Newell S338-5 Fishing Reel

Perfect for me, as I service all my own reels. I replaced the bearings, and made three upgrades. Drag washer stack: The reel came with the standard stack of three drag washers, which were capable of 15 lb of drag.

I upgraded the drag using Bryan Young's five-drag washer kit, which enables 20+ lb max drag. Gear sleeve: I also replaced the standard brass gear sleeve with a Cortez stainless steel gear sleeve and a Delrin washer under the gear sleeve. Reel clamp: Aftermarket, one-piece aluminum. Lubrication: drag washers with Cal's Grease, inside of the pinion gear with Corrosion-X, spool bearings with TSI-301. I spooled the reel with approximately 400 yards of 65 braid and a 100 yard top shot of 40 lb mono and used the reel on my 40 lb jig stick.

The spool is graphite, light, and of course it casts very well with 3.5-4.0 oz jigs. The reel doesn't have cast control, which is fine if you are great at jig casting, but I'm not, so I shied away from using it and only used the combo 3 or 4 times. Now, I'm about to use a new reel that has magnetic cast control, so it's time to let go of my Newell. Don't say I didn't tell you.

The 300 Series Newell reels have a single-dog anti-reverse, which is strong and reliable but it is not an instant anti-reverse. Newells are not known for being'quiet' reels. The strengths of the Newell reels are light weight, corrosion resistance, ease of maintenance, great casting because of the lightweight graphite spool, and the availability of after-market upgrades, including drag, frame, handle, and bearing upgrades.

---