The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

Greetings to all.......I have an old Abumatic 220 and can't figure out how the drag works.Can anyone explain please......

I have an Abumatic 1075 with push button line release as above. However as a later model there is a star drag similar to an Abu 505.

I wonder if the Abu 503 had a similar drag to the 220 Abumatic?

Thanks Olly.The 220 has no visible means of drag adjustment so I remain flummoxed

I believe the early ones were designed so that the slotted screw which secured the handle could be adjusted with a coin, prior to starting fishing (rather than while fighting a fish). Is it possible that the original slotted handle nut was replaced with the brass-like one your reel has? And does loosening your handle nut change the drag?

That's my best guess.

G. B.

So it was pre-set prior to fishing according to the line strength - sounds about right!

The brake setting is preset by ABU and cannot be changed like for example, the Abumatic 120 can be changed with a slotted screw.
The braking effect can be influenced by releasing the crank during the drill (auto-syncro-brake).

Thanks Jokki.......So when I wind,there is no drag at all and when not winding,the line can be pulled from the spool.Does that sound right ?

Russel, I'll enclose two photos of the roll booklet.
The second picture is the scroll drawing and will also help you.

Jokki,You are the man

The 220 was about the cheapest budget version of the abumatic series. For most fishing their 170 was the best and most popular.