I'm trying to diagnose a problem with my reel and determine weither or not I can fix it myself.

Recently when I tighten down the drag on my Cardiff 300 it is still very easy to pull the line out. There is some pressure but not much. The first time it happenend I was in freezing temps and I figured it was just from the cold, I opened the reel up right there and just did a quick inspection, everything looked fine and I put it back together, then the drag pressure was normal.

I used it again the other day and the same problem resurfaced, this time simply opening it and closing it back up did not solve the problem.

I always store my reels with my my drag completely backed off and in a clean enviroment, but I do fish with the drag buttoned down pretty much all the time. Could the drag be shot already? It's a fairly new reel and the drag has really never been used.

Any ideas and advice is welcomed...