The tension knob on my Abu Garcia Silver Max is, in my opinion, too tight. I set the reel up so that a 1/4 jig falls at the correct pace and the knob is so tight that I cannot adjust it any further. This makes the reel very difficult to use. Any suggestions on how to loosen it up? I've gone so far as to use my pliers to tighten it down enough to use a heavy crank bait without backlash. Thanks in advance, Paul.

had same problem with some of my cheaper baitcasters and use pliers as well

take the knob all the way off and look inside the knob part. there will be a square or round washer made of carbon or something. try to get it out carefully, take it out and wipe it down clean. now put it in the opposite way you took it out. if that doesnt work, the washer will probably need to be replaced from being overburdened by pressure from the knob being tight for so long.

Thank you! I'm going to try this tonight.

May just be way too much oil or gunk inside it. I've had similar issues with a cheaper baitcaster before and could never get it dialed in too well, had to rely on thumbing too much and it led to very short casts. The silver max is a much higher quality reel than that though.

Don't want to turn this into a reel thread but the one thing that helped was getting a new baitcaster. If you're looking for something better, when you do, you should seriously check out the bass pro shops pro qualifier. It's $100 and is by far the best reel at that price point. They have deals like four times a year as well and I believe its knocked down to $80.

Let us know how it goes, there may be a few more tricks you could try.

SAC2 nailed it. The adjustment feels SO much better. Thanks! Knightiac, I also own a couple of BPS Nitro Z reels. They are definitely better reels and I am a big believer that you get what you pay for. Thanks for the replies, Paul.

DVT is a far superior reel expert than I am but I believe the part that you flipped over to the other side is called a "shim". They can get worm down faster as a result of having tension knobs set too tight. I was always told it is better on a reel to engage more brakes... magnetic or centrifugal than to run the tension knob almost tight with less brakes.

I am glad you were able to fix the problem with the advice given above. What I mentioned is just an fyi... for future reference.

Thanks kicker.

My wife has been telling me for years that my tension knob is set too tight.

My wife has been telling me for years that my tension knob is set too tight.

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Spool tension, brakes and thumb pressure all work in unison and play their own roll in casting. Over-doing or ignoring any one is counter productive. Flipping shims is a quick fix. Keep an eye on them and replace as needed.