the 535 has brake blocks inside i believe.
open the sideplate and take a peek.

 

get rid of the 535 and get the 525 or the Blue Yonder..........

 

nothing wrong with a 535 its a power house . it is a little fast but when you get used to it you can throw it with good distance I put 20lb on mine and it still holds more than the 525 with 17 I believe.


9rock

 

Don't fret and don't dump your 535! This is a simple fix. What you'll need to do is open up the left hand side of the reel. Take out the four screws and remove the silver ring and sideplate. This will give you access to the spool. If you look at the spool, you'll see the two break block spindles. All 535's come with the break blocks in the off position, so all you need to do is pull them out one more click. Now you are officially good to go. Set the end tension on the spool so that there's just the slightest lateral movement.

I think you'd be making a mistake by dumping your 525 for the Blue Yonder, especially for a hard use surf reel. I'm not saying the Blue Yonder isn't a great reel. With some work, the Ambassadeur 6500 CT might be the best castin reels in the world. But, when it comes to an actual surf reel for rough treatment, it doesn't hold a candle to the 535. The 535's gears are giant, the drag is powerful, and it's built like a tank.

I've got 535's, 525's, and Ambassadeurs. Out of all of these, I think the real surf machine is the 535. I've heard others say that the 535 isn't capable of good distances and that just isn't true. I can punch mine out past 200 yards. The size of the spool amd the bearing configuration makes is a really placid reel to cast.

Hope all this helps.

 

535 is a good reel. Yes, there are centrifugal brakes. Take off the left sideplate and make sure they are freed up. If that doesn't help, there is a knobby mag conversion you can get for it from England, but someone on here might have one they want to part with. Also check with SeaLevel. I think he may know of a source for one.

 

the 535 is actually more water tight then a 525..
look at the bottom of the gearbox if you dont believe me.
a 525 has a hole. the 535 doesnt.
has more drag. larger gear. more capacity.. nothing wrong with the 535s on heavers.

 

the reason i asked about the brakes was b/c i took off the side cover and there was a place for them but wasnt any blocks in place like i was led to beleave....so i wasnt sure if there as supposed to be any there or not..im looking into the mag system but would like to get ahold of some blocks and see what good that dose first...anyone know where i can get some? i also went to Oceans East 2 and got i Diawa SL30SH 30 for another rod im picking up tomorrow..thanks for the help...im a pretty good "do it your selfer" so im going to try to make some blocks for it, and im going to SB tomorrow and try it out ill let you all know what happens....thanks again for the input already posted and posts to come
Donald

 

if you bought it new.. check the box. lol
or just tell the shop it didnt come with blocks inside. tell em to get them for you.

 

It's gonna be hard to find a mag sideplate for the 535. If you do find one, know that you'll have to modify the spool by ripping out or cutting off the brake spindles. I've cast both the regular 535 and the 535 mag, and I honestly thought the regular 535 was a better overall choice. The 535 doesn't really benefit from mag controls since it's got a fixed spindle design, which makes the reel a bit less lively and mags less neccessary. Also, the mag unit on the 535 mag sideplate is Penn's cheapest turret design.

But hey, it's your choice, do what works best for you. I think the tackle shop you purchased from should make it right by you and steal some parts from another reel. If you can't get the blocks from them, I bet Scott's Bait and Tackle has the blocks. They are super fast on shipping, have almost every part made by Penn, and great folks to do business with.

 

I have both a 535gs and a 535 mag and have just ordered another mag side plate for my gs from the uk.

The difference is fairly startling between the two the mag just allows you to dial in the reel for wind and bait size or smaller sinkers.

I have gotten my mag side plates from Ewen Hill hes one of the reel experts in the uk.
He can be reached at e.hill370@ntlworld.com

The side plates he sells are genuine penn factory ones .You have to swap over your ratchet system from the old side plate and remove the brake pins but its well worth it.

 

ok i built brakes for the 535GS and they worked like a charm, a little on the heavy side but ill fix that..the daiwa i bought for the other rod is nice too. im still not to happy with the distance im getting so i got ahold of a guy whos going to work the reels over and possibly mag the 535...he says my reels will be capable of 200yds or so when he get through with them....i can remember the guys name for some odd reason but he had been building reels here for ever, and i have herd some good things about him....haha heck for all i know he is a member of P&S also...i have the name written down in my truck, ill get back to you all with that as soon as i get back home....

thanks
Donald

 

Wayne Folks is his name i think... anyone ever done business with him before? if so was the work worth the cost?
thanks
Donald

 

Just so you know, a static mag takes about 15min & $5 to put in a 535 GS if you wanted to go that route.