How to Set the Drag on Fishing Reels
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Loading... - Romero Teodora
- 26 Apr 2023
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So anglers will debate on what’s the most important thing in your fishing gear for actually landing fish. A lot say it’s having the best fishing line. A bunch say it’s your knot. Others will say it’s a sharp hook. But I would say to me knowing how to set the drag on your fishing reels is maybe the most important thing. Not so much because it’s completely necessary to land a fish, but it can make up for a bad line, a not so sharp hook and even a not really great knot.
How you set and adjust your drag can give you power when you need it and forgiveness when the fish demands it. You can cinch it down and drive a good hook, and loosen it up and let a big, hot fish play down before trying to land it. It can avoid knot and line breakages on last-second surges right when you’re attempting to land a fish. And it can give a light line of lower pound test, the ability to land fish it otherwise couldn’t.
You tie 4-pound line to the end of a cane pole and latch onto a big catfish or 5-pound bass, chances are that fish isn’t getting landed. Put that same line on a reel with a properly adjusted drag and I’ve landed a lot of fish double or quadruple the weight of my pound test. That’s what knowing how to set your drag means in fishing.
So let’s run through some quick steps on properly setting your drag for fishing. And also how to adjust it while fishing if something unexpected happens.
Pound test is not drag test
The first thing folks should know is you don’t need your drag set to the pound line you are using. Breaking strength and drag work in conjunction. Your drag slows a fish down way before he gets to the breaking point of the line. The idea is to wear the fish down, not just match it to the break strength of the line. That’s a recipe for disaster. Read More…
