When I was a kid, and new to the sport of fishing, while holding onto my first rod and reel, and line in the water,  I remember asking an adult what the drag was for, I was told in a hurried answer, “You set that so the fish won’t break your line”. Oh, ok,  I thought one of the great mysteries of being a good fisherman had been passed on to me!  So I spent many years after that being careful to set my drag just below the breaking point of my line, and that made me an “experienced” fisherman! Well, that was true to a certain extent, I became  “experienced” all right, experienced at loosing really good fish!

Since those younger days of angling, I have been exposed to a lot of different styles of fishing, and different methods. But by far, the most valuable piece of fishing information that has helped me land more big fish was proper setting and use of the reel’s drag system.

Two of the primary components that separate you from that trophy fish on the other end are your fishing line, and then your reel’s drag. For simplicity, I will break down the fishing line into two basic categories. The Braided lines, which exhibit very little to no stretch, and Monofilament lines, which stretch between 15% to 25%, but average around 20%. What this stretch means is that for every one hundred yards of line you have out, it will stretch about 20 yards. Now the Braided lines provide no stretching, which helps on hook setting, but also creates more “shock” to your line. Braided lines are less forgiving because of that, and can result in more break offs for that reason with a poorly set drag.

Ok, Now that we have our basic line characteristics out of the way, The big question that presents itself is, How do I set my drag correctly?

In order to answer that question completely, we need to consider there are three basic times when the drag setting is important.

The first is the Strike – This is the most flexible setting of the three. Some people will use the Strike Setting of 1/3 line breaking strength as detailed next, But I prefer strike setting at approximately 20% to 25% of your lines breaking strength. That means on using 30 lb line, a 6 lb to 8 lb strike setting.  The reason for this being an object will take more energy to start moving than to keep it moving. So if your drag is set at 8 lbs drag pressure, it may take as much 20 lbs of pull to start the spool moving. Other factors that affect your drag are water resistance and rod resistance. If you set your line on an 8lb pull straight out of the reel, you will be surprised at how much additional drag a bent rod places on the line.  So these drag settings should be measured at the line end of the rod, in realistic type situation. The easiest way to do this is to use a scale to set your drag. Try to recreate a real strike situation by pulling hard and quickly on the line to set the pressure.

The next setting is the Fight – This is the setting that should be 1/3 of your lines breaking strength. Here again, a sudden surge or run may take your line up to 70% or higher of the breaking strength due to inertia. This 1/3 setting should also be measured from outside of the rod tip. Naturally you wont be able to do this while a fish is on… So this is done by feel is you don’t start off with this setting. The only time I would start to increase this setting above the recommended 1/3 is when a fish has taken more than half of your spool, at this point your drag pressure has doubled, if the fish is showing no signs of slowing down… I would start cranking down on the drag a little at a time. If you don’t you probably won’t stop this fish anyway. If you get down to the last few turns on the reel… Lock it down completely, after all, at this point what do you have to loose?

Just think, a fish pulling 15 lbs of drag is like dragging 3 house bricks around with it, that is a pretty hefty load for the majority of fish out there. Another good way to start applying more drag in short bursts is to cup your spool (if using a spinning reel), this is a very effective means of applying more drag pressure to a fish without having to adjust the reel. If you are using a conventional reel, the same effect can be had by applying thumb pressure using one or in tough cases, two thumbs. I would recommend wearing gloves for this as any knot or nick in your line still on the spool will catch your fingers in a painful way, and heat builds up quickly because of friction also. While fighting the fish, be sure and move your rod back and forth or “pump”. Pull back on the rod, and reel as you move your rod back into the forward motion, then pull back again. If your fish turns and makes a screaming run, you can drop your rod tip and point it in the fish’s direction to relieve some of the drag pressure if you feel it needs it. If the fish makes a sudden jump, lower your rod tip to the fish to relieve some of the pressure.

The landing- this is by far the time when most fish are lost. What happens here is the fish is almost at the rocks, the pier, or the boat only 20 to 30 yards out, and is being stubborn and sticking to the bottom, line is slipping from the reel as you try to pull the fish up, and so you crank down the drag all the way to get that fish in the last few yards, when the fish comes to the top of the water, it spooks.  Now the fish thought to be out of steam hits the after burners, snapping the line clean. (This was my problem for many years as described early in the article) This is a very good example of when NOT to tighten down on the drag, but to use one of the methods described in fighting, either cupping the spool or thumbing the spool for a little more assistance. Here is a little trick that may help you on the fish that won’t budge from the bottom or the hiding in the rocks. Pull your line really tight, and start to strum on the line like a banjo, the sound and vibrations will sometimes irritate the fish enough to get it to start moving again, or come out of the rocks.

In addition to the above recommendations, the best way to know the proper drag setting for your setup is to know the line that you fish with and its characteristics. Apply less than the recommended drag for the braids since they are not forgiving, and apply the recommended settings for the monofilament.

Now we know how to operate our reel’s drag efficiently, but these tips will only be useful if we have good fishing line on the reel, and a properly working drag system.

Technology has made tremendous advances as far as drag systems and materials. Where once a problem existed of drags sticking after being heated, now they operate much smoother and may even loose a little pressure after being heated.  Make sure you keep your drag system clean, free of salt and contaminants, lubed (not excessively) and in good order. Never store your reel with the drag set, back it off all the way. A reel stored with the drag set, may rust, or corrode and stick, or even warp and not function properly.

After following these guidelines, you will be fighting your fish the right way all the way to your hand. Good Luck! Tight Lines and Screaming Drags!

By Victor Delgado

Aka “Whopperstopper”

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