Setting your drag

[Adk1]

ok, so how does everyone set their drag and test their drag to see if it is "about right"..Honestly, I have no idea what kind of tension I should have on the drag....

[Hooked on Kings]

If your talking dipsys I let them creep out and then when they get to depth I turn the drag just enough to stop it from going out. If riggers for me they are a little tighter trying to eliminate blow back and keep them loaded.

[Mortigan]

Ditto.  You want the fish to take line when it runs so it tires itself out hauling against the resistance. Line stretch (for mono) acts a bit like a shock absorber but it's a balancing act, tighten up the drag too much and snap...

[BAZOOKAJOE]

I think it's personal preference. I personally set my drags and releases tighter than most. Cuz I very rarely get a fish that rips out more than 50 ft on the initial run. But I run lighter action rods that absorb a lot of the initial shock. Ugly stik light 8'3" rigger rods. Eagle claw med light diver rods. And i use very few connections. And check them regularly. Run 30 lbs test/20 lbs leaders. Quality reels with good drags: saltist/sea line reels. Replace leaders, swivels, knots, sharpen hooks. So I have confidence to put the wood to them. I will loosen drag as the fight starts. But I want the hook-set deep when that fish hits. My copper rods are the okuma lead core/copper rods. Which are pretty stiff. So I keep my drags a little looser on those. But still tight enough I can barely pull line off by hand.

Edited July 11, 2013 by BAZOOKAJOE

[Adk1]

ok so there are some differences. I guess it will be trial and error for me!

[Sk8man]

Many of the standard fresh water reel drags have a max setting  of 12-20 pounds so some of it depends also on the pound test of the line you are using and knowing your reel. I leave the drag set so that there is a little tension on it so that the hook usually sets itself when I pull the rod upward out of the holder from the weight of the fish. Fish like rainbows have a delicate mouth structure (soft tissue) so yanking hard on the rod to "set" the hook will often lose a fish for you. The critical thing is to always maintain contact between the fish and your hook so I gradually tighten the drag as I'm fighting the fish making him work harder as he goes (assessing the "feel" of it as I go) and then loosening slightly as needed as you feel him "running" then tightening up gradually again. The boat is just as important as the drag and they should work together to wear the fish out. Many fish are lost because of "angler impatience". As long as you maintain contact with the line the fish will be pulling against the boat/drag combination...and no matter how big he is he will tire out from the pulling some take longer than others... so you make adjustments accordingly. If your drag is smooth and in good condition, your hooks are sharp and your line is uncompromised you'll be in good shape. Again though if you are using 8 lb test line you aren't going to be able to crank the drag down anywhere near the max  of 15 pounds....

Edited July 11, 2013 by Sk8man

[Adk1]

I have 30lb big game with either 12 or 18 lb flourocarbon leader

[Sk8man]

You shouldn't have many problems then as there is some stretch even in the 30 lb mono (little to none in the fluoro so take that into account). It is also personal preference to some degree so experiment to see what works for you I'd say just stay away from the extreme settings until you get your "feel" for it.

[John E Powell]

There is no correct answer to this because different rods have different power and actions. It helps to understand what rod action means. Rod action is the rate at which a rod returns back to a state of rest when flexed and then released. A fast action rod does this quickly and a slow action rod does this slowly. These are terms that are helpful for people who are holding the rods in their hands and casting lures/bait. Fast action rods are good at transmitting "jerky" actions to lures, desirable when your fishing with jigs for instance. Slow action rods are useful when consistency of retrieve is more important. Now we don't cast our trolling rods, but the action of rods have other characteristics that we do use to help us identify desirable trolling rods.

 

Actions range from extra fast, to fast, to moderate or medium, to slow. Sometimes you will see an action between two main actions like medium/fast action. For trolling rods, we can think of action being an indicator of where the majority of the rod bends when lifting a weight equal to the rod's intended power capabilities. To test and determine a rod's action, rods are held horizontally and then a weight is suspended from the tip (the angle between the suspended weight and horizontal rod being 90 degrees) and this weight being equal to the weight the rod is intended to lift. The amount of the rod that bends under this load is an indication of action. Extra fast rods bend mostly in the top 1/4 of the rod. Fast action rods will bend in the upper 1/3 of the rod. Moderate or medium action rods will bend in the upper 1/2 of the rod. Slow action rods will bend well beyond the 1/2 way point of the rod, even into the handle area. The best action for our trolling rods is medium/moderate to medium fast/moderate fast. Diver rods, which have to hold their lines outside and around side mounted downrigger cables, should have a fast action to gain the extra reach necessary to keep the diver lines clear of the downrigger cables.

 

Now, to most efficiently subdue a fish and bring it to net, a reels drag should be set so that when a fish runs, it bends the rod to its action point, the point where you notice the rod transitions from soft to stiff. If you set a drag too tight and load it into the stiff section, you will pull hooks from fish or begin to experience other tackle failures, especially with low stretch or no stretch fishing lines like the braid and wire we use for diver fishing or the copper we use on long lines. If we set our drags too loose, we're just prolonging the time it takes to bring a fish to net because we're not efficiently loading the rod and letting it do the work it is intended to do, subdue and tire fish.

 

So the answer is, choose a rod that has the intended power you need for the task. Look at line ratings and lure weight ranges to clue you in on this, if it doesn't outright say on the rod that it is intended for a task like downrigger or diver fishing. We call these task specific rods. The manufacturer has determined the correct power and action for you. Nowadays, there are task specific downrigger, planer, inline planer, copper, diver, magnum diver, thumper rods, and more. Match the power to the kind of task or experience you want, and choose your reels capacity with a given line weight to compliment this power. Then just set your reel's drag to load the rod to its action point and you will be in business. After a while, you will get a feel for this and know when a drag is too loose or too tight and it will be second nature to adjust it properly without really thinking about it.

Edited July 11, 2013 by John E Powell

[Sk8man]

Adk1 - What you can take from what John and I and others have said is this: If you are using your daughter's Zebco Barbie fishing outfit on Lake O for kings you might have a drag and rod problem

Edited July 11, 2013 by Sk8man

[shinintimes]

Spend more time on the water and you'll learn like the rest of us ... THE HARD WAY... honestly there is no right answer for your set-up there's lots of things rods. line. type of reel ( all drags are not the same )  even the experience of the people you fish with . I personally use feel to set my drag.... good luck and keep fishin

[TyeeTanic]

On dipsey it is enough to just keep it from creeping. For flat lines an easy tug of the line should pull the drag.

[sea yea 2]

I personally use feel to set my drag.... good luck and keep fishin

What he said

[Adk1]

Well John, you will be happy to hear that  I pourchased all task specific rods already. 2 DR rods, 2DD rods one LC rod and two PB rods..