Drags

[WIUbassin]

I have been doing alot of thinking about the quality of drags on my reels after my Rick Clunn reels drag system totally shat out on me. After looking back at the components for the reel compared to others though, its no wonder. My question is how closely do you factor in the drag power before purchasing a reel. I used to glance at it but not really let it matter to me that much.
However I find that some of my reels I can't fish in certain techniques because they just doesn't give me a tight enough drag for how i like to fish.
For example I want almost zero drag for the reel attatched to my flipping stick because I want a super solid hook set and to get that fish in the boat with out letting it get its head down into brush/laydown/weeds etc. However I only have a few reels that have that strong of a drag.
Because of this i tend to put my revo sx on my flippin stick because it has 24lbs of drag power as opposed to only 14 on my johnny morris elite series, 10lbs on the rick clunn, and 11 on my curado 200e7.
Do any of you guys find yourself having to plan which reels to put on what because of drag power?

[BigBassin144]

I normally don't take it into much consideration. Most reels have like 8-12lb of drag, where almost all the Abu Revo's have 24lbs. Abu garcia has a special system for their drag.

BB

[carolina-rig-01]

i have 2 different types of reels. my crankbait rods all have the david fritts crankbait reel and everything else is a revo sx. the crankbait reels of course get their drag backed way off. on pretty much everything else i tighten then drag down way tight.

[Raul]

Originally Posted by WIUbassin

Do any of you guys find yourself having to plan which reels to put on what because of drag power?

No, I don´t.

[islandbass]

The short answer is no.

[Bender]

I keep the drag set pretty darned tight, fish don't get that big around here. Except on the drop shot with very light line, then I let them take a little. I think the only reel I have had drag pulled on when not expecting it is the Chronarch MG; it only has about 6 pounds of drag, so not a good choice for heavy cover.

[Joel]

Never really considered it. All my baitcasters are either Daiwa TDA 150As or 153HSTs. I've never had any issues with the drag not being able to handle any freshwater application. For my jig setup and wt'd plastic setup both have a 150A reel. The jig setup usually has the drag almost maxed out but not quite, and I've yet to have a LM take drag once I've set the hook. It's the only presentation that I don't allow the Bass any drag.

[Tennessee]

Before I came a thought out well planned fisherman I was a fly by the seat of my pants last years line would work and no that drag isn't to tight...I can't tell you how many time me not checking drag I snapped line with a strong set. I also never retied now I might retie after a 4 or5 lbs fish that was pulled from logs or rocks just looking or feeling for burrs in the line. I'm 30 years old and can't even imagine knowing everything about fishing but guess what that's why I'm here trying to learn!!!

Thanks Will

[rrw4258]

I have never let it influence me from buying a reel... heck i have 2 Clunn's and have never had a problem with the drag systems. Although i use them for cranking (5.4:1) and Spinnerbaits (7.1:1)

Ryan

[pig n jig]

It is nearly my only concern when buying a spinning reel, not so much casting reels. The drag systems are there for a reason, a safety feature so you don't abuse and damage other components of the reel.I doubt you will ever see a reel without a drag system design, don't try to create one out of your existing reel unless you like buying reel parts or new reels.

When fishing light lines, the drag becomes more desirable.In spinning reels the front drag system is alot larger so they tend to work better, in spinning reels I like the felt washer systems, they seem to work extremely well for me. Ivan

[Joel]

Originally Posted by pig n jig

It is nearly my only concern when buying a spinning reel, not so much casting reels. The drag systems are there for a reason, a safety feature so you don't abuse and damage other components of the reel.I doubt you will ever see a reel without a drag system design, don't try to create one out of your existing reel unless you like buying reel parts or new reels.

When fishing light lines, the drag becomes more desirable.In spinning reels the front drag system is alot larger so they tend to work better, in spinning reels I like the felt washer systems, they seem to work extremely well for me. Ivan

Ivan, well said. I also prefer a wet drag over a dry type system. Just seems smoother to me.

I've never ever set the drag so tight that I couldn't muster some line out. For those that crank their drags down all the way when fishing in some nasty stuff, heed Ivan's warning of not only breaking off, or ripping the hook out of the fishes mouth, but there is a real possibility of stripping a gear or two, or even snapping a rod tip.