Baitcasting Reel Drag

[the_mighty_kasey]

I have a Mitchell Spidercast baitcast reel and the drag no longer holds like it used to. I know that drags are magnetically controlled and I was wondering if the magnets may have weakened. If so, can they be replaced and is it worth it? My reel is 5 years old and it works great otherwise.

[OptiMax]

There are no magnets in the drag. If the reel has magnets, they are for the anti-backlash system. If your drag won't tighten as much as you need it, there can be a few culprits. Number one, your line could be slipping on the spool, so make sure that the spool is actually spinning, not just the line on the spool. Next culprit is probably your drag washers. Do you loosen your drag when it's stored? If no, they compress over time and never spring back to their original thickness. They also wear out over time. I like to loosen my drags after each trip. This also helps to remind me to check my drag before I start fishing.