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I was checking out the TLD15 at sports authority last night. I was messing with the "cast control knob/pre-program dial" where the handle is attached to the unit. Once I tightened it to its max, I couldn't flip the drag lever up! not even a little! Does anybody know of this problem? or it just the nature of reel. I would have pushed that thing a little harder if it was mine and if I knew it could go up but was just wondering if anybody knows of the same issue?
It is not a problem at all. That is the drag pressure adjustment - it works on distance the clamp moves - it has more range than is usable to allow for wear.
You don't want a tld 15 though I can tell you that. They all fail sooner or later as there is this cheesy little pin that lock in the main gear and it WILL shear off sooner or later.
Bump up to the tld 20 or 25.
Seen this so many times . . . had to quit using them.
Never turn the "cast control knob/pre-program dial" on any lever drag reel with the lever engaged,you can damage the spool bearing. Make slight adjustments at free spool, then check drag at strike.
Ken
On your post, it is in picture 21 (counted with the topmost pic being number 1 and going down) you see the pin that will shear off.
It is in the middle of the main gear where it meets the shaft which ultimiately holds the handle on the opposite end.
Broke every one we had (which was 12-15) of them. That is the weak link on this reel. Too bad it was a great little reel to jig rockfish and lingcod with, but sooner or later through dumb luck we'd hook up a big halibut and SNAP, it was all over. Sometimes they went on tiny fish, my guess is that they were just barely hanging on at that point and it just went with the next bit of pressure on it.
Your posts are excellent.
P.S. Next time you come to Alaska, look me up. I'll put you on a better trip!
You don't want a tld 15 though I can tell you that. They all fail sooner or later as there is this cheesy little pin that lock in the main gear and it WILL shear off sooner or later.
Bump up to the tld 20 or 25.
Seen this so many times . . . had to quit using them.
Damn,
I just bought two of them to replace a couple of reels I sent to Fl. to use down there. Based on my experience with the TLD 25's I thought I made the right choice. Any way to modify the reels to avoid this problem?
JollyMonNJ
Damn,
I just bought two of them to replace a couple of reels I sent to Fl. to use down there. Based on my experience with the TLD 25's I thought I made the right choice. Any way to modify the reels to avoid this problem?
JollyMonNJ
They are great little reels, but like with any reel they have their limitations as described above so use them accordingly and they should hold up just fine. Upgrade and greese the drags and they perform even better. They will tackle any rock fish, sail, king, bonito or dolphin that you can throw at them.
No way to modify the weak link I was talking about.
Yeah they will hold up for a while, like I said. But guess what? When you get that 50 lb. bull dolphin a year from now and you hear that POP sound coming from the reel you're gonna be sick . . .
Basing this on experience. I can't remember for sure how many we had (like 12-15) but this happened to every one of them.
(When it happens you will lose anti-reverse and when you turn the handle it will just turn freely, it is a catastrophic failure).
You don't want a tld 15 though I can tell you that. They all fail sooner or later as there is this cheesy little pin that lock in the main gear and it WILL shear off sooner or later.
Bump up to the tld 20 or 25.
Seen this so many times . . . had to quit using them.
Never had a problem with any of mine
__________________ 210 CC Sea Pro
Yamaha 200 4 Stroke
Dodge Ram 1500 4x4 HEMI
yes, i've seen this several times before. it's the retaining (or shear, in this case) pin. i was not aware of it being a routine problem. i would imagine that shimano would be willing to replace a main gear that failed in that manner. unless, of course, they have the same quality mentality as toyota.
__________________ eddie's brother, grady white 258 journey
Keep in mind that the TLD 15 was designed for 15 lbs test line, this to me, means 3 to 5 pounds of drag. I dont think you have to worry if you use as designed. The shear pin is to fail before pulling the reel off the reel seat (composit frame) and wrecking the first couple eyes on your rod. I Kingfished with 4 TLD 15s and after changing the canvas drag washers to HT100 they never missed a beat.
For 50 lbs Bull Dolphin you need more reel than the old TLD15s. My $0.02
yeah, i'd have to side with ken on this one. the reel REALLY WAS intended for 15# mono and a 5# drag setting. pretty hilarious, figuring where we are all now. but is is true, everyone i know uses straight 30# mono with a 10# drag setting, or 65# spectra with a 40-50# topshot and 12-15#'s of drag. spectra has forever changed the way we fish.
as far as alaska goes, we were thinking about a trip for the four of us again, me, my brother, my nephew and my dad. the same motley crew as several years ago. you have a pm! alan
__________________ eddie's brother, grady white 258 journey
When I mentioned a 50 lb bull dolphin it was partly in response to Fish 'n Fool's comments above . . .
I would hate to admit what I did to those poor little reels!
I was running 80 lb pp (not for the line strength for the no stretch and small diamter) and was really targeting rockfish and lingcod in Alaska . . . the problem was you can't control what takes your jig and I was good for a 160-250 lb halibut (by accident) when jigging other species . . . they didn't always break on big fish either. I can remember one breaking on a small ling cod (under 35 inches) that put up no fight at all.
Like I said I agree with you guys on a lot of things, but for a few bucks more i would be stepping up to a tld 20 or 25.
I just ordered a TYR16 don't see too many people sayings things about it Unless there is something about the Tyrnos I should know about...Mr. Tani are you going to make a carbontex tutorial about this reel?
i have a tyrnos 20 in line. that's the one i was going to shoot.
just a side bar note. if i was going to set someone up with a less expensive set of small two speeds for a san diego trip, it woul be a set of two speed tyrnos reels. the tyrnos 8 II would be loaded with 50# spectra and a short 30# topshot, the tyrnos 12 II would be loaded with 65# spectra and a short 40# topshot, and the tyrnos 20 II would be loaded up with 80# spectra and a short 50-60# topshot. no one ever talks about these reels, but they're great. i personally do not care for the "wide" versions, meaning the tyrnos 10 II, 16 II and 30 II, but i love the 8 II, 12 II and 20 II. oh, and if you needed a troller, the tyrnos 50 II LRS. alan
__________________ eddie's brother, grady white 258 journey
You don't want a tld 15 though I can tell you that. They all fail sooner or later as there is this cheesy little pin that lock in the main gear and it WILL shear off sooner or later.
Bump up to the tld 20 or 25.
Seen this so many times . . . had to quit using them.
I have an old TLD 15 that I bought used off of ebay from someone that said they used it for fishing oil rigs. This reel could not have looked any worse. It was obviously fished very hard.
It cleaned up OK and I use it deep droppin on wrecks etc. Sorry to hear it will fail.
Hey fellas, this is a timely thread, as I just got to thinking about what I need to get for the upcoming tuna season here in the northeast. Some guys here are using the TLDs - usually the 2 speed 40s or 50s. Last season, I bought a new to me grady with outriggers. I have some heavy spinning gear to throw to breaking fish, but I want to get on the troll with the outriggers. Are these reels enough for 100 and 200 lb class fish? Also, what rod do I match them with in order to pull spreader bars around, or is that too much for this combo?
Thanks!
__________________ I'm not a boater, but I play one on THT.
for bluefin in the 100-200 pound class, i would think that you'd be looking at 25-35#'s of drag with an 80-100# topshot. you're really talking about an all aluminum chassis and a two speed gear box. lots of choices out there. ideally, it will be something that you can service yourself. alan
oh, and good choice for the boat!
__________________ eddie's brother, grady white 258 journey
Shimano TLD 15 
