Drennan Series 7 Float Reel Line Lay

pratty117 · Apr 3, 2019

Evening Peeps
I'm after a spot of advice on some line lay issues I am having with a new reel. It might just be me but thought it would be worth an ask to see if anyone has experienced a similar problem. I recently purchased a Drennan Series 7 Float Reel. Its a cracking little reel that I've used a handful of times albeit one slight annoyance I appear to be having. Each spool is designed to take exactly 100m of Drennan float fish line. I've loaded each with the correct diameter/strength of line. The problem i'm having with each spool is that on casting extra line is springing from the spool between the reel and first eye on the rod. As I wind in i'm getting nasty loops and excess line not sitting back on the spool properly. The spools look pretty well loaded but i'm tempted to take some line off to try and combat this problem.
Any ideas?

Adam

mikench · Apr 3, 2019

I have the same reel and I gave up on it. It remains a smooth reel with sensible small spools but if the spools are fully loaded like yours then line spooling off is a result! Try a reduced amount if a different line spooled on tightly and see if it makes a difference.

Keith M · Apr 3, 2019

I occasionally have the same problem on my Drennan FD4000 reel and spoken to a couple of other anglers who get the same problem with their Drennan 3000 & 4000 reels too.

I don’t have a Drennan Series 7 float reel but it sounds exactly what very occasionally happens with my Drennan FD 4000 reel. It seems that this must be a common problem with the Drennan reels.

Because it was annoying me so much I went and bought another reel for my float fishing and I no longer get this problem.

Its a shame as the Drennan reels do look good and come with 3 different capacity shallow spools but this common fault is very annoying.

Keith

trotter2 · Apr 3, 2019

I had one quite a few years ago and the 3000 fd model ,I had the same problem .I also found the spool reach for my index finger to long to reach comfortably. The fd was better but the Bail spring knackered up after only a few hours on the bank.
Next I purchased a shimano 2500 exage and all my troubles went away.

Richox12 · Apr 4, 2019

Those spools all look fine to me.

It might be due to 0.18mm in one brand not being 0.18mm in another. A slight increase in thickness and it will fill the spool a little more. Also if you load with some tension it will be 'under-filled' and it you load it with minimal tension it will be fuller. If you think the spools are over-filled take 5m off and reduce it a fraction.

It could even be the way the line was loaded causing some twist causing it to 'spring' off.

A spool is a spool and it's up to you to fill it accordingly with whatever you choose.

nottskev · Apr 4, 2019

Your spools look fine to me. As has been said, a spool is a spool and won't throw line off when it shouldn't. But you can find some lines are springy and prone to coil off, and some reels, if they have bail arm rollers that don't work well, can create line twist which will cause problems. I've never owned a Drennan reel, so I can't comment specifically on your model.

pratty117 · Apr 4, 2019

Thanks chaps, has given me some things to go on. I think i'll try taking a bit of line of each spool and see if that does the trick. Failing that maybe i'll try another float reel. Keith do you mind me asking which one you plumped for as an alternative?
Cheers
Adam

Keith M · Apr 4, 2019

pratty117 said:
Keith do you mind me asking which one you plumped for as an alternative?
Cheers
Adam

I was going to get one of the Shimano Ninja front drag reels as they have really good write ups and reputations and they are a very similar price to the Drennan reels; however after playing with a few reels in the shop I ended up getting a Shimano Aero 4000 Match FA reel instead which has slightly wider diameter spools and shallow spool reducers, plus the wife was paying for my reel for my birthday present

(see pic).

Keith

mikench · Apr 4, 2019

The Aero is a great reel and I have the feeder version without the double handle! It's sadly discontinued though! Have a look at the Stradic C14+ 4000RA a brilliant reel but pricy. Another vote for the Ninja as a cheaper alternative.

peter crabtree · Apr 4, 2019

I don't think the reel is at fault. You say " the correct line diameter" but 0:18 is not really ideal for float fishing. I think the capacity examples printed on the reel are meant to be a guide and not necessarily the line you should be using. My Daiwa reels in 2000 size give similar capacity/diameter examples but in reality those are too heavy for float fishing IMO , even pellet waggler.
Heavier lines like those are much more likely to cause problems such as you are experiencing, I'd advise you to try a lighter line before splashing out on a new reel.
I don't know if you've tried it but before float fishing try tying on a heavyish cage feeder or a pellet waggler and cast it around and wind in vigorously to stretch the curliness out of the line first.

mikench · Apr 4, 2019

Out of interest Peter what diameter do you use for float fishing taking into account errant carp gate crashing the party?

The lightest lines I have are 3lb and 3.4lb and each are 0:18 diameter.

I tell a lie I have a spool of Silstar Match Team 3.30lb 0:12 MM. but never used it.

Keith M · Apr 4, 2019

Re: Drennan Series 7 Float Reel Line Lay it’s

I occasionally get the same problem with my Drennan FD reel whether I’m using 0.16mm (3.2lb) Drennan Floatfish line or 0.18mm (4.4lb) Floatfish line although I haven’t tried the 0.14mm 2.6lb Floatfish line on it yet as there are usually a few Carp in my swim where I’m usually fishing and 3.2lb line is as low as I usually like to go when Carp are around.

I don’t really know why this happens, I make sure that my line is always loaded perfectly and I’ve not had it happen on any of my other reels (Drennan Diawa or Shimano) and I’ve been float fishing for well over 50 years (so I’m not really new to this float fishing game); but all I can say is that it only seems to happen on my Drennan FD reel and non of my other reels; which is a shame as I really like the fact that you get three different capacity shallow spools on the Drennan FD reels and it balances nicely with most of my lighter float rods.

There are lots of other FD 3000 & 4000 reel owners out there, a lot of whom complain of these same problems, and strange as it is; there seems to definately be a problem that needs tweaking to correct this common problem on an otherwise nice budget priced reel.

Keith

peter crabtree · Apr 4, 2019

I have never owned a Drennan reel so I can't judge, maybe there is a problem with the spool, I suppose if it is a very low diameter spool then line is likely to peel off when it's not supposed to.

Keith M · Apr 4, 2019

peter crabtree said:
I have never owned a Drennan reel so I can't judge, maybe there is a problem with the spool, I suppose if it is a very low diameter spool then line is likely to peel off when it's not supposed to.

Peter the spool is not as small as on some reels but it spins exceptionally easily.

I’m going to start fishing the canal between Kings Langley and Watford again this year, so I’ll be using 2lb and 3lb line with 1.1lb and 2lb bottoms and I’m going to pack some thicker grease into my FD4000 reel so that it doesn’t spin quite so easily as it does now, and see if this solves the problem.
It might be something very simple like this that causes the loose loops of line forming.

Keith

peter crabtree · Apr 4, 2019

Keith, send me a pm when you're going to Lady C's and I'll join you if you want.

nottskev · Apr 4, 2019

I'd agree you can do a lot of floatfishing with lines under .18., and many of us do. But there's no reason why a small reel shouldn't function perfectly well with lines over that. .18 is the diameter of Drennan 4.4lb Floatfish, and that's hardly heavy, given the size of fish we catch these days. I've been using small Shimano reels in 2500 and 3000 sizes for decades, with lines up 6lb Maxima (.22) for some purposes, and I don't get the problems the OP reported, so I think it's unlikely the choice of line is entirely to blame.

pratty117 · Apr 4, 2019

Some interesting pointers raised and I really appreciate the input. I've a couple of plans of attack before parting with any cash. Thank you for suggesting the cage feeder casting around method Peter. It may well be I need to rid the line of some twists. I also now remember having a front drag drennan FD a few years back and this also had this problem.

Philip · Apr 4, 2019

I think the thicker the line and the smaller the spool the more likley it is to spring off however I dont think thats the issue here. The spools look correctly loaded as well.

You could take a small amount of line off. My rule of thumb is to fill the spool to what looks the right level then open the bale arm and see if the line coils off on its own accord...if it does strip a bit off until it stops springing off on its own accord.

All that said in your case I would just use it a few times before you invest in a new reel. Lines will generally bed down after as you start to use them.

pratty117 · Apr 4, 2019

Thanks Philip. I've only used each spool once so like you said need to give them some time to bed down. Hopefully heading out on Sunday so I'll see how they behave then. I'm sure taking a bit off won't hurt in this case either.

108831 · Apr 5, 2019

I can only speak about the FD 4000 reel,but on that it didn't matter if you were on 3lb or 12lb lines the problem still occured,also due to the slickness of modern reels I often fish with the ratchet on and the line came off in annoying loops,this seemed to worsen as the line was used more,I believe this is due to a badly designed anti-twist line roller as it simply doesn't happen in my shimano's and daiwa's.

Drennan Series 7 Float Reel Line Lay

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