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| I bought a new reel a week ago and I tightened the drag to where I thought was good enough and went out fishing. I was using a glider and had a 45" or so eat it and I went to set the hook and there was some resistance but not enough and I didn't get the hooks in her. Is there something you guys do to know your drag is not to tight, nor to loose? |
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Posts: 1220
| I tighten the drag as tight as I can possibly get it with bare hands in the spring and don't loosen it up until the water turns to ice. |
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Posts: 540
Location: MN | Junkman - 6/5/2012 3:02 PM
I tighten the drag as tight as I can possibly get it with bare hands in the spring and don't loosen it up until the water turns to ice.
X2 |
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Location: Contrarian Island | i tighten mine so it takes a very hard tug with your hand in front of the reel for line to come out...i don't like it locked 100% and i'm not a fan of free spooling |
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Posts: 286
Location: VA | Tow'm in. Don't give'm any. Lock it down. |
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Posts: 8824
| I used to tighten mine all the way, but it cost me a few fish due to hooks pulling out or straightening out. I prefer to set mine so I can pull line out if I wrap the line around my hand and pull pretty hard. |
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Posts: 286
Location: VA | I use VMC 9626 on everything. 3x strong hook Haven't had one straighten yet. There is nothing worse than setting the hook and the fish taking drag while your trying to bury the hooks. Keep your drag TIGHT. You can always back it off as you wear down the fish. |
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Posts: 2361
| Mullhead - 6/5/2012 4:13 PM
Keep your drag TIGHT. You can always back it off as you wear down the fish.
No, you can't. |
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Posts: 2361
| BNelson - 6/5/2012 3:12 PM
i tighten mine so it takes a very hard tug with your hand in front of the reel for line to come out...i don't like it locked 100% and i'm not a fan of free spooling
X2, the lessons we learn about drags can be very unpleasant |
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Posts: 286
Location: VA | FSF Why not? I'm trying to say its better to have it to tight rather than to loose. You only get one chance at a hook set. |
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Posts: 1360
Location: Lake "y" cause lake"x" got over fished | Mullhead - 6/5/2012 4:59 PM
FSF Why not? I'm trying to say its better to have it to tight rather than to loose. You only get one chance at a hook set.
Exactly, I missed a strike on Sunday because I was unable to bury the hooks like I wanted too... It was my fault, I did not adjust the drag in the morning.. totally forgot, but proves that tighter is better. |
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| Thanks for the advice. I'd hate to lose another fish due to poor hooksets because of the drag not being set right. |
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | put your thumb on the spool when you set the hook, use a quality reel and make the drag tight but able to work the way it's supposed to (as stated above). if you miss a fish because of the drag, go fishing more often and get more practice or buy a better reel. it ain't that hard to do. :0) |
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Posts: 4053
Location: Land of the Musky | Between 0 (no drag) and 10 (locked down) I use about 65-75% when trolling and about 80% when casting. Just my opinion but when you lock it down all the way you will find your weakest link when you catch a big girl especially if you are trolling (rod, line, leader, split ring, hook, etc). |
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| I have a Calcutta, a revo winch and a Toro hs. My reels are good. But it was brand new and I didn't have the drag set tight enough. |
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Posts: 718
| Match the setting with the hooks on the bait...stout hooks, stout (tight) drag....... thin wire hooks, some give in the drag.
One thing is for sure...if you don't get the hooks hammered home nothing else matters. |
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Posts: 1460
Location: Kronenwetter, WI | Always back off your drag when you are done fishing for the day as this will extend the life of the drag washers. Tension is a personal preference, but too loose is likely more troublesome than too tight. |
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Posts: 79
| I have noticed over the years that I keep my drag alittle looser than when I first started. I believe alot of it has to do with how you set the hook, and not the drag tension itself. If your hook set is weak, your going to lose fish either way. I would also like to add that the action of the rod plays a huge role. The faster the tip, the more the rod will load up and help bury the hooks, instead of ripping it out of his mouth. Drag cranked down, drag just tight enough , free spool them or not, it all starts with the hook set. Do whatever gives you confidence, and modify when you feel it's neccessary.
Sometimes losing is winning. |
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| I agree with bturg...and believe it is very important to match your drag to your bait-hook type. I too like a very tight to lock down drag on big baits with big hooks. Rubber,etc. I like no give at all on the hook set and feel the need to drive the hooks home. Twitch baits with small wire hooks I like some give when I make a solid hook set. I like those hooks to stick ( and because they are thinner it takes less pressure to penetrate) but don't want them to pull out or straighten....I have learned the hard way by trial an error. Also, the same with gliders. Many times because of the erractic swing of the bait I will get a fish in the check with one hook and will rip the hook out without some give. If they t-bone it not an issue, but many times the bait is moving the opposit direction when they eat it. Razor sharp hooks and some give in the drag will be the difference between a missed or boated fish. Think of it this way, if you new a fish was hooked good you would probably winch her in. If you new you had one hook in the side of her check you would probably be much more ginger with her to get her to the net. |
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Posts: 4080
Location: Elko - Lake Vermilion | Tight for me, To many teeth and bones and to little skin for the hooks to dig into.
Smaller lures will have a little give in the drag,... Large lures get locked down.
Jerome |
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Posts: 2691
Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin | Big rubber and large baits get almost lock down drag. I am not a fan of the lock down drag. I keep it just shy of locked down.
Small baits get less drag because hooks can straighten. Trolling rod set ups are lighter on the drag. Every set up should be adjusted accordingly to the baits used. To just lock down your drag on everything is going to cost you fish and baits.
A good hard pull off the reel before the drag slips is a good start. Adjust from there depending on what bait your casting. Thumb the spool to set the hooks. |
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If your drag is so tight you can straighten hooks, then how do you expect to not pull it out of a fish's mouth??
I'm a very firm believer that drags to tight lose way more fish than drags to loose.
JS
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Posts: 196
| jonnysled - 6/5/2012 7:35 PM
put your thumb on the spool when you set the hook, use a quality reel and make the drag tight but able to work the way it's supposed to (as stated above). if you miss a fish because of the drag, go fishing more often and get more practice or buy a better reel. it ain't that hard to do. :0)
THIS! |
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Location: Contrarian Island | i agree w js (skarie) 100%... kinda like ppl thinking you need to sit and sharpen a hook for 5 minutes to razor sharpness...HA!
most of my hooks are probably dull to those guys....but i have no problem getting fish hooked and in net... |
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Posts: 1938
Location: Black Creek, WI | I never lock my drag down anymore as well. No stretch lines, longer rods, etc. has made it easier than ever to manage slack line and provide plenty of power for good hook penetration. So much so... that I think we are waaay over-powering most "average" sized fish.
How to set it? Its a trial and error process for me. I tighten the drag until is is "difficult" to pull line from the reel with my hand. Then, when setting the hook on fish I pay attention to whether any line slipped out on the hookset. I like to have the drag pay out some line when I'm at about 3/4 of the way through my hookset stroke. Smaller fish shouldn't get any line... and you will probably lose some due to ripping holes in their lip.... but on bigger fish I want the drag to give a little to ensure I drive hooks home but don't turn the fish or rip flesh. When you turn a fish or pull it towards you on the hookset... you are helping the fish generate slack line. That's bad. If your drag pays out a little line.... you know your rod will stay loaded at the end of your stroke. Thus... the trial and error part in regard to setting your dra. Since you need to remember how you had manually set the drag prior to ever getting that strike. Over time you just kinda figure it out.
And... when your drag slips on the hookset... you know your tangling with a "good one".
Good Luck! |
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Location: Contrarian Island | or a stump... ;o)
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Posts: 1938
Location: Black Creek, WI | One more thing. After you catch a nice fish and were happy with how your drag performed.... get in the habit of "checking" the drag when you resume fishing. This helps you "learn" how much tension you need when initially setting the drag for the day. The more often you do this... the quicker you determine how YOU like the drag set. For me... with one wrap of line around my knuckles... it should hurt a little before the drag starts to pay out line as I give it a test pull. |
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| Lock it down, your thumb is the ultimate drag. Ive NEVER lost a fish because of it, i have however lost fish in the early years because of a drag that was to loose,impossible to find that perfect setting. |
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Location: Minocqua, WI | Lock it down as tight as you can. A big fish will still take line, especially on a boatside strike. Also, if you use a lot of rubber or other baits that require "ripping", be sure to periodically check your drag to make sure it is still tight. New reels seem to be okay but even nice ones (I have multiple Calcutta 400B's) will begin to slip after a lot of use and abuse. Also, you should ugrade all your hooks so that they dont straighten out... My fishing partner recommended VMC's O Shaughnessy Trebles. I changed nearly all of my stock hooks to these (except bucktails) a few years ago and havent straightend a hook since. They hold an edge much better and they will not straighten out.
Edited by WI Duck Guide 6/6/2012 9:18 AM
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Posts: 1938
Location: Black Creek, WI | Can I consider myself an old timer now that I'm 40?  Things change. What I learned as a youngster for drag settings just doesn't apply today. I locked my drag down tight when using a 6 foot rod with Mono or traditional dacron. The short rod made it tough to pick up slack... the high stretch in the line also made it a challenge to drive hooks home. But, as our equipment changed over the decades.... I feel we also needed to change our drag setting requirements. Food for thought..... |
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Location: Contrarian Island | i agree jason..wisdom for some things does come with age..and experiences..lots of em....year in and year out... locked drags to me are overkill and bad things will happen w a locked drag...but to each their own as the saying goes ... |
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| how about some actual drag pound numbers? everyone seems to care what the reel specs say about drag poundage until after they own the thing then it goes out the window once the reel in use -- jlong - you seem to have it dialed in -- 5 pounds? 8 pounds? 13.5? |
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Posts: 1039
| I tend to run my drags a little loose, probably 75-80% of full. I got in the habit a long time ago of thumbing the reel on every hookset. I like to have some give when they hit and like the drag to be slightly loose for a figure 8 hit.
It takes time to learn how to thumb the hookset. Until you get it down, it is probably wise to crank her down too much than too little. |
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Posts: 1938
Location: Black Creek, WI | Actual drag lbs? Ummm... is that practical? I may be aging, but would still like to think I'm pretty strong.... so ahhh... maybe 100 lbs... heh heh heh. I'd love to be quantitative with setting my drag... but in reality.... for me its a pretty subjective method. Good discussion. |
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Posts: 8824
| BNelson - 6/6/2012 8:35 AM
or a stump... ;o)
If you're not setting the hooks on a stump once in a while, you're not fishing close enough to them! |
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Like Jason when I started muskie fishing we used dacron, and then all me reels were 6500 c3s with 6-7 ft rods. Drag was always locked down.
When I switched to no-stretch in the late 90's the first thing I noticed was losing more fish on the hookset and at boatside. Less drag and more "finese" fighting of fish was all it took to change that.
Something else to consider here is how well your drag is working. If you clean your reels regularly than your washers should be good to go and you will have a lot range in your drag settings. If you don't, than your drag washers will become greasy/wet and your drag will either be very tight or very loose with not much in between.
A lot of guys think they need to lock it down because their reels aren't working like they should, and the drags are to loose if they don't have it locked down.
JS |
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Posts: 225
Location: Nordeast Minneapolis | I've lost fish from loose drag, and I've lost fish from dull hooks... since I started getting more serious about sharpening hooks, I've lost a lot fewer fish, regardless of drag setting. I'm not talking about spending a half an hour and three separate files on a hook... I just use one of those double-barrel hook sharpeners that can get a good point on a hook in about a half a dozen passes or less. |
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Posts: 925
| I agree with JLong and BNelson. I wrap the line around a couple fingers and it takes a hard pull from me to pull line out. Just be careful to not cut your fingers with the line! |
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Posts: 4343
Location: Smith Creek | you lost fish on the hookset cause your drag was too... tight? Whaaa?
My guess is not enough wheaties were consumed prior to fishing. And I agree, loose drag is nice when you set the hook like you don't want to break your high heels;)
Long rods help to keep fish pinned with a tight drag. The boat provides a nice drag system too.
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Posts: 270
Location: brooklyn park mn | I've always done the tighten the drag as tight as I can deal. Caught lots of fish and got really good at free spooling when needed but after last big fish lost when I got it the boat not so sure anymore. Big girl was hooked with one hook in beak and kept bulldogging down after he would come up.. kept up good for a while with free spool but just keep thinking if I had my drag at about 85 percent when she made that unexpected last run I have my personal best and instead of watching her swim away. Couldn't free spool last run she made while she made run straight down no matter how hard I tried. I set hooks hard and good so am starting to think why am I setting drag all the way down. Does anyone tighten them down all the way and then back drag off abit or qaurter turn while fighting fish? |
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Location: Contrarian Island | some other things to consider,,, yes, I have loosened on quite a few after initial hookset...good reels like trinidads have awesome drags... when fishing alone i hooked a 50+ in the 8 and set the hooks home,,in that instance i wanted to loosen the drag right away so the fish could take line a lot easier to tire it out some ...a locked drag that wasn't about to budge even if i backed it off a 1/4 turn w that fish i think was a recipe for a "aww man you shoulda seen this one I had on" but it is to this day probably one of my top 3 fav fish hits/catches... so I loosended it , allowed her to run and peel off line..and then i caught up to her and scooped her...lots of variables to every situation...i agree that some are locking drags simply because their drag systems/reels are just not that well built...trinidads, revo toros, etc all have great drags...not sure why guys buy things then not use them to their fullest..like having a gps but not taking the time to lay down some icons ...
Edited by BNelson 6/6/2012 11:43 AM
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Posts: 1220
| I guess you always need to expand for variables. My post, which was the first answer was simply to lock it down. I stand with that for most of what I do. Obviously, that is not for trolling. It's also not for when you are using light tackle or baits that have tiny wire hooks (like small Cranes and such) or substandard leaders, snaps, rings, blah, blah blah. But if (let's say) you are just out casting a big buck-tail with 7-0 trebbles, 80 pound braid or better, Stealth or other high quality leader, and a good rod and reel (St Croix for me) I don't see a better setting than totally turned tight. If the fish is under 40 inches, you can do what you want to the fish cuz you can just "horse" it in. If the fish is over 45 inches, he can still pull all the line out of there he needs to give you the room you need to work. But...and this is a big but, most guys will not have the dexterity of hand nor the clarity of mind to unlock a really tightly locked drag in the middle of the excitement that a big fish will create, and the tension on the line (which there better darn be) will often make it hard to push the button and free-spool the fish. There are certainly some top-sticks on this board who can perform brain surgery on high-seas...but for the average snook like me...just lock the #*^@ thing down! |
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I've never understood why you would want to "horse" a fish in.
Don't people like to play fish anymore? Is putting that fish in the net green going to make unhooking it and handling it any easier?
I guess whatever floats your boat.
JS |
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Posts: 8824
| Guest - 6/6/2012 12:35 PM
I've never understood why you would want to "horse" a fish in.
[...]
JS
I've done it on small fish so I could get back to casting at the big fish we just saw. On bigger fish? Maybe people just don't want the trouble of having to net the fish, unhook the fish, lift them out of the net, take a picture, possibly cut hooks, change leaders, etc. And then there's all that bending over and the time it takes to release them. Seems like an awful lotta work |
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| Opinion
Have your partner hold your line a cast lenght away and give him your best hook set, maybe try a jerk bait with hooks removed. You'll be surprised at how little pressure you actually have. Sharp hooks a get and keep a bend in the rod, hooks can dig in if as fish tries to loose the lure. Only god and the muskie can really set the hooks. 2 hooks can also dig in better than 3.
Just the thoughts of an old man.
I' |
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Posts: 1169
Location: New Hope MN | Simple question:
If you set the hook nice and hard on a fish, should the drag give? |
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Posts: 4343
Location: Smith Creek | If I wanna play a muskie half to death I'll catch them on a fly rod or walleye gear. Quick in and quick out when I'm using the right equipment. The longer a muskie is out thrashing around the better chance it has of coming unpinned or getting a hook where it can do a lot of damage. Or going belly up after the release.
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Posts: 321
| Muskie are easy to get in on a fly rod, the saltwater fish are much more a challenge on the equipment. H |
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Posts: 4343
Location: Smith Creek | Thanks. I had no idea there were fish that fought harder than a muskie.
Would you agree that a poon hooked and brought to leader on a fly rod has a better chance of becoming shark food than one hooked and brought to leader on heavy gear? |
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Posts: 321
| Flambeauski - 6/6/2012 1:48 PM
Thanks. I had no idea there were fish that fought harder than a muskie.
Would you agree that a poon hooked and brought to leader on a fly rod has a better chance of becoming shark food than one hooked and brought to leader on heavy gear?
Nope, fly rods are quicker. It is more drag to carry fly line through the water for the tarpon. Heavy gear has the line out of the water less drag and they are able to make more runs. Plus what is heavy gear? a 12-14wt fly rod is pretty appropriate gear. ?Also my little creature spinning rod has landed large muskie as quick as my heavy gear. Fish pull harder when the force against them is harder. Are people more tired jogging 5 miles or doing it in sprint intervals? H |
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Location: Contrarian Island | JS, you've fished w me enough to know I don't exactly "play" fish out.... sooner they are to the boat and in the net the better, but also having unhooked hundreds you get good at that too... lol. |
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Posts: 4343
Location: Smith Creek | Running doesn't make me tired so I can't answer that one. I'll defintely tell the next muskie I catch on the fly rod about the line drag. They're not aware of that around here. |
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Posts: 321
| Flambeauski - 6/6/2012 2:40 PM
Running doesn't make me tired so I can't answer that one. I'll defintely tell the next muskie I catch on the fly rod about the line drag. They're not aware of that around here.
pick up 20 yards of fly line and pick up 20 yards of braid, it will be educational for you. H |
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Posts: 1220
| If JS is who I think it is, I really can't hardly believe you'd say what you did about "playing a fish." My take is that there ought to be zero extra seconds involved in fighting a muskie. Sure, it can be fun, but that's what the good Lord created Smallies and 6 lb test line for. These are much more fragile fish than most folks think. Very little extra time on line or in the boat can mean life or death to them. I know you are totally aware of that, were probably kidding around, but some of the guys reading this stuff might take that seriously and say, Yea, why not downsize and play them out?" The results would be bad....even worse in the summer. |
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Posts: 4343
Location: Smith Creek | 20 yards is pushing it, let's say 16-17;) And I fish shallow and high stick so there isn't much (fly) line in the water. No more drag than the 4" float I use with suckers.
Are we sufficiently off topic yet? |
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| MuskyMidget - 6/6/2012 11:12 AM
I agree with JLong and BNelson. I wrap the line around a couple fingers and it takes a hard pull from me to pull line out. Just be careful to not cut your fingers with the line!
THAT is a recipe for disaster. Try that method and see what happens when a fish hits a suick on a full cast.I lock down and free spool, i have what i want when i want it.
No offence intended.  |
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Posts: 38
| A muskies is mouth is very boney and tough not soft like a bluegills. Hooks should not rip completely through a musky's mouth.
Guest - 6/6/2012 7:12 AM
If your drag is so tight you can straighten hooks, then how do you expect to not pull it out of a fish's mouth??
I'm a very firm believer that drags to tight lose way more fish than drags to loose.
JS
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Marty;
With all due respect, playing fish does not mean fighting them to the point they can't recover. That's something that should be obvious to everyone.
If your drag is constantly locked down you never even get to feel a big fish run.
It's kind of cool, you should try it some time.
JS |
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Location: Contrarian Island | guest..do tell, how is what we do a recipe for disaster...my drag will not slip if i get a hit w a suick on the end of a long cast...not sure what your point is with your post.... JS... "big" is relative..lol....40 inchers might be big to Marty! ; ) |
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Posts: 1220
| I've been fighting size problems ever since that cross-eyed girl started spreading rumors. And besides...I like catching small fish..my PB is almost up to legal in Wisconsin waters (that's pre 2012 legal) and John, I knew you know the difference between hurting a fish and not...but a lot of guys don't. |
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Posts: 202
| For blades I leave it tight but make it so line can pull out. This is mainly for figure 8 fish and because bucktails normally hook up so well you dont need a locked down drag. Everything else I take a pliers to and lock them totally down. Use the free spool when the fish runs. You will probably lose some fish due to this when they run and you cant free spool fast enough however the amount you lose due to that will be far less then what you would lose by keeping your drag loose and not getting hooks into them. |
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Posts: 1938
Location: Black Creek, WI | Spencer... can you elaborate more about why you back off your drag for bucktails but lock it tight with other lures? For learning purposes in this discussion.... what would happen if I did the opposite? |
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Posts: 2361
| Hey Spencer, did you know that a drag setting can be incremental?
Clue, it doesn't have to be either "locked down" or "loose", it can be any stage in between.
You'll enjoy those extra fish you land.
Naw, no charge, it's free...
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I'm just wondering why reel manufacturers even make reels with drags anymore.
We should just go back to direct drive reels, that way we'd never lose fish!
JS |
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Location: Contrarian Island | agreed, JS... direct drive...luv it... ! ; ) your leaders are in the mail my friend... bring me some Salsa! ; ) |
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Location: Latitude 41.3016 Longitude 88.6160 | I wonder why only in Musky fishing that you don't use the drag of the reel ?????
I'm glad guys don't I repair alot of reels that way and sell alot of parts for reels that guys push open the reel fighting a Musky. |
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Posts: 1149
Location: Minnesota. | All this discussion. Important stuff for sure but ever since I've been a fisherboy with my Garcia Mitchell 300 all I've read is to set your drag so you can rip off line w/o breaking it and leave the bloody thing alone...
Anybody do that anymore or am I seeing this through myopic eyes?
Set your drag and leave the danged thing be....
The opinion of 50 yrs fishin' - 30 chasing muskies and it's worked well for me even with 4lb test and some honkin' walleyes. Then again I'm just a simple guy...*winky deally*...
Jeremy.
Edited by Jeremy 6/7/2012 12:19 PM
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Posts: 1906
Location: Oconto Falls, WI | A lot will end up being determined by how you hold your rod. I was from the school of setting like JLong mentioned. Wrap around hand and pull. It should give. This was while I palmed the reel. However when I went to the foregrip a few years ago I had to lock it down to make sure it didn't slip if set a bit loose.
I am going back to palming the reel, and thus will not be locking my drag down. Use a drag as it is meant to be used. I may freespool on big fish on occasion, or if a fish is very lightly hooked, but other than that I'll let the drag do the work. Saltwater guys use their drags, and a lot of those fish are a whole lot meaner than muskies and have just as boney of jaws as muskies.
If you palm it is as easy as thumbing the spool while you set if you are concerned of the drag slipping upon the set. |
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Posts: 720
| This is a topic of conversation my friends and I have all the time. I am in the camp of setting my drag so I can pull the line out with a fair amount of pull. My friends tighten the drag all the way down. My thoughts on this are as follow: For $369.00 the #*^@ drag better work and it better work well. With braids and longer rods hooking fish has become easier. But I think the margin for error on setting your drag has become an art form. How many times has the bait fallen out in the net. A lot more it seems than it use to. Take a look at the size of the gap the hook leaves in the fish you catch. I'll be willing to bet that a lot of those flesh wounds are a 1/4" to 3/8" wide/long. That amount of tearing is from using a longer rod and braided line with little to no give. I don't know if I'm right or wrong but it works for me. |
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Posts: 433
Location: Cedarburg, Wisconsin | I'll never forget a well know fisherman doing a seminar and the topic of drag setting came up. He said he cranks it down tight and loosenes it if/when needed. Then proceeded to show a video of him running down the side of the boat after a big fish hooked in the eight because he couldn't get the drag loosened in time, and lost the fish. Thats pretty convincing. NOT!!
If you grab the rod on the foregrip obviously you need a lot tighter drag to get hooks. If you palm the reel a tight drag isn't nescessary if your thumb can lock up the spool on the set. I palm and set the drag only tight enough to keep the lure from slipping line when worked. The very last thing in the world I want to see is a big musky boatside going nuts on three feet of line and no way to let more out. But whatever works for you is what you need to do. Screw up enough fish and you'll learn what doesn't work. |
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Posts: 8824
| Almost-B-Good - 6/7/2012 12:43 PM
[...] Screw up enough fish and you'll learn what doesn't work.
Probably the best advice I've heard here in a long time... |
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Posts: 1938
Location: Black Creek, WI | esoxaddict - 6/7/2012 1:01 PM Almost-B-Good - 6/7/2012 12:43 PM [...] Screw up enough fish and you'll learn what doesn't work. Probably the best advice I've heard here in a long time... Well.... some people never learn. Pending your conclusions made each time you lost a fish... you might not learn from it if you made the WRONG conclusion. The lively discussion here confirms that... for me anyway. Also, if you catch 100+ muskies a season... but none are over 40 inches.... you might be teaching yourself some bad habits that you can get away with on those smaller fish (and not realizing it)... but those same bad habits burn ya when you finally tangle with a 40 pounder. If you are not losing the same percentage of smaller fish as you are bigger fish... perhaps its time to re-evaluate your fish fighting technique... which includes your drag setting. Great discussion guys.... |
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Posts: 3907
| Sage advice above, except the bad stuff. Why spend a bunch of money on a reel with a fancy drag system if you are going to "lock it down"?
Use the reel as a tool. The rule I use is to set the drag to allow a big boatside strike to both bury hooks and draw line. All my reels are upgraded with Smoothie drag washers and when not on the water they are loose as can be. I reset each reel every time I hit the water.
Works great, and saves my thumbs for hitchhiking.
Abus have concave washers as parts of the drag system. "Locking it down" will flatten, sorta, those concave washers that are critical to tweaking the drag to being just right.
The other big mistake is alowing oil to get into the drag washers. |
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Location: Latitude 41.3016 Longitude 88.6160 | If anyone wants reels drag system upgraded PM me.
If your drag is not smooth or you have no top end stopping power give me a PM. |
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Posts: 793
Location: Ames, Iowa | BNelson and Ranger got it right. I still have a collection of 2005 posts from Moccasin Mike that explained how to improve ABU drags/washers. Still look at it when I get into the reels. |
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| If it takes both hands to pull line out....that is locked down and the best way to check your drag. |
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| tight just near the rupture point.don't be ridiculous,don't free spool drag is not something new then use it.only the around1950 reel drag are unsafe |
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Posts: 3
| I'd have it about 85 percent tight and
Make sure the hooks are super sharp. Touch them up even if they are brand new. Most are dull right out of the package! |
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Posts: 829
Location: Maple Grove, MN | I have lost way more fish to having a drag to loose than to having it to tight. I set my drag very tight and then immediately lossen it once the hook is set. I also keep the hooks razer sharp and often resharpen them while fishing. Rocks and weeds can take the edge off a hook fater than one thinks. All it takes is a couple quick stokes with the file. I have found that biggest thing is having the drag tight enough so it doesn't slip when setting the hook. The only downfall is that I occasionally launch a 5 lb Bass at my fishing partner(s). I always tell them that when I say "Duck", it is usually best to do so.
Only problem is that when settting the hook so hard on really big fish, something has to give and unfortunately that was my shoulder last year. I never thought that I would find myself wishing that I had hooked one less big fish. |
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| Herb_b - 6/12/2012 5:47 PM
I have lost way more fish to having a drag to loose than to having it to tight. I set my drag very tight and then immediately lossen it once the hook is set. I also keep the hooks razer sharp and often resharpen them while fishing. Rocks and weeds can take the edge off a hook fater than one thinks. All it takes is a couple quick stokes with the file. I have found that biggest thing is having the drag tight enough so it doesn't slip when setting the hook. The only downfall is that I occasionally launch a 5 lb Bass at my fishing partner(s). I always tell them that when I say "Duck", it is usually best to do so.
Only problem is that when settting the hook so hard on really big fish, something has to give and unfortunately that was my shoulder last year. I never thought that I would find myself wishing that I had hooked one less big fish. :)
I find that hard to believe, didn't you used to post about how you worked out with the Vikings and you lived at the gym getting ripped? |
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Posts: 829
Location: Maple Grove, MN | I hear you. Unfortunately, that was 20 years ago when I was a much younger man. And all that weight lifting is probably why I have so many joint problems now. At least that is what my doctor thinks. Oh well, its not the only stupid thing I did when I was young.
Getting old kind of sucks.  |
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Posts: 512
| I wouldnt lock em down. My nephew had his over tight a few years ago, and had a monster fish break his 80 braid shortly after it hit..
Im still sick we didnt land that fish!
Dave |
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How to set your drag...any guidelines?