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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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