Setting Your Drag 2024
roadwarrior reply :
This topic comes up from time to time and as I was perusing the Shimano website I ran across their recommendations: (paraphrased)
Have someone hold your rod or place it in a rod holder in a stationary fishing position (10 o'clock?). Using a scale, set your drag to release at 1/4-1/3 of the rated breaking strength of the line.
Although this was not specifically stated, I think this requires testing line within the guidelines for the rod you are using.
guest reply :
RW,
I was taught that back in 1985 while in service training..So it is old school..
The problem today is that the up and coming anglers (new schoolers), don't believe in the old school ways. They think the reels built today are magical marvels and can hold up to anything..
Most definitely.....QuoteAlthough this was not specifically stated, I think this requires testing line within the guidelines for the rod you are using.
Pound it into their heads bud, and maybe they will realize their equipment will last longer (rods and reels), and, they won't have to worry so much about rod warranties..
Just an old schoolers .02¢
Tight Lines!!!
BucketmouthAngler13 reply :
If i'm using nice sharp hooks, i set the drag a little to the looser side. One i have a fish on, i change it depending on what is happening.
I figure, it is better to loose a little line than to loose a fish.
Of course, it depends on the conditions. If i'm fishing really think lillys and i need to get the fish out quick, i set it a just a little tighter. If i'm fishing open top water, i set it tighter, the losen it as soon as i get a fish on. (tighter for better hook sets with buzzbaits)
This methed seems to work great with strechy line. You set the hook, with little drag, and the line strech makes up for it. then the next instant you losen it and fight him in easy.
Tell me, is this the right way to do it? It seems to work for me....
Thanks
Matt
roadwarrior reply :
I don't think so. I check my drag before fishing and occasionally while I'm fishing, but NEVER with a fish on.
This is why: I'm set up so that I can put maximum "heat" on my equipment, whether setting the hook or fighting the fish, without any concern of breaking my line or rod.
FIN-S-R reply :
I try to set my drag such that when a fish makes a run he can have some line, but otherwise I want him headed my direction. I try to make sure my rod can act as a good enough shock absorber to handle the head shakes and constant pull variation (gotta match your equipment to the situation). With real light spinnin' tackle I generally go more to the light drag school of thought, like someone said better to lose a little line during the fight than to lose the fish.
RoLo reply :
As RW stated, it really takes two people and a good scale to do the job right.
For both fresh and saltwater tackle I always "try" to set the brake around 28% of breaking strength,
while the rod is held perpendicular to the line. It will soon become obvious which reel manufacturers
produce the smoothest drag systems. Cheap braking systems tend to release in jerky fits-&-starts.
Following the 28% rule, the drag tension for a 20-lb outfit would be set at 5 1/2 lbs.
While that may not sound like very much, it will flatten the parabola of the rod blank
and generate a surprising amount of pressure at the angler's end before slipping.
Roger
Vekol reply :
Do you also need to take into consideration the specie you are fishing for and the amount of stretch inherent in the line to mitigate the possibility of the hook tearing out of the fish's mouth? For instance wouldn't 20lb or greater braid on a stiff rod increase the likelyhood of the fish pulling off, particularly as the distance to the end of the rod decreases?
Marty reply :
QuoteDo you also need to take into consideration the specie you are fishing for and the amount of stretch inherent in the line to mitigate the possibility of the hook tearing out of the fish's mouth?
I tend to use a light drag setting which has served me well. A few years ago I took one of my combos to a Lake Ontario pier to try for some king salmon. I was fishing a crankbait and sure enough I had a hard hit and the reel was screaming immediately, then it all went limp.
I'm no physicist, but I think the energy generated by that hit and running fish went into pulling line against the drag rather than driving the hooks home.
I'll never know if I would have hooked that fish with a tighter drag, but I know for sure after the fact that you don't fish for kings with a light bass drag.
nboucher reply :
Here's how I do that alone:
Calculate what 1/4-1/3 of your line's breaking strength is in pounds.
Take a two-handled plastic grocery bag, and using your scale hooked into the handles, fill the bag with canned goods until it's at the desired weight.
Put your scale aside. Run your line through your guides, tie a good-sized hook at the end, and hook the handles of the bag.
Stand and hold your rod at a 45-degree angle to the floor. Set your drag so it gives just as the bag comes off the floor.
NJfishinGuy reply :
thats a good idea, wow i always just set my drag by pulling it till it felt right from next to the reel never from the end of the od with a scale.... ive never had a problem big fish take line and i always get good hooksets but i guess i just have the feel for my set up.
roadwarrior reply :
NJfishinGUY,
The importance of setting you drag correctly comes into play when you hook-up with your next PB or the fish of your life. You might only have one shot at her and you might not land that big fish unless everything goes just right. I view setting the drag properly in the same category with sharp hooks, the perfect knot and flawless line. "Almost good enough" doesn't cut it. Failure of any component is a disaster.
NJfishinGuy reply :
well i think im gonna try the scale method and see how close i am when i do it by feel. i havent ever had a problem before even when i layed into a 30lb carp.
RiskKid. reply :
RW,
On the Yozuri Hybrid lines do you set your drag to 1/4 - 1/3 of the lb test listed on the spool or the higher breaking strengh? From reading your initial post it seems you use the higher breaking strength but I just want to be sure??? Thanks, this is an informative thread......
NB, I like the grocery bag idea, some good old yankee inginuity there!
tipptruck1 reply :
I always set my drag on the light side. I always control the drag with with my thumb.
roadwarrior reply :
Breaking strength.
I think that grocery sack suggestion is a great one, too.
Steve_IA reply :
Solid hook sets slip drag slighty... large fish get back-reeled.
Mikey reply :
I always set my drag very light. I fish crankbaits period and the light drag and the "back-play" in those older Speed Spools handles help me feel when I make contact. I also keep my hooks very sharp ! I hardly if ever lose a bass this way.
roadwarrior reply :
I tested my drag today with the grocery sack. My "standard" setting was just under 1/2 lb too tight at 33% of breaking strength. So, now I have the feel for exactly where it should be on my spinning tackle. Tomorrow I am going to test my baitcasting equipment. I think it will come in pretty close to where it should be, too.
paleo reply :
ive been told to back off my star drag on my baitcasters when not in use but i dont i leave it set at 25% of my line rating wich has always been perfect does any one back off there drags???
roadwarrior reply :
ReelMech says back them down. I back mine down to totally "off".
paleo reply :
thanks rw i like what ive got and would like to last so i will start doing that
Grey Wolf reply :
I back mine off completely.
bassclown reply :
Quoteive been told to back off my star drag on my baitcasters when not in use but i dont i leave it set at 25% of my line rating wich has always been perfect does any one back off there drags???
i do. when i'm done for the day the reels and rods get a wipe down and the drag is completely backed off of my reels. after that they go into rod socks and tucked away into my closet. that's just the way i do it.
Siebert Outdoors reply :
Do you guys really adjust your drags alot? I set mine for the lb line and lure combo and never touch it after that. Never had a problem with breaking off fishe either. Now thinking about it I guess it would be around the 1/3 rule
roadwarrior reply :
I adjust mine before I start fishing. I probably "pull a little line" during the day just out of habit, but the answer is no, generally no adjustments for me.
jacktrevally reply :
I've been following this topic, this is my 2 cents worth...
There are a few school of thoughts for drag setting. It all depends on the fishing situation. A drag is like a mechanical tool that you need to understand fully to use it properly.
I've met many angler that, give it a pull and say it is ok, It is probably Ok but are you using your drag efficiently? Also, I have heard endless time anglers saying to set your drag to a setting and should not be altered during the fight? Is it beneficial?
Just to get your mind thinking, take a rope of 2 feet and a rope of 40feet, tie them to a car and try pulling the car with the shorter rope and try to pull the car with the longer rope? You don't need a rocket scientist to conclude that it is easier with 40 ft of rope since the angle of tow is smaller with the rope when it is longer.
The above relates also to drag, a drag set at 10ft from the tip can be increased if you are fighting a fish at 90ft! Now, that is why micrometric is helpful. And it should be like clockwork in your mind to ease off your drag when you are bringing the fish nearer. Some boat anglers knows exactly how much drag increase you get from increasing 1/4 turn of their drags(you could get that easily with a scale)!
It is obviously easier to set your drag just near the tip and not be bothered to alter but you must keep that in mind if you need additional drag power to stop a powerful run.
What works for someone may not work for another! When you are targetting speed fighters on light lines like trevallies, milkfish, bonefish and tarpon that you realised you need that little extra.
I like high drag setting at the start, and I do set the drag at about a few metres from the tip. This is the worst case scenerio I'm going to come across. I came across a few anglers that set low drags and increase their drag gradually. 2 things usually happens, 1st they get line off their spool very quickly and the fish gain massive momentum and by the time they increase the drag it is harder to turn the fish and secondly as the run is massive they just tighten the drag abruptly just to stop the fish and this result in line failure.
If you get more technical, you can set you drag to a dynamic drag which is more complex but static drag setting is much more easier to understand first.
Just to have an idea, 1500 size reel have drag of about 2kg, I use a 1500 size Caldia kix which does push it to 4kg, some japanese rypbi can push it to 6kg and believe me at 4kg the caldia still delivers smooth drag! The shimano stella if I remember is about 2kg for the 2000 size series. A 4 kg drag is a good drag indeed and it can stop a shark! At 3 kg it is very hard to pull braid off your spool with bare fingers!
As for backing off your drag you should do it since it prevent the washers to seize up, but I don't back up the drag completely for the simple reason that some washers are imprenated with oils and when you back the drag completely the oils seep through the washers and they swell. The problem you have is that when you retighten again, the surface of the washer has microscopic fibres on the surface which can produce a jumpy drag at first and come back to smooth after they get working. I always back off by drag to 1/4 of their setting.
The question I asked to many anglers who understand perfectly their drag is:
How do you set your drag after you have played with the setting or changed a spool? Many of them says they use a scale but it is very awkwards to be adjusting your drag all the time with a scale and you probably need 2 person to do it?
There is a simple way to get it quite accurate and you don't need to carry a scale! :
roadwarrior reply :
Okay...I'm ready when you are.
So, what is the simple way?
Banor reply :
It's been 45 minutes. I cant wait much longer, work is just about over.
B
Grey Wolf reply :
I fell asleep waitin on the answer!
RoLo reply :
It's funny, but we as fisherman want everything in our control, just right.
When I set the drag, I don't target 25, 30 or 33%, I obsess over hitting 28%, but is that realistic?
The answer is No, that's over-doting. In the real world, we don't fight our fish with the drag tension alone.
The pressure placed on the fish is the sum of 'drag tension' plus 'line drag'.
Line drag may sound insignificant, but it's possible to place 10 lbs of pressure on the fish using a 5-lb drag setting.
Many years ago, Captain Robinson devised an unusual method for fighting powerful bluewater gamefish (billfish and tuna).
Remarkably, he fought gamefish that scaled over 1000 lbs without any dependence on the reel brake.
After the hookup, Robinson would run his boat away from the fish to lay down about 3 or 4 hundred yards of line on the ocean.
He steered the boat in a wide arc to form an enormous loop of line on the ocean. The marlin or swordfish was forced
to tow 3 or 4 hundred yards of line, broadside through the ocean. He just kept running abreast of the gamefish
to maintain the giant line-loop until the fish wore down. Only then did his drag come into play, which he buttoned down
to winch in the fish. This approach become known in the sportfishermen circuit as the "Robinson System" and was very effective.
Just a little food for thought.
Roger
jacktrevally reply :
Sorry lads, I typed a long post yesterday and as I pressed the send button I was timed out and I lost all the post which I wrote... Unfotunately no courage to type it all again in detailed... this si to summerised.
All you need is a water bottle!
At home I did some simple experiment with weight, Example...
I lifted a 1lt bottle (which is 1kg) and adjusted my drag so that it is just enough to hold the bottle. I removed the bottle and checked the drag with my scale, depending on your rod length and no of guides this will vary. If it is giving me 0.5kg on a straight pull, all I need is to see how much fractional (quarter, half..ect) number of turn will give me the required drag. On a micrometric drag you get the setting accurately.
1/2 a litre is 0.5kg or 1 litre is 1kg. If I can remember correctly for 2 lb line I used an 80z sinker. Hang it down the tip and release your drag gradrually until the weight is just about to fall, this should give me about 6oz of drag straight off the tip.
I use a water bottle since I carry one with me all the time I'm fishing, I set mine to about 1-1.5kg. So all the time I need to set my drag, I just hang the bottle, adjust the drag and add the fractional turn to give me the required drag!
roadwarrior reply :
Well, okay...
I used the "grocery sack" technique last weekend. Once you set your drag perfectly by weight, you will be able to "feel" exactly how the drag on that particular set up should be calibrated. You will not have to repeat this over and over again. We are looking at a "range" anyhow. Now, if you want it pretty close to perfect, you will have to do use this procedure on each rig, but it's fun and only takes a few minutes.
Catt reply :
ReelMech
Here are my set ups which are used in both fresh and salt water
Calcutta CT100: 2 ea.
Calcutta CT50: 1 ea.
Cardiff CDF100A: 1 ea.
The Calcutta's are spooled with Berkley Big 15# with the drags are set at 10 lbs
The Cardiff is currently spooled with Power Pro 50# with the drag set at 20 lbs
I normally fish a minimum of every other week or 6 days a month, once the drags are set I never back them off. I do totally tear each reel down and completely clean them every other month. I do not set the drags with any type of scale since I've learned exactly where each was set prior to cleaning and return each to its proper location.
Is this a good practice or have I just been lucky?
Lard_Bass reply :
Bump.
Tried the grocery bag trick and feeling pretty good that my drag is set right. Thanks for the tip.
Quick question though, if you have a light action rod, getting the bag off the ground is difficult so do you just err on the side of setting it on the lighter side? I figure I am within the 25-35% range of the line's strength. I definitely set it too tight when I tried winging it on feel or using a cheap scale.
Thanks again for that nice trick.
roadwarrior reply :
The key is "balance". If you cannot lift the bag due to stress on your rod, chances are your line is too heavy for your rod rating. If you decide to use that line strength, be aware of the stress you are putting on the rod and back the drag off accordingly. Regardless of the line's strength, I want the drag to slip when my rod achieves what appears to be 2/3- 3/4 of the maximum bend in my rod (which leaves some margin of error for a strong hook-set or having the fish surge). At that point you eliminate rod or line breakage.
Remember this: At some point, something has to give or break.
Lard_Bass reply :
Thanks. The rod I was concerned about is a travel rod that I received as a company gift. I have never used it but was going to start bringing with me on little excursions. The rod says it can handle up to 8# test line, it's a 5'6" Light Action rod. When I tried calibrating it last night, I noticed that it was 2/3 - 3/4 bent with the bag barely leaving the ground (more like sliding). Your thoughts confirm my gut that the rod probably cannot handle the 8# line. I should go down to 6# then.
Roadwarrior, another newbie question on drag, I remember telling you how I was playing around with a new reel when I lost a decent bass. I had a local store put some line on my reel. I went back to them once and told them that I have been getting a lot of backlash (wondering if they spooled it the wrong way). They told me that my drag was set too light, is that right? That doesn't seem right to me. I really think they put too much line on. I also bought some line softener and that seemed to help cure the backlash.
lubina reply :
QuoteI tested my drag today with the grocery sack. My "standard" setting was just under 1/2 lb too tight at 33% of breaking strength..
RW if you are using braid line would the same rule apply?
roadwarrior reply :
Lard_Bass,
Your "brake" might not be tight enough if you are referring to a baitcaster, but the drag would not have anything to do with backlash. I have no idea how this would apply to a spinning reel.
lubina,
Braid is another ballgame. Breaking strength probably exceeds the suggested parameters of your rod. When using a line outside this range, I would rely on the estimated maximum bend in your rod. Otherwise, your rod will break before your line will break, so adjust your drag accordingly.
fourbizz reply :
I set the drag on my Cardiff 400 as tight as it will go. I have it set to where you CANNOT take line out with your hand. Same thing when I am froggin, and 95% of the time when night fishing.
roadwarrior reply :
fourbizzel,
There are a lot of guys that fish that way and for the life of me, I cannot figure out why.
You obviously catch some big bass, but do you catch many BIG fish that way? I mean, I see your avatar and realize that if a guy is flipping, dragin' them in the boat might be all there is, but for every other technique, the drag is important. Are you talking about dragging them out of vegetation or just moving them out of cover? I don't get it.
flechero reply :
Catt and fourbizzle,
The shimano catalog says the cardiff drag max's out at 7.5 - 11 lbs (depending on the model) Have you altered the reels or just channel locked the drags down? (purely curious)
fourbizz reply :
No, I don't catch "many". I can however tell you with near certainty that my only fish over 10 would not have been landed other wise. 30lb test mono, 11/0 hook, super rocky structure, from shore.
a 6 ounce bait has alot of leverage when a fish tries to throw it. for the life of me I do not know how fish chris manages to land all that he does ( aside from being one hell of a stick) because I think he fishes with some drag. The first for sure DD that I hooked managed to throw my hardbait because I couldn't keep the line tight enough. I want to get them headed towards the boat, and keep them going that way, until they hit net. I don't want that once every 1,000 cast fish to throw me because I could not control her and she jumped and shook for 2 minutes. That is why I still fish that way.
The reason I started fishing that way is because my buddy told me to. That is good enough for me. Look for him in an upcomiong article along with Mike Long in Basswest this spring.
fourbizz reply :
QuoteCatt and fourbizzle,The shimano catalog says the cardiff drag max's out at 7.5 - 11 lbs (depending on the model) Have you altered the reels or just channel locked the drags down? (purely curious)
I just assume that the 11lbs is maximum "effective" drag. as tight as you can set it and still have it be smooth. I just turn the star real darn hard by hand.
RW, i forgot to address the heavy cover question. Not only then, I do it in open water too.
Lard_Bass reply :
RW,
I have a spinning reel set up that was backlashing on me and was told to set the drag higher.
nboucher reply :
QuoteRW,I have a spinning reel set up that was backlashing on me and was told to set the drag higher.
I suspect the spool is overfull. Try pulling some line off so you've got about an eighth of an inch of clearance between the line and the edge of the spool.
Lard_Bass reply :
Thanks to everyone on this thread on setting the drag. I got a nice 2 1/2 bass while down in Orlando. I used 8# line on my spinning rod and used 2 lbs of groceries to set the drag. The drag worked wonderfully as it let line out nicely during the fight. My old method of touch and fell or using a cheap scale would've lost me another fish but not this time.
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