Fishing reel questions

[CR Yaker]

Originally Posted by Sheephead

I've had some friends give new advice over the past 3 months and have tested everything they told me on several fish but i'm still left with a couple questions I'm unable to answer because i'm still a noob when it comes to reels.(Not a noob noob, just a noob) I'm looking to buy a new reel primarily for fly-lining to pair between a
6 1/2' Seeker Classic Series BSC 665-6 20, (30), 50lb and

7' Calstar BWC-870C 15-40lb

Here's what i'm wondering. I like to horse my fish in rather than fighting them for 20+ min like some people. Even if that means losing 1-2 but I've also noticed that buttoning the drag down close to max (20ish) can lose fish on head shakes. Is there any point in getting a reel with more than 20lbs of drag? I was previously thinking about buying a Talica 16ii or Accurate BX2-600 and spooling with 50lb powerpro and a 40-50lb mono topshot to allow for stretch to prevent losing the fish on head shakes but also be able to RAMP up that drag and get a better fight out of the fish. Obviously don't want to spend $400+ if i'm never going to turn the drag past 20ish on those reels.

Another question for those of you that own Accurate reels, do they break down easily and constantly require repair when kayak fishing and are they easy to service? Comparing servicing Accurate reels to Penn reels and Penn making you want to kill your self in the most tortuous way possible. Ho would you rate it? I wan't to upgrade from Avet and get either Fury FX-500 or FX2-500 if going over 20lb drag is pointless but don't want to spend big $$$ having a tackle shop service it several times a year.

THANKS in advance for your guy's opinions/ knowledge your willing to share!

Not for those rods. Rods are rated on line not reel drag. So divide those ratings by three. For 20lbs of drag you will need at least a 60lb rod.
Also consider with a mono hull kayak you can't really stand and fight a fish so your limits on ability to handle drag are a bit handicapped. That being said I don't think it's wise to max out a drag on a reel. So go bigger for a cushion and health of the reel and set your drag only to what you, your rod, or line can handle.
I'm using Avet Raptors on a Calstar 760L (rated 30-80) for trolling on my TI. Max drag set at 25lbs, 65lb braid.