setting drags

[Cam Foley]

Just enquiring on the best way to set the drag on reels.
eg,two pepople ,one on rod and reel and the other with the scales with the line out past the double and loading the rod or straight pulling with the rod not loaded or any better ways.
Is it wise to warm the reel up first or not?
I sometimes put a rod holder in a vice and test the drag by myself not to sure if this is any good.With spin reels it is a bit easier because you can and i do always give it a turn or too when hooked up but on preset reels such as the Accurate 665 its got to be wright to start with or go all the way to sunset.

[Andrew Poulos]

Nice question....curious to see what everyone does.

I test mine via loading the rod up . I connect it to  scales and tie a rope to the scales. The rope is then held by my assistant( the missus ) who then holds on and walks away till I get the right loading on the rod and the scales hit the right level Im looking for. Usually this is done at walking pace. And I have the leader and double out fof the guides and just  a 2 -3 metres of line.I dont simulate impact hits. This way , I can adjust the drag according to whichever rod Im using...I should add when Im on the rocks and have to adjust I hook it up to my backpack and walk backwards till I get the same effect. (yes my backpack and gear weighs alot)

[Cam Foley]

Thats a heavy back pack Andy 12 t0 15 kg although i know you need alot off gear when fishing of the rocks.Have not tried the walk away ,load up thing,sounds like a good idea.
I to am curious to see what everyone does .

[Cam Foley]

C'mon dudes share your drag setting secrets .

[Brandon Khoo]

I don't think the way I do it is going to help you guys much. I generally do it simply by feel of the spool. It's got to turn (just) when I twist it by hand. I've found in the past that for me, that equates roughly fifteen kg. if there is a scale handy, I'll use it if there is someone around to help me but I am not particularly scientific about it nor do I think you really need to be.

[Cam Foley]

Thanks Brandon i like your style

[Andrew Poulos]

You can borrow my backpack next time....

[Stephen Polzin]

I just screw the drag knob down as far as it will go without the use of tools

[Brandon Khoo]

I just screw the drag knob down as far as it will go without the use of tools

I've decided not to do this anymore. I don't swim that well

[lonhro]

WELL i can't swim at all and i dont think i could ski bare foot being towed by a GT either. thus i set the scales to suit the style of fishing.

[Luke Wyrsta]

I'm with Brandon on this one - works well.

I do however, sometimes just double check with the aid of some spring scales to see what kind of drag setting i'm using.

If you can't pull the line off the spool with your hand you could be in a lot of trouble when a strike happens - not that you can't hold it, just the shock from the spontaniety!

[Neil Griffiths]

I'm a fairly religious drag setter when using heavy drag settings, just to get it right where I want it.
On point of interest when using braid is that it makes almost no difference to the drag setting if the rod is bent under load or if the line is pulled out in a straight line through the guides. A simple pull back with the rod straight will generally be much easier to achieve in a boat (and less hazardous for the rod if something goes wrong) than the usual reef back with a bent rod.

[Che Carson]

I'm with Brandon on this one as well. Fishing 80-130lb drag doesn't matter much as long as you can hold on and not get dragged in or overboard (nearly once but not quite ) it's all good.

Warming the drag up is pretty useless as it doesn't replicate true fishing conditions unless of course every cast is a fish that can pull line.

[Neil Griffiths]

I think we're sending the wrong message here to a lot of less experienced anglers. It is fine to tell everyone that we can set our drags by feel and that scales aren't the way to go if you're a real hairy chested GT angler    However my experience on trips with the average angler suggest that settings are all over the shop when done this way. Another problem is the lower margin for error in some anglers knots, an over the top setting may cause an unwarranted break off and don't even start on rod breakage issues etc.  
Of course I'm not disparaging less experienced fishers here as everyone starts off as one.

So my advice would be to set everything, that way when something goes wrong, as it inevitably will, you're first thought won't be, what the hell was that drag setting  

[Luke Wyrsta]

I think we're sending the wrong message here to a lot of less experienced anglers. It is fine to tell everyone that we can set our drags by feel and that scales aren't the way to go if you're a real hairy chested GT angler    However my experience on trips with the average angler suggest that settings are all over the shop when done this way. Another problem is the lower margin for error in some anglers knots, an over the top setting may cause an unwarranted break off and don't even start on rod breakage issues etc.  
Of course I'm not disparaging less experienced fishers here as everyone starts off as one.

So my advice would be to set everything, that way when something goes wrong, as it inevitably will, you're first thought won't be, what the hell was that drag setting  

Yes, i agree with you in that respect Neil. But after setting their drag, they should also double check to see what it really feels like - mmm, i feel like i'm swimming myself right now in this awful weather