SETTING DRAGS

[Sea Draggin]

I set the drags by a scale for the conventionals every 2-3 trips. I use lever drags so I know about what its set for and just move the lever instead of changing the drag setting.

For trolling and/or Bluefin they get set everyday, or at least checked the evening before. I use a hand scale for that.

[mythosbeer]

For trolling and/or Bluefin they get set everyday, or at least checked the evening before. I use a hand scale for that.

True! For trolling I set them the evening before. I adjust them for the target species I'm going after. I set it lighter for certain species than others.

[Parapapam]

Does anyone else use the old half full 5 gallon bucket trick on the dock? I set my Gold reels to 22 pounds at strike. That is a half full 5 gallon bucket of sea water....

Obviously salinity varies the weight.... for those who are scientifically inclined. But it is close enough for my drags.

Run down the dock a few times to warm up the drags a bit, then lift the half full bucket off the dingy dock while standing up above on the main dock.

I am sick of breaking cheap scales and don't see the reason to invest in expensive scales when this works just as well.

Mike

[pametfisher]

Does anyone else use the old half full 5 gallon bucket trick on the dock? I set my Gold reels to 22 pounds at strike. That is a half full 5 gallon bucket of sea water....

Obviously salinity varies the weight.... for those who are scientifically inclined. But it is close enough for my drags.

Run down the dock a few times to warm up the drags a bit, then lift the half full bucket off the dingy dock while standing up above on the main dock.

I am sick of breaking cheap scales and don't see the reason to invest in expensive scales when this works just as well.

Mike

Excellent, reliable method. Many of the cheaper spring scales develop binding at the weight-indicator. For most of my line breaking work I use weights too. Very reliable and repeatable.

Although I have no doubt that some people can reliably pull the line with their hands, I fished with many guys this summer who did that and usually had much less drag than they thought. I could tell from the fight and then I measured it later.

[alantani]

In medicine, one of the first things a student is taught is the difference between the subjective and the objective. Subjectives are things that a patient will complain of, like "Hey, doc, i ache all over, my back hurts and i'm hearing voices." Objectives are things that can be assigned hard numbers, like a heart rate, a blood pressure, a respiratory rate and a temperature. Back pain can be subject to interpretation, but the number of pills taken in the previous week to treat that back pain is an objective hard number. In deciding how best to help a patient, appreciating these differences can be very helpful.

So it is also in fishing. Subjectively, someone can say that a reel easy to crank, the drags are smooth and the spool spins like crazy. Objectively, a reel will have physical dimension, line capacity, a retrieve ratio, a maximum drag setting, and a freespool time. The battle I constantly fight is trying to get guys to actually measure and properly set their drags. What could be more simple? You spool up your reel with 300 yards of 30 pound monofilament, tie the line off to a spring scale and rear back on the rod like you're fighting a fish. A typical drag setting would be 25 to 33% of your line weight. That means you adjust the drag setting for your 30 pound reel until the scale reads 7.5 to 10 pounds.

Now imagine getting stuck at your wife’s office party. Just to tick her off, you’ve worn that fish tie that the kids got you for Christmas. Bored to death and two drinks into the evening, some total stranger comes up to you and starts to talk fishing. He’s big, tall, a little overweight, and he’s got arms like your thighs. In a loud gruff voice, he tells you about the time he was “spooled in seconds” by a giant yellowfin tuna on a San Diego 5 day trip. You have the presence of mind not to roll your eyes. Just trying to hold up your end of the conversation, you ask what kind of reel he was using and what the drag setting was. You’ve heard this answer before. “I don’t need a scale! I can set the drags by hand.”

OK, settle down. You’ve only had two drinks and you’re going to find out later that this bozo is your wife’s boss. He could be right. He could also be a total idiot. Either way, it is not worth arguing because you have no objective measures. More importantly, your glass is empty and there’s no one at the bar. Just tell him that you need to find your wife and avoid him for the rest of the evening. Know your drag settings, guys. It really is just that simple.

[Sea Draggin]

Good reading Alan. and applicable during the holiday party season.

Thanks.

[Jesse Lockowitz]

i predict some point in the near future a jigging reel company to come out with a reel w/ an electronic feature to tell you how much drag pressure @ the reel its putting out.

kind of like HP @ the wheels etc lol

a internal reel dynomax so to speak.

[pametfisher]

In medicine, one of the first things a student is taught is the difference between the subjective and the objective. Subjectives are things that a patient will complain of, like "Hey, doc, i ache all over, my back hurts and i'm hearing voices." Objectives are things that can be assigned hard numbers, like a heart rate, a blood pressure, a respiratory rate and a temperature. Back pain can be subject to interpretation, but the number of pills taken in the previous week to treat that back pain is an objective hard number. In deciding how best to help a patient, appreciating these differences can be very helpful.

So it is also in fishing. Subjectively, someone can say that a reel easy to crank, the drags are smooth and the spool spins like crazy. Objectively, a reel will have physical dimension, line capacity, a retrieve ratio, a maximum drag setting, and a freespool time. The battle I constantly fight is trying to get guys to actually measure and properly set their drags. What could be more simple? You spool up your reel with 300 yards of 30 pound monofilament, tie the line off to a spring scale and rear back on the rod like you're fighting a fish. A typical drag setting would be 25 to 33% of your line weight. That means you adjust the drag setting for your 30 pound reel until the scale reads 7.5 to 10 pounds.

Now imagine getting stuck at your wife’s office party. Just to tick her off, you’ve worn that fish tie that the kids got you for Christmas. Bored to death and two drinks into the evening, some total stranger comes up to you and starts to talk fishing. He’s big, tall, a little overweight, and he’s got arms like your thighs. In a loud gruff voice, he tells you about the time he was “spooled in seconds” by a giant yellowfin tuna on a San Diego 5 day trip. You have the presence of mind not to roll your eyes. Just trying to hold up your end of the conversation, you ask what kind of reel he was using and what the drag setting was. You’ve heard this answer before. “I don’t need a scale! I can set the drags by hand.”

OK, settle down. You’ve only had two drinks and you’re going to find out later that this bozo is your wife’s boss. He could be right. He could also be a total idiot. Either way, it is not worth arguing because you have no objective measures. More importantly, your glass is empty and there’s no one at the bar. Just tell him that you need to find your wife and avoid him for the rest of the evening. Know your drag settings, guys. It really is just that simple.

Good writing is always memorable. Great story.

In order to tell who has set their drag correctly from who hasn't, I've worked out roughly the drag of my 22' boat which is around 25 lbs. at a slow speed. So for example, if someone's drag is still "screaming" on a horizontal run in light winds and they've lost half their line, I know that the drag started under 14-15 lbs. even if they said it was 20 lbs.

Now I'll go have a drink.