How to Properly Set Drag on a Fishing Reel - Important Fishing Skill

[@brandonmorawski7026]

You explained it the best. I didn't know anything about setting my lever drag up and now I'm confident in setting up my drag on my new avet.

[@CaptainCody7]

Awesome, yeah setting your drag properly is very important!

[@shawnbrady7651]

New to “2 speed” reels, and drag lever. Broke the line a couple times last year. Now I am pretty confident that I know why now. Thank you!

[@CaptainCody7]

Yeah, I have broke lines a few times in the heat of the moment thinking I need more drag. It is good to have a plan ahead of time of when you are going to increase your drag and to what level. Thanks for watching and I am glad you found it helpful!

[@codysmith3989]

Just the info I was looking for. Thanks! Just twisting nobs and star drag trying to get the drag right but got to the point I couldn't drop my jig to the bottom and had the annoying clicking all the time. Here I got the answer to adjust the drag, free line spool tension, and switch off the clicking. Simple, I just couldn't figure it out without the tutorial. Thanks again.

[@CaptainCody7]

Glad it was helpful, thanks for watching Cody!

[@tassosmanolas5344]

Tassos Manolas Greece.Thank You for your amazing video totry with simple words the adjusting tactics to get the proper drag.Thank You.

[@CaptainCody7]

Sure thing, properly adjusting your drag is more important than many people realize!

[@realitypro]

Thanks!

[@CaptainCody7]

Sure thing! Thanks for watching!

[@drumslayer4792]

The detail in this video is awesome thanks

[@CaptainCody7]

Glad you found it helpful! Thanks for watching!

[@MiguelRamos8486]

Very informative video. Thanks for sharing your knowledge on this topic. 👍🏼🎣💪🏽

[@CaptainCody7]

Glad you found it helpful, thanks for watching Miguel!

[@ajbasketball4403]

When I try to turn it doesn’t work and i don’t know why

[@CaptainCody7]

Try and turn which knob? On what type of reel?

[@ajbasketball4403]

@@CaptainCody7 The star drag on bait caster

[@apibrn2330]

Is there any link for 20lbs drag scale?

[@CaptainCody7]

It was a Weston spring scale from amazon. I do not see the exact one I had currently listed for sale.

[@ARCSTREAMS]

i have a mitchell 300 c new model spinning reel and it is rated for 10 to 14lb test mono and 20lb test braid and the max drag is 14lb so does this mean i should be able to dead lift up to 14 lbs of weight directly from the reel without any problems or can i most likely expect that either it will start slipping way before i reach 14lb or that the line roller or the bail arm holding the roller will break?

[@CaptainCody7]

Well, the 14-pound rating is for the drag. This means you could apply 14 pounds of pressure before the drag starts spinning and the drag will be reasonably smooth. So yes you should be able to deadlift 14 pounds out of the water and not break the reel. If you have 10 pounds line it will break at 10 pounds in ideal conditions. However, even the best knots are only around 80 percent line strength so it would break at 8 pounds. I hope that helps answer your question! Thanks for watching!

[@ARCSTREAMS]

@@CaptainCody7 err by dead lift out of the water you don't mean using the rod with the line going through all the guides right? i am asking if i can dead lift something tied directly from the line coming out of my reel line roller ,so for example if i got 20 lb test line and tried to dead lift 14lbs and my line does not break(80% of 20lb=16lb) then ideally what the manufacturer is saying is that my reel can handle this without it slipping(ie ideally if its close to 14lb of force or just under) or without my reel breaking apart most likely from the roller or bail arm is this correct?

[@drumslayer4792]

My reel has 17lbs drag at strike and 26 and full. Avet sx raptor 60# braid 100# top shot. Should I adjust to 30 like you said or just leave it as is

[@CaptainCody7]

Good Question. Since those are the reel specs I would stick with that. Since it is not a really high drag reel the reel drag is the limiting factor, not the braided line strength. You can catch big fish with light drag for sure. If you are fighting big heavy slow-moving fish you likely could bump up the drag. However, for most fishing, it is better to stick within the reel specs. Otherwise, the drag might not be smooth causing the line to break. Thanks for watching!

[@Leoshade99]

where do you want your lever drag when you just have it anchored out? in free or with a little drag onit-

[@CaptainCody7]

It is definitely good to have some drag on it. Otherwise you could get a bad bird nest real quick if a fast moving fish bites. It depends on the fish but typically I have the drag all the way at the button. If it is a really fast fish like a wahoo, king mackerel, sailfish, etc. Then you probably only want about ten pounds of drag initially. Then add drag after it makes it's initial run.

[@Leoshade99]

@@CaptainCody7 ok thank you so much for the reply

[@anthonymuro4917]

Can you do this exact same thing with a fishing digital scale ?

[@CaptainCody7]

Maybe if it has a max reading setting. I have never tried but that is a good question.

[@marioh.4361]

great video and links

[@CaptainCody7]

Glad you found it helpful, thanks for watching!

[@kongxiong6005]

Lol without a belt or rod holder any drag over 15lbs is insane. Good luck holding that much drag. I'm not rich now to afford my own boat so I do chartering and most of my setups are between 6 and 10 lb of drag.

[@CaptainCody7]

Yeah, you make a good point. When fighting big fish the rod is usually left in the holder for most of the fight. The boat needs to be driven correctly for this to work though. Once the fish is tired then you can take it out. A belt or soft end on the rod makes it much more comfortable when fighting big fish.

[@kongxiong6005]

@@CaptainCody7 do you know of an easier way to measure drag? That tool you use is quite expensive and most places charge like $50+ for it. This for the videos though. Very helpful and easy to understand

[@CaptainCody7]

@@kongxiong6005 sure thing. That is the only way I know how to measure it to get the actual value. You can just pull by hand to get an estimate. I guess you could tie a weight to the line and lift up on the line. That would give you an estimate as well.