SETTING DRAGS

[paul708]

How many guys set their drag with a scale?

before a trip. during a trip

lets here how you know what drag you are fishing

i have a scale, and usually try to "hand set" but usually set to light.
it is really supprising what 20# of drag feels like...with a scale

[Jesse Lockowitz]

meh. set it by hand..if its not tight enuf..i spin the star a few clicks or slide the lever up a hair, or spin the knob to the right, works every time :-)

[paul708]

yeah, i do that also.

what amount of drag do you have with that style?

[Custom Canvas]

Myself I always use the scale. I got one of the Manley drag scales goes up to 25 lb.... great little scale
all brass no rust...I don't do it every trip but i check it often..

Zack

[gman]

I used to set mine with a scale to about 15 pounds to start now I just have a good feel of where Im at. My son and I just set them the other day to check my feel. I was pretty damn close

[jig42na]

Paul we set ours with a boga grip. THe spinners seem to be variable though from adjusting during a trip through fighting fish. But when you hit 25-27lb the it is very tough to pull line off the spool. It'll hurt your hands!!!

[pametfisher]

For spinning reels, I always use a scale.

On top of that, unlike the conventional wisdom, I always pull directly on the spool without going over the bail or through the guides. The reasons:

1. Spectra lines have little friction on the guides and almost no friction over the roller. If there were a lot of friction there would be a lot of heat, the enemy of Spectra.

2. If the line is low on the spool and the bail is high on the spool, and if the line is not tightly packed, say from casting at the last outing, you can think you're setting 20 lbs. and only be setting 12-14 lbs. I watched this happen several times this year.

What happens, is under those conditions, which are common, the line digs into the spool and there is a lot of "false" force that goes away when a fish runs.

[Ponce]

For my trolling stuff I use a scale about every other trip.

For my jigging I set it to max on my Saltiga's 22-24 lbs. Test it every few trips to make sure it is still close. When getting ready to drop I set it and forget it.

[Sea Draggin]

i have a scale, and usually try to "hand set" but usually set to light.
it is really supprising what 20# of drag feels like...with a scale

I agree. I always just set by hand until is hard to pull off the reel, then I know I'm in the 20lb range. With Diawa overheads, I can crank them all the way down and back them off a click. If they have carbontex, I back them off two or three clicks.

[mythosbeer]

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 spinners I sometimes will set it with a scale and sometimes will just judge it by hand. I am usually pretty close. I always back off the drag on the spinners when not in use.