Problems with Lambson reel

[Mad Dog Matson]

I'm back from my trip to Brazil. Fishing there was frustrating, especially because my fly reel (Lambson 3.5) kept slipping from a normally operating drag into freespool, causing increbible backlashes and obviously no drag resistance in the unlikely even a fish would hit while I tried to fix the problem (which was so often I had to quit fishing on a guided kayak).

The reel is very simple construction but I can't figure out why this is happening, and I can only get it to stay fixed for a short time before it freespools again. When I get it fixed, I don't know what I even did to get it to work properly. I just take it apart, play with the parts a little, put it back together and hope it works. Sometimes it does but mostly it doesn't.

Any ideas?

Thanks.

[Quicksilver]

Sorry to hear that you had trouble with the reel on your trip. I'm sure it's no consolation, but I had the same thing happen to me after hooking a 20" bonefish. The LP series had a problem with a part that I think the company refers to as the clutch. ( It's the beasty that you flip around to change the reel from left to right hand retrieve or visa versa ). Call Lamson at 1-800-435-9374. They will fix the reel and return it to you within about 9 days. Website is www.waterworks-lamson.com. Don't give up on the company. They are good people and stand behind their product.

[Mad Dog Matson]

Thanks very much for the quick reply. I guess I shouldn't ask how it went with that bone, but I've liked the reel a lot since I bought it about 5 years ago. I didn't mean to bad-mouth the company. I'll call them when I get offline.

Thanks again.