Affordable Cork Drag/ Draw Bar Reel

MarshRat

MarshRat

Steelhead
Any budget options out there? Love these reels for weekly saltwater use, but my buddy can't afford any of the big names (Abel, Tibor, Bauer, Islander). Looking specifically for the cork drag/draw bar design. Thanks!
 
TFO had some Terry Hayden reels that can be found on ebay for pretty reasonable prices. Once and a while you can get a billy pate reel for pretty cheap there as well.
Also the Sage 5000 series reels seem to come up pretty cheap on ebay.
 
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Albright and Xplorer both sell (or maybe used to sell?) drawbar drag reels for relatively cheap (<$300usd), but you can get a used shilton or abel for another hundred bucks and have the real deal.
 
TFO NTR comes to mind. Although, you cant take them apart to service clean without voiding the warranty. I don't get that.
 
You can still find Old Florida reels on the auction site from time to time. They don't pop up very often, but when they do they are usually not very expensive. They are solid cork drag reels. I've had one of the super arbors for dang near 20 years now without having any issues with it.
 
I could be wrong but I thought the old Redington Brakewater reels had a cork drag. I have a couple I will go look tonight.
 
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