever purchased (some very expensive) I have never found such washers in the reel box. Mainly Shimano, so maybe this only applies to Daiwa?
On the plus side at least it shows they care about these small matters but some instructions wouldn't be amiss. I like a sloping line lay for beach casting fixed spool reels for distance casting; higher at the back, you can normally get a bit more yardage and that might apply to some long distance coarse fishing situations and it can help trotting a bit as well. I usually set that up before I put line on though, put a sloping layer of tape or cloth strip on first, not sure how washers would achieve that.
My knowledge on fishing and tackle is very limited, but I was watching some reel tech replacing a clutch on Youtube and I wonder if not these are clutch friction plates? Carrying clutch spares is strange though.
Reels should have perfectly even line lay fresh out of the box. However, the odd one doesn't. Then there are some folks that actually want the line to be biased towards the front or rear of the spool. Supplying washers allows the user to set up a reel to their preference. The majority of UK anglers will only ever want even, level, line lay. However, the vast bulk of reels are made for worldwide markets which may not share UK ideals.