RussBert

Sounds to me like the reel just need a good cleaning and proper lubing. Too much oil in the (dirty?) spool bearings can and will slow down the spool. What oil did you use? Too much oil in the Anti-Reverse Bearing can work it's way onto the drag disks which is also not a good thing.

kikstand454, TW has dropped the price on these to $29.99!

deep, Sounds like you're getting the hang of it. Now wait 'till you experience some wind or "sky" a cast, or both! ;D In time, you will loosen the cast control and back off the brakes as you gain more experience and confidence. The best advice I was ever given in regards to casting a baitcaster was, LESS IS MORE which means that a smooth, effortless casting motion yields the longest, most accurate casts with the least backlashes 8-)

...and today TW dropped the price on the Daiwa Procaster to $29.99

Here's my $.02 worth about the Procaster, http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1282858719 Buy them up while you still can

Note that the condition of each reels drags may be compromised by wear or by excess lubes (or the wrong lubes) that found their way onto the drag disks.

Don't fill the spool. The lighter weight will make it cast better

Yes. You will also need a handle nut, handle nut plate and nut plate screw

That's what I was thinking. There's a lot of younger folks hanging around here that are looking for a budget baitcasting reel. The Procaster fits the bill

Catch fish? Heck, I just put purty handles on them reels and take pictures of 'em ;D

I ain't arguing, just quoting some prices I've recently seen. You seem to have a bug up your butt though. What gives? Did I hurt your feelings or something? And most importantly, what did I win?

A "loaded" ZPI handle is currently selling for $125 (plus $15 shipping) from Japan Tackle. Sol's can be had new on ebay for $159.99 shipped

Note that any of these handles sell for about what a new SOL costs If you go with a 80mm swept handle, you'll either need a swept drag star, OR you can bend the legs on the stock drag star to fit.

Here's few pics of my Sol with a Fuego 80mm handle and aZillion 90mm handle. The Zillion handle set sells for about $40, but note that there are no bearings in it. I should have my Daiwa I'ZE handle here tomorrow and I'll post a couple pics

Most of us have seen the Daiwa Procaster at TW which sells for $35 these days. I was ordering some "stuff" anyways so I picked one up. The reel has an aluminum frame, and both side plates are polymer. The reel has 6 bearings and is built like most Daiwa reels. Gears are brass and most internal components are die cast metal. The worm gear is also brass and the worm itself is steel. The spool is aluminum. There is a single disk drag which comes dry. There is no click to the drag adjustment or the cast control cap. It's made in Korea and I gotta say it's a well built & strurdy unit. Did I mention that these are $35? I stripped the reel down and did a "Mini super-tune" where I polished the pinion and the ends of the spool shaft, cleaned and re-lubed the bearings and applied a light grease to the internal parts. I added Cal's drag grease to the single drag washer. It is definitely MUCH smoother now, but time will tell how it holds up. I didn't like the stock handle at all. It does really feel like a $35 reel's handle, so I had a Zillion take-off handle here that I installed. I bent the drag star's legs to accommodate the handle. I like the 90mm length, and to my eyes it looks better too. I spooled it up with some 50# Power Pro and mounted it on a St Croix Premier 6'6" MH/F rod and cast a 3/8 plug around the backyard. With the cast control set to drop the lure smoothly and the mags on 3 I was able to throw the plug about 35-40 yards with little effort. No backlashing or any other crazy stuff was encountered. My only "issue" with the reel is that it doesn't come left handed, and I just can't fish a RH reel...well that and the handle ;D My plans are to give this reel & rod to a deserving young man, my buddy's son Zach 8-)

X3

The Sol's got the "Beef" to do deep cranking. Internally it's similar to all other Daiwa's. Brass gears, good drag, bearings, etc Give it a try. You got nothing to loose

Sounds like a good plan. You might want to use a 90mm or even a 100mm handle to increase leverage/ lessen fatigue (stock is 80mm)

The posted weight is with the bearings installed. It's the complete handle and all the parts to attach it to the reel. Those cursed cork knobs are just so expensive, why the heck doesn't Daiwa just make a whole slew of them, and make them readily available here in the US? >

The stock Fuego handle/nut/cover weighs 34.05 grams The HSTA handle/nut/nut plate/screw weigh 31.54 grams 8-) The four bearings make it so much smoother and for me more fun to fish with, plus I really prefer the 90mm length as opposed to the 80mm stock handle. Again, personal preference.

I cut the outside face in a lathe at an angle that matched the handle. This gave me a reference surface, then I used small swiss files to radius the edges. I followed up with 600, 1000 and 2000 grit wet/dry paper and finished it off with simi-chrome polish. Yeah, it took a while

I never fished these reels with the factory drag washers

The cost of the parts ala carte is going to be less than if you pay someone to install them. For instance the drag washers are $8 but it costs almost that to ship them, then add the cost of drag grease and installation. $20 is a good deal

Very nice! The handle's on the wrong side though ;D