I received a Shimano Citica 200 HG as a gift, I have had zero luck trying to get the brakes right. I have plenty of experience with baitcasters and have never had a reel I couldn't make work for me. The wind brake works fine, but whenever I make adjustments on the main brake its almost like it does nothing. I have messed with the red tabs on the side of the spool, everything from all brakes off to all brakes on. Still no progress. Anyone have a similar issue or know what I'm doing wrong?

ok so I have a curado 200i which is very similar. 

 

so how i fish it is this:

 

2 red brakes on, 2 off

dial on side of reel set to 2 and a half. try up to 4 if you are having issues then back off. 

tension knob adjusted so lure falls slowly when you press the clutch.

 

try this setup . I never touch the dial or brakes ever, just the tension knob when changing lures. 

 

give it a try

 

21 minutes ago, Jasonmcdonough said:

I received a Shimano Citica 200 HG as a gift, I have had zero luck trying to get the brakes right. I have plenty of experience with baitcasters and have never had a reel I couldn't make work for me. The wind brake works fine, but whenever I make adjustments on the main brake its almost like it does nothing. I have messed with the red tabs on the side of the spool, everything from all brakes off to all brakes on. Still no progress. Anyone have a similar issue or know what I'm doing wrong?

What do you mean by "Wind brake" and "Main Brake"?

@Hulkster What I am experiencing is that when i adjust the main brake dial there is no effect despite having the brakes engaged on the spool. The only time it changes is when I manipulate the small wind brake knob.

@frnknsteen The wind brake- smaller dial under the star drag. Main brake- dial on the other side of the reel for larger adjustments. Might be called something else, growing up that is what I have always heard.

1 hour ago, Jasonmcdonough said:

@frnknsteen The wind brake- smaller dial under the star drag. Main brake- dial on the other side of the reel for larger adjustments. Might be called something else, growing up that is what I have always heard.

Got it. I have just never heard it called a wind brake. I typically hear it called a "Cast Control" or "Spool tension" knob.

 

I typically start with my external adjust centrifugal brake adjusted as above. Half of the weights activated on the spool and dial set to midpoint and adjust as needed from there. If the brakes seem lacking, I have had to turn them all on and dial back on the external brake dial.

On 9/18/2022 at 12:04 PM, Jasonmcdonough said:

@Hulkster What I am experiencing is that when i adjust the main brake dial there is no effect despite having the brakes engaged on the spool. The only time it changes is when I manipulate the small wind brake knob.

which dial are you referring to? the one with numbers on it or the tension knob on the star drag side? 

I just realized as I was looking at my I series that you may be referring to the I series which has HG printed on the handle sideplate. Anyhow, make sure you are actually opening the palm side and adjusting the internal brakes in addition to the external dial.

First of all, how do you know if your brake doesn’t work?

you can check by, adjust spool tension knob (wind brake) to loosen the spool, free spin spool, set the dial (external adjustment) from 1-6. If spool come to stop faster when dial at higher, meaning everything work just fine. Another way is to look under palm side plate, those brass drum should move up and down when you turn the dial. 
If everything works and you still have problem, it might be operator error.