I inherited some old rods/reels last week, and have been doing some maintenance on some of them that were a bit rough. I got a Daiwa SK4050 spinner that's actually in good shape mechanically, but has one slight issue: it has some braided line (about 50 lb. test I'd guess, Spiderwire probably) and I have not managed to get it free. I pulled it up enough earlier to see a small, legit knot that has wrapped around underneath the spool and tied itself together. I have no choice but to remove the spool to remove this trapped line. Problem is, I have never owned a spinning reel with such an apparently complicated spool system! I removed the front cap, washer, and retaining pin... and it won't come off. I have tried all variations of loosing/tightening the rear drag while turning/pulling the spool counter-clockwise. I even tried removing the drag knob cap... no luck. It has no release button or anything that would make the spool come off. I'm clueless, I have no idea. Maybe it just is not removable?

 

Thanks for any advice.

 

Edited: I just noticed the front of the spool cap reads "One touch snap-off spool". Okay, great. Problem is, it doesn't work either. Unless there is some way to set the reel to make it work? I put some oil down the shaft in case it is stuck... no luck yet. Shouldn't be this difficult to remove a spool.

Not sure what is up with it sticking, but here's a schematic for it:

 

http://www.mikesreelrepair.com/daiwa-sk4050/

Thanks. I was looking at that earlier actually to try and determine if whether there is something else holding it on. It looks like there could be a little cross pin in the shaft just behind where the spool sits, presumably to set the spool depth. Could be that or something else causing it to stick. But I am correct in thinking that the spool should just pull off after removing the front drag cap, spacer, and shaft pin?

The spool might be released by pushing a button in the center of the drag adjustment knob. Just like the old Mitchell reels.

 

Tom

The rear drag has a screw that allows me to remove the drag cap. I haven't actually tried depressing that screw. The spool cap on the front does have a button that I think is supposed to release the spool but doesn't. Basically what it appears to do is to spread the two ends of the pin that is there, thus releasing it from the shaft. I'll try just a bit of PB blaster and see if that breaks it loose. I am pretty sure at this point it's just stuck and needs some extra help.