I saw Seph's post on this reel in another thread earlier. Having just bought one on a whim (and I paid £60 for it - groan) I'm a little bit confused. It has a feature which reduces the drag tension by 50% when you wind the handle back by a quarter turn. However when I start winding in the conventional direction again it doesn't seem to return to the original drag setting. It just seems to keep slipping (and presumably winding in kinks) instead of retrieving the line at anything less than the full drag weight. Sorry if that sounds a bit confusing. It's brand new - or at least it was the last one they had on display, which is usually a dodgy proposition.

Anyone else got one and like to tell me if I'm missing something before I take it back to the shop.

its been a long time since i used one ,as i disengaged mine on my 506 (same system)if my memory serves me right you set the clutch/drag in the usual way using the thumb screw on the handle (here's the bit i not sure about!)then you give the handle a quarter turn back to activate it(or deactivate!?)because of the way the line retrival pins work,you activate the drag system first then adjust it
just the once then whenever you want to use the drag you cast out
then activate the pins by forward winding a quater turn (pins out)and then a quater turn backwards to engage the drag

all of that should be as clear as mud,its a cr*p system i never did like it .if you carn't work it
out just back wind all the time and don't use the
clutch at all,just tighten up the thumb screw up
tight (on the handle)and back wind as your likely
to be using it for light waggler or stickfloat on
rivers and its probably better to back wind with fish under 6lb anyway as clutch/drag's are better
suited to fish over this size anyway.

i never put more than say 50-70yds on mine,the heaviest line i've used on mine is 5lb maxima,i'm currently using/trying out a low profile pre-stretched 6lb line At 0.026mm,although i'am cosidering using some
spyderwire 18lb braid at 0.024ish=3-4lb mono on one of my closed face reels.

Well, slightly more confused already... it's hard to describe isn't it... but you're right, I'm intending to try it out as a trotting reel. So far I've only tested it with line tied to a table leg.

I didn't make it very clear, but when I back off the drag to 50% by winding a quarter turn in reverse, I'd assumed that as soon as you began retrieving again the drag would be set back to the 100% value (ie whatever you set it on the drag wheel in the first place). Instead it remains at 50% so it's in effect slipping. I haven't quite worked out how it gets back to 100% any way other than disengaging the pins and re-engaging them again.

As you say, it seems to be a cr@p system in practise - although in principle it's quite good - gives a chance of second thoughts about the drag setting. I don't much like the idea of letting any kind of fixed spool reel run in reverse, it always seems to cause loops and tangles.

The 704 is generally unimpressive to handle unfortunately. I'm pleased to hear that someone actually uses one. I doubt that it contains single ball bearing and is a bit primitive. I'd hoped they had developed a bit in the last 40 odd years.

I think the reason that I bought a new one is that the one I originally had as a kid, which was 100% useless, always made me imagine myself casting a rubber rat for Crappies or some similar American activity. Never grew up properly.

not one of abu's best our head warden had one and the clutch had gone before it was 2 ,never used on but holding the handle back on a 506 just moves a cam a fraction which lets you have 50% less drag, releasing it returns it to normal and after 30 years still doing exactly that ,keep away from the 507 gold max2 as well its cack and heavy with it

I always loved the clutch on the 501s. One day I`ll get the reel sorted out, best trotting reel I`ve ever used (apart from c`pins)

still got my original pin ,i did fit another (to give it 2) shortly after bying it but it needed a complete turn to engage them so it came out ,still got it in my tackle box as a spare but going by the non existant wear on the first one it will be there another 30 years

to set the drag is so simple.
1) turn the handle back
2) screw the drag adjuster to max
3) remove the line guard and grab the rotor
4) turn the handle forward as hard as you can
5) put it all back together and try to remember to leave the anti reverse off so the drag doesn't get backed off again.
30 years ago I had a 500 series (forget which one but it had a slotted screw for the drag adjuster)
They don't seem to have come a long way do they? Still the line gets caught here and there.
I think my Diawa 125m was nicer to use.
Unc F

aaaarrrgggghhh!
So basically it don't work due to bad design... or have I got a faulty unit? Leaving the anti-reverse off - as I said above - sounds like a terrible 'solution'.