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| How tight do you guys set your drag while trolling? I'm assuming you keep it loser than casting and you use the clicker but don't freespool? |
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Posts: 157
Location: Lincoln, NE | Just tight enough that the pull of the lure doesn't take drag but if I hit bottom hard it takes drag. |
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Posts: 14
| I once left the drag locked down. It was not a good feeling watching $500 go overboard. I was lucky because I had a Believer on and it eventually floated to the top. Retrieved everything but I was definitely ready to go home after that.
Edited by Kizoom 3/18/2015 8:39 PM
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Posts: 2097
| I like the drag tight enough where the lure won't take line but loose enough that if I tick a weed I can hear it. When i get a strike i pull the rod out of the holder, tighten the drag, set the hook better. I seldom if ever have a fish get off while trolling. |
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Posts: 48
| These seem like bad advice. If the drag is loose enough to let out line if you tick a weed how do you expect the hooks to set into the hard part of a muskies mouth. I have a buddy that runs his drags just tight enough that the bait won't pull line but has to tighten it up to bring the lures in and he's always talking about the rips he had but the fish got away. I run my drags pretty tight that it takes a decent fish to pull drag. Little pike might pull a couple clicks and thats about it and I run it just as tight on the board rods with 40lb mono. When a fish hits i want those hooks ripped into it and that's kinda hard to do with a loose drag and I very seldomly miss fish |
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Location: Grand Rapids, MI | Depends on rod location, speed and if it's got a board on it. A down rod with a short line is looser than an out rod, an out rod is looser than a board rod, slower late fall speeds has everything tighter than summer and 4-6 mph. |
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Posts: 1202
Location: Money, PA | I like to run my drags a good bit tighter than it just holding the drag of the lure. I usually do it by feel with a pull of the line itself and after this many years, I just know my preference...Now, you have to adjust your drag accordingly due to the type of line and lb. test you're running. I generally run 65 to 80 lb braid. Braid has no stretch, so you must be careful not to run too tight of a drag....People will have different preferences and opinions about this, so with my experiences, I have found a tighter drag to be more effective that a very loose drag. The hook set is better IMO. Either way, you will have to find your personal happy medium.
Reels with good drag systems are also a must for many hrs of trolling....below is a list of good choices.
-Okuma Convectors, Cold Waters or Catalina
-Shimano Tekotas
-Penn 320Gti
-Diawa Sealines 47lc - with upgraded carbon drag washers
These are what I have found to be the best trolling reels, there may be others I forgot to mention...
Edited by ShutUpNFish 3/19/2015 7:45 AM
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Posts: 157
Location: Lincoln, NE | I will add on mine that I hold my rod. So my thumb is on the line also. If I give it a rip, I thumb the spool. If the lure gets stuck in the rocks the drag will peel out. If it's hammering rocks hard and taking a bit of drag I can thumb it and let it smash and hold my rod tip up a bit. Trolling at 4+ mph the fish will get hooked. You want some give in your setup. I use a St Croix glass rod and Spiderwire Zillabraid. Regular braid has like 0 -1% stretch and mono has like 15%. Zillabraid is about 6% so it's a nice compromise. That teamed up with the glass rod gives a good shock absorber and gives the musky a split second to turn it's head and get hooked in the corner of the mouth. Read Spence Petros article in 2013 fall Musky Hunter. Trust me you don't want everything locked down. My cousin was trolling with his pounder setup. Tooth Tamer XXXH Jawbreaker, 0% stretch Suffix 832, Calcutta 700. In a plastic rod holder, drag locked down. Hit bottom hard and the whole thing about got ripped out of the boat. The rod holder smashed all the way sideways and about broke til he grabbed the butt of the rod. The result? Destroyed the reel seat, cracked all the way, the reel almost broke loose off the rod. Now his brand new rod is held together with electrical tape. |
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Posts: 19
| We troll with the drag pretty loose, just tight enough that the lure is not stripping line. I can't argue that logic would say you want to hit me hard with tight drag but we have only lost two fish trolling in 11 years. Both lost fish were hooked on small AC Shiners so I really think the lost fish were more a result of small hooks. I guess just the speed of the lure at impact sets a good hook. We are usually going 3-4.5 mph. When we troll slow like 2 mph I set the drag a little tighter. |
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Posts: 1529
| loose but heres a tidbit. set drags not at reel. test on line pull from end of rod. theres a huge difference...try-it |
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Posts: 2752
Location: Mauston, Wisconsin | I was thinking ToddM when I saw the forum thread title - you know how those fibs are......... Im sure he's already picked out his 2015 season Vilas and Oneida county trolling outfits so he can impress Sled.
Seriously, I set mine just shy of locked down, how shy depends on the rod itself. I think the rod is more important, e.g., have enough backbone for hook set and enough action to hold the fish pinned until its out of the rod holder. The boat stays in motion until someone has the rod in their hands.
My favorite trolling rod is a 10' Ugly Stick Saltwater surf caster, with a big Saltwater Shimano spinning reel spooled w/65lb Power Pro. When a fish hits that rod it loads up the rod and everyone in the boat knows it as the line snaps tight again when the outrigger release opens. Automatic hook set...after the initial hit.
Have fun!
Al |
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | http://www.postcrescent.com/story/sports/outdoors/fishing/2015/03/1...
still time for the nonsense to end and thankfully a "sunset" on the regulation ...
i'm delaying the installation of the cupholders for the boat ... |
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Location: Eastern Ontario | Most trolling reels have a max drag of around 20 -22 pounds I set my drag quite tight ( not locked but definitely firm) and the fish I'm after is going to take drag. I want the hook set on the strike
Edited by horsehunter 3/19/2015 4:34 PM
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Posts: 2691
Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin | Every situation is different. Like Will said every rod drag is set for that certain set up'
In general my trolling drags are set so I can hook the fish in a high percentage way. Too loose you get the "I went 3 for 6 today".
Too tight you can have issues also like stuff bending or breaking.
Basically I set my drags tight enough that I can reel in my lures with some slip(Slip Drag System) as I am reeling in the set. Now this goes for down rods, out rods and board lines. Each lure can pull more or less than others. When running boards this also adds to the setting of the drags.
When I reel in a rod I crank it in at a steady pace. The drag will slip some as I reel in the lure but only a little bit.
Now when you get a small weed on the bait you might only hear a click or when it's a small fish you only hear click, click, click.
Lots of variables in trolling and drag settings. I don't like to drag small fish like walleyes, bass or pike but if it's too loose, clients can lose fish if the hooks are not buried when the fish strikes. So you must pay attention when fishing with a tight drag. Dragging a fish will kill them. Small fish will hit big lures and if you don't hear the click, click when they hit you will drag them and harm them. This is why I settled on the Slip Drag System.
Good quality reels like the Diawa LC27's and 47's make hearing the clickers easy even when it's only a few clicks. |
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | Castalot - 3/19/2015 9:12 AM
we have only lost two fish trolling in 11 years.
Impressive. |
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Posts: 1202
Location: Money, PA | Reef Hawg - 3/19/2015 8:20 PM
Castalot - 3/19/2015 9:12 AM
we have only lost two fish trolling in 11 years.
Impressive.
I'll say....In the last 11 years, I'm sure I've lost count of the rips or lost fish! I'd like to hear what kind of numbers he's talking in 11 years...Probably not too many or I call BS....loose, tight or tweener drag.
Edited by ShutUpNFish 3/20/2015 12:33 PM
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Posts: 455
| Too many factors to consider. Rod angle, trolling speed, lure size, hook size, type of line. The easiest way is to let line out and rip your rod forward. Just as the rod fully loads the drag should take out. Assuming the set up you are using is appropriate for what you are trolling. You want the rod to be about half loaded while trolling if that makes sense. I don`t reset the hook or drag. |
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Posts: 19
| Don't worry guys I have lost many fish that were hooked casting. I cast probably 80 % or more of the time. I catch between 10-25 a year trolling these days. I don't count a rip as a lost fish but I guess you could. Geez who knows maybe I have forgotten one or two and the BS comment is forcing me to try to remember. However, I can't come up with any. Good luck this season the ice is almost off here in Ohio. |
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Posts: 20211
Location: oswego, il | I set my drags fairly loose so that line isn't being pulled out while trolling. I am using fiberglass with braid. My hookups are pretty good. I am also using lures that are 4-9". If everything is too stiff you can pull the bait out of the fishes mouth. Not a fan of super thick hooks trolling, prefer a wide gap standard thickness, better hookups.
I was thinking about a moving water trough that runs the circumference of the boat with little boats that bring sushi around to everyone in the boat. I will need to hire a preparer too. Either that or just have hopeful prepare one of his giant 10k calorie per slice pizza.
Edited by ToddM 3/20/2015 7:31 PM
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Posts: 455
| I will say this. If you troll small lightweight crankbaits rigged with fresh Gamakatsu on mono line and a long glass rods you won`t loose many. The fish that hook up will almost never get off. This is something I did with clients who never Muskie fished before. Pretty much all my clients. |
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Posts: 1241
Location: Walker, MN | muskyrat - 3/20/2015 7:18 PM
Too many factors to consider. Rod angle, trolling speed, lure size, hook size, type of line. The easiest way is to let line out and rip your rod forward. Just as the rod fully loads the drag should take out. Assuming the set up you are using is appropriate for what you are trolling. You want the rod to be about half loaded while trolling if that makes sense. I don`t reset the hook or drag. I do this. I like the drag to give when the rod is just loaded up. |
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