Horrible reel. Send it to me and I'll properly
dispose it for you.
JK. The 506 makes a great caster. I've serviced tons of Jigmasters. The older gasket type drag washers are the weakest link. The HT-100 or Carbontex drag washers are a must and will give you smoother drag pulls as well as a slight bump in max drag. The next weakest link is the brass drive shaft. They start to round off where the handle connects. There are aftermarket stainless steel replacements that eliminate this issue. Then the next weakest link is the factory frame and gear teeth. The frame can torque and the gear teeth can strip under heavy drag pressures. But there are stronger aftermarket replacements for those as well that will turn your 506 a tank. More info about them can be read over on Alantani.com.
That said... I fish mine with 30-40lb top shots and 65-80lb braid backing for additional line capacity. The only modifications I have in mine are greased HT-100 drags, Newell frame, and bigger Penn power handle. I'll replace the other parts when they break. But after years of abuse my reel seems to be holding up well. Though I don't fish sharks much but do fish for ~20# class homeguard yellows and school size tuna. I imagine a 50" class bat will give this reel a run for its money and such frequent battles will call for sooner reel maintenance and service.
