drag settings while trolling?????

[gofshn]

let's get some info from some people here on properly setting drags, what settings to run normally, and when to bump them up or down in certain situations, i am sure there are those out there who are more adept and have more experience than most in this department, i for one would love learn something new about this topic. DEEPC, how about a start to finish on what you do when you intensely prepare for your island run in the way of setting dragss, how you measure it, do you use the chatillon scales like i have or something different?

[johnseafood]

I'll chime in on this one.

Ok depends on what i'm targeting on how i set the drags. I use just a Shimano Scale with the slide so i can see where it ends up at. Heat the drag up first set it on a light drag and give it a few pulls and let someone reel it in and do it over for about 6-8 times. This will insure that the drags are going to be set accurate. Now alot depends on the drag setting from day to day so check them every time before you leave the dock.

Meat Fishing

When we are meat fishing (tuna , wahoo, mahi) i set the drags at strike for 33% of the main line which is usually the lightest line on the rig. The drag at strike on admins' boat is usually around 18-22 lbs of drag. Now when tuna fishing i run them about 3/4 of the way to strike this way when the tuna hits you still got a little there to slow him down before going over strike. When trolling the drag is about 14 lbs, the reason i use that much drag is every hook on our rigs are very sharp. Now when that fish comes up and takes a whack you know that the hook is sent home in the jaw of the tuna or whatever it might be. Now when the rod bends over go to the reel and start to bump the drag up unless you know its a wahoo then let him make hiss first run then slowing in one motion start to bump it up.

Now Marlin Fishing

When targeting marlin we run all the flats in free spool with the clickers on. The way i do it is take a few wraps and then put it in the flatline clip. On the shorts we run Blue marlin baits so the drags are going to be bumped up compared to the white marlin gear. On the long riggers we run dinks also for white marlin so i want the drag to be set just to where it holds tight with the clickers on. The drag on the dink rods or tld 25's is usually around 8 lbs at strike. On the blue marlin poles usually 80's 130's depends on the main line.

This is how i do it and it might not be the way that other people do it. Meat fishing I just want that hook sent home and not worrying about if i did that or not off the first strike. Marlin fishing or white marlin fishing is a whole different ball game( Light, light, light, and light) you want to see the fish before he even hits the baits. Hope this helps out

[Deep C]

As many of you know, I run with an older set of shimanos for most of the important runs I make. I've sadi it before and will say it again. I run with that set niot because they are better than yours or his or anybody's for that matter. I run with em because I know exactly what I have in each piece I tote into combat.
Each year after the northern season is over, before I head island side and after the islands I do some pretty thorough working on my stuff. Every piece I plan to use for the trip goes up on my work table... The handles come off and I clean the salt and crap from under the caps. Then the preset knobs come off and again get cleaned a-z. I piece that together and then remove the whole side as one unit. Why put those pieces back on first?... Cause if you don't you could wind up dropping the guts in a thousand pieces all over the place...
With the whole side off the beasts I go in and check and wipe down every washer and surface in the system. If something isn't happy it gets a nerw washer.If the bearings need it they get changed. I even work my way back to the clicker and wipe that area out, making sure that everything is loose and happy.
I use any reliable hand scale I can get. For island side I run roughly a quarter of the breaking strength of the line on my strike settings. Why so low? Well, that say 10 pounds I run on 40lb line on a tld 25 will turn iinto about 15 as the sppol gets down about half way. At two thirds down she's pushin 20lbs. With 300 yards of line out if the fish hits the after burners with any more pressure than that it will pop just from water pressure alone. When I'm island side, especially at Chub Cay, each bite we get can easily be that big blue and they can get that 300+ yard jump in under a minute...
That same theory is surprisingly even more critical when I'm running the 80w rigs. The reason there is similar but the water drag is exponentially greater considering that big blue eating a lure often gets a jump of over 600 yards of the 1000 the reel holds...So theree I run a shockingly low setting of 18 pounds, less than 1/4 of the lines rated braking strength.
Once the drags are set I go give each one pulls. I do this while the reels are all warmed up and again after they are cooled off to feel for any changes. During the day I check them at least three times.
The most crucial checks I do are the morning after ones... During the night, temp changes and humidity changes can really send them off.
Many that know me, know I have the rather odd habit of not washing my reels down at the end of a day. This is drag related. I may wipe them down with a damp rag but I don't want fresh water around them. Water has a bad habit of seeping in. Not only the water gets in but it can carry salt that was hiding in the seems of the reel. A wet drag is utterly the worst thing ever to fish with... The seeped in salt remains unseen and by the time you find that its there the damage is done...
ANother trick I use in the islands is to carry enough gear to rotate sets in and out of the game. This may give a set thats been exposed to the elements for a few days straight a chance to dry out...

[gofshn]

way to step up DEEP, thanks for sharing, we seem to focus a lot here on rigs, hooks, and knots, but when it comes down to it drags are just as crucial.