Sharky Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 Hey all. Drag settings is the subject, so how do you guys set your drag for your lighter gear? I only have a few light rods but the minimum rod I mostly use is a 4-8lb graphite rod 2000 size reel and 8lb XDS wich I believe has a much higher breaking strain. Anyway I set my drag pretty tight by hand and go with what feels right. I only fish with a locked up drag when fishing heavy structure for bream and go lighter when fishing sand flats but thats only to avoid ripping hooks out of fish's mouths(wich only seems to happen when targetting trevs) With my drag set to normal (somewhere in between structure and flats) I can catch flatties to about 60cm without any drag being released at all I read many reports and see time differences vary from report to report and sometimes wonder how the hell it took so long to get a fish to the boat??? In saying that I have been out with Breamreaper and Outnumbered and watched John take 30 mins to land a 65-70cm king on 4lb brade and 8lb leader. Now from memery John took it slowly slowly on this fish because he knew it was a decent size and he didnt want to pop the leader. I tend to go with what feels and right I have only ever broken a rod once and that was due to high sticking and lesson learnd but so far so good (knock on wood). Now I love nothing more than the sound of a screaming drag except a tasty fish in the esky destined for the dinner plate. So I guess what Im wondering is do most raiders get out the scales to test their drags ie 1.3 lbs of drag when using 4lb brade ect ect . Just curious thats all and I look forward to the replys Cheers all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammy0884 Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 Mark, on the light gear, 4-12lb, braid i usually set it with somebody else pulling line off, when the rod has a good load in it and the tension feels right. otherwise i'll just pull line off the spool until it feels 'about right'... i'll go lower and increase the tension during a fight if am not making any ground... with the heavy reels of 20-50lb braid i'll usually set it as tight as the setup will allow, or as tight as i can hold on to, usually 50% of the breaking strain of the braid, the 80lb braid gets a locked drag for jigging. Mono game reel gets 1/3 breaking strain, measured before every session on scales. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 (edited) Mark, on the light gear, 4-12lb, braid i usually set it with somebody else pulling line off, when the rod has a good load in it and the tension feels right. otherwise i'll just pull line off the spool until it feels 'about right'... i'll go lower and increase the tension during a fight if am not making any ground... with the heavy reels of 20-50lb braid i'll usually set it as tight as the setup will allow, or as tight as i can hold on to, usually 50% of the breaking strain of the braid, the 80lb braid gets a locked drag for jigging. Mono game reel gets 1/3 breaking strain, measured before every session on scales. i second to that just dont touch the drag during the fight unless i am really getting hammered Edited September 27, 2006 by James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drdonjuan9 Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 I agree 1/3 of max breaking strain. 8lb XDS is tough stuff probably breaks at 16lb. so around 6lb with the rod loaded, not 6lb just off the reel. with a faster action rod you set it lower, with a slow action/taper rod you can set it a bit higher. hope that helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Big-Banana Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 I always play with my drag, I set it to below 1/3 and then go just above it when need be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest IFishSick. Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 I set it at or just a teeny bit below 33% the breaking strain. Then with a lever drag it should be set at 33% at Strike and 55% at Full. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mondo Rock Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 Hey Sharky As you know I am a useless hippie at heart and so I'm a big believer in the 'go with what you feel' school of thought. I stand there pulling line directly off the spool with my hand until I think it feels about right and then make adjustments during the fight if need be. To be honest the above method almost always results in me setting the drag too light, and I am often frantically tightening it after the fish is hooked, but I'm slowly learning to compensate for this tendency and am adjusting my internal scales. I actually consider the drag to be an integral part of the work I do when landing fish - I will usually change it several times during the fight depending on what the fish is doing and where I'm fishing. I know this is not good fishing practice, but hey - I never claimed to be that good in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outnumbered Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 i just recently started using a set of scales to set my drag, it was quite a surprise how light i had them set when i use to do it by feel. now the reels dont scream as much but i shouldnt get bricked as often as i used to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
troutboy Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 Hi guys, all the above mentioned rings true but no one has taken into account knot strength. Can we all tie 100% knots 100% of the time? For example , if using 4lb fireline to a 4lb flouro leader we all know that the fireline will break above its rating of 4lbs but the weak link is the connection between the two. If your knots arent 100% you must take this into account. cheers troutboy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
namesay Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 When I am fishing for kingies I set the drag at 50% at strike. So my 50lb braid gets 25lbs of drag on it. I ALWAYS use scales. Cheers Kelvin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest IFishSick. Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 If you use a Bimini Twist your knot to a swivel your knot should be very strong as it is supposed to break at 100% of the breaking strain. Other knots can break at less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
namesay Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 With braid the bimini twist will not get you 100% knot strength but since this stuff breaks at normally twice the rated breaking strain it really doesn't matter. I find with kingies at least it is not the breaking strength of the line but the holding power of the hook that determines everything.cheers Kelvin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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