# Set the drag Baby...set the drag....



## JT (May 25, 2006)

I am interested on peoples perspectives on setting the drag on a reel correctly. I know that many of you have a metheodology you use that is supposed to set the drag at a point where it sets the hook and is set in relation to the reel, the capability of the rod and the species targeted. I understand that weights are involved etc.

Me, I just set the drag at a point whereby the line will run enough with a good hit, make enough noise to alert me and not be so heavy that the fish detects too early that the tiny little fishy it just ate may be associated with the guy in the kayak on the surface and spit it out. It is also set with enough weight to well and truly set the hook.

Hardly scientific....but then again perhaps scientific ain't necessary. What is the logic in doing it and will it net me more fish? And more importantly what system and kit do you use to do it?

What are your thoughts and what is your perspective?

All opinions respected and appreciated (unless they're crap of course 8) )

JT


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

Not trying to hijack the post , but LMAO at those avatars boys , ha ha ha ha ha ha ha , brilliant and suitably irrerevent, Ahmed Kalifa Ben Gatesy , :shock: :shock: and his mate Hop Sing Wang Tie Kraley , :shock: :shock: ahhh its lovely to have a decent bit of a laugh to lighten the forum up a bit :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## ArWeTherYet (Mar 25, 2007)

I've recently converted to pre setting the drag especially for light gear. When fishing 4 lb line it only takes an extra turn of the knob and your line breaks and there goes your fish. Alternately you dont use enough drag and the hook doesn't set or you have ridiculously long fight with a little fishy.
The heavier line I still like to do as I'm playing the fish, really most reels dont have a heavy drag anyway, well that is, the cheap crappy ones I have.


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

I think its best to err on the side of too little drag and then amp it up while playing / fighting the fish. Too tight too soon - especially with a drag that may not be running perfect then your asking for a bust off. Plus if your using braid and a leader there is that shock factor at the initial strike on the lure (theres a lot of lure fishers here) and the lure can get totally smacked more so than bait.
So yeah I always handle my drag (ie test it by hand) set it up just at fighting strenghth - and then reduce it back a few clicks. I'm not sure if its good or bad technique but I do adjust the drag several times during the fight especially if its feeling like a sizeable beasty!!!


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## JT (May 25, 2006)

bazzoo said:


> Not trying to hijack the post , but LMAO at those avatars boys , ha ha ha ha ha ha ha , brilliant and suitably irrerevent, Ahmed Kalifa Ben Gatesy , :shock: :shock: and his mate Hop Sing Wang Tie Kraley , :shock: :shock: ahhh its lovely to have a decent bit of a laugh to lighten the forum up a bit :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


Baz'...I think you are slightly off the mark mate.....that is Dear Leader (Dear Fisherman on the forum) or Kim Jong Kraley in the real world I believe of North Korea. The guy has the only inflatable nuclear driven Outback on the planet...or so the rumours go.

JT


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## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

my method is similar to gatesy/kraley - just set it by hand. occasionally i forget to loosen it off/tighten it up and i also often change the drag during a fight. so therefore I'm more than likely to 'stuff it up' during a fight...but you know what, it rarely happens.

i dont think theres any argument for having a 'specific' drag setting unless youre tournament fishing and need to know EXACTLY where your limits are.


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## Phoenix (Jan 12, 2006)

I place the rod in the rod holder and pull the line. Depending upon what species of fish I am targeting will depend on how much drag I set. Occasionally I test this using a set of fish weighing scales.


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## Jay (May 26, 2006)

> You boys have been watcing waaaay too much Team America


you can never watch too much team america its awesome. especially the vomit scene


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## vertigrator (Jul 25, 2006)

I use the pull by hand method for judging how much drag is applied too. I'll set it lighter when using lighter lines, and heavier when using heavier lines or if fishing around heavy structure such as pillons, oysters etc. In these tight spots, you can't let the fish run so you just have to use the bend of your rod as a shock absorber and hope that's enough to turn their heads, otherwise "ping" there goes another blue nose bream back into its hidey hole.  I also back the drag off a fair bit when trolling cause they can hit the lure prettty hard and you've got a fair bit of inertia built up with paddling the kayak.


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

Thats my point vertigrator - about the initertia and the shock. Happened again today - smack ping - wrong angle different direction of yak to fish - leader snapped!!!


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## Dodge (Oct 12, 2005)

wopfish said:


> about the initertia and the shock.


My old mentor who was a game fisherman of note showed me a method which was only by feel and allowed for the initial impact.

He held the rod and reel horizontal across his body with reel in the left hand, and set some drag, he then grabbed a fistful of line with the right hand and punched that fist away from the reel to simulate a strike from a fish , then kept adjusting until he had a setting he was happy with.

Having arrived at that point he just backed the drag off enough to compensate for additional pressure that the rod would impart when under load...after that a tie onto the fence or a rapid jerk by another mate after passing through the rod runners was the final test.

With his method the key was to really jerk the line to simulate a strike and not just to pull it evenly when setting


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## Dillo (Dec 6, 2006)

There is a product available called ther "Bouz Drag Checker" which enables accurate setting of the drad in seconds.

The old method of using scales is still prcacticed however the drag checker enables the job to be done quicker and single handed, an important skill on a kayak as using scales normally takes two people. With the drag checker you run the line betweenthe three wheels on the tool and as the tension increases on the line the wheels are forced apart and the pressure reads on the scales.You can even check the drag with a fish on the line. They come in 3 sizes for light, medium and heavy drag settings. They are available from Fish Head 07 3206 7999 and can be seen at http://www.fishhead.com.au.

I have no idea on pricing as I set drag by feel as most of you do but for anyone who wants to accurately set their drags this seems to be the ants pantz.

Rod


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## Astro (Nov 27, 2006)

i adjust by simply pulling line off the reel at the reel to gauge the level of drag the reel will apply at the tip of the rod....

i set my drag to feel and have different settings when rod is in the holder (lighter drag) enough pressure to quite easily come of reel without stressing the rod but enough to set the hooks

or i am casting with it or holding whilst trolling (heavier). enough drag to set hooks and some more to turn the fishes head and have immediate control (or as close you can get in the situation: remember i hunt barra not bream) but enough for line to go through without stressing to it's limit

nothing like a cast, hook up and a bloody big barra leaping out of the water........ahh....wheres my gear........


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## DGax65 (Jun 7, 2006)

Flyrod said:


> There is a product available called ther "Bouz Drag Checker" which enables accurate setting of the drad in seconds.
> 
> The old method of using scales is still prcacticed however the drag checker enables the job to be done quicker and single handed, an important skill on a kayak as using scales normally takes two people. With the drag checker you run the line betweenthe three wheels on the tool and as the tension increases on the line the wheels are forced apart and the pressure reads on the scales.You can even check the drag with a fish on the line. They come in 3 sizes for light, medium and heavy drag settings. They are available from Fish Head 07 3206 7999 and can be seen at http://www.fishhead.com.au.
> 
> ...


When I first started getting serious about fishing a couple of years ago, I thought that I should get a drag checker. It would make sense to know exactly how much drag you're pulling. I found a good drag scale at Melton's. After seeing the price I decided that it was cheaper to bust off the occasional fish  I'll get one eventually, but it isn't a high priority.


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## Peril (Sep 5, 2005)

I set my drag by weight - 150g per pound of line weight so for 10lb line I set it at 1.5kg. Just put the weight in a bag, attach it to a hook and lift, adjusting the drag until the spool is just moving. I don't adjust the drag once I've hooked a fish - have lost a few fish that way. Can always use my thumb for extra pressure


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## rawprawn (Aug 31, 2005)

I just pull the line till I think it's tight enough. If I hook a fish and it was bigger than what I was expecting I tighten it.


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