Setting up drag

[Paul Thomson]

Gday all,
after much hedging of funds and debating with the finance manager (missus)
have brought a popper and jigging set up.
Went for a Shimano Caranx Kaibutsu Long cast for popper fishing
A T curve deep jig 400 jigging rod for jigging
And Shimano Saragosa 18000 with 80lb metered braid to swap between.

As i understand it, you should set up you reel drag to 1/3 the rod capacity,
therefore on 37kg rod, 12-13kg drag on the reel should be the max??
Am off to Tonga soon to get in some popper fishing,
so the more drag the better for GT's.

any advice would be appreciated

[Jon Li]

Hi Paul ,

I wud opt for 1/4 of the actual breaking strain of the PE line you are using , now please do not confuse the actual breaking strain of the line and the published breaking strain because in PE line case , some brands actual breaking strain may exceed their published breaking strain by 50% .

Rod ratings are very misleading , I don't think anyone will use it for guideline to the reel's drag setting .

Jon .

[Brandon Khoo]

Paul, the issue is a little more complex than just go with as high a drag as possible. In the first instance, I think it is paramount you work out what amount of drag you can actually fish first. I'd hate to see you initial drag setting at a level where you're going to get dragged around like a rag doll.

An excessive drag setting may also be vulnerable to a snap-off on strike. It depends what weight of braid you are using