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tontotom
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Posted: Wed Jul 2nd, 2008 12:53 am |
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I am a very novice fisherman trolling for dorado mostly. I use 30-50# main line and was wondering what drag settings are best. I've read some who use almost freespool with the clicker on and others who set 25-30% of the mainline breaking strength right from the start.
How would this change if I was trying to target sails or marlin?
Thanks, Tom
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No Sniveling
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Posted: Wed Jul 2nd, 2008 01:15 am |
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Hi Tom,
You have two different questions there - what drag is used when I'm trolling, and what drag is used when I am fighting a fish. When you are pulling a bait (ballyhoo, mullet), you would use the "freespool and clicker" with some kind of clip - the outrigger clip with the line twisted to hold it, or a flatline or downrigger clip. The idea is that you need to be able to freespool the bait back to the fish after the initial strike, until the are running with it and you can put it in gear to set the hook. When pulling a lure, I use 20%-25% of the line strength - the reel is set with clicker on and "strike" position on the drag. If you are using star-drag reels, I suggest 20% or 10#s of drag, whichever is greater. As far as fighting a fish, my "strike" position is 25%, with my "full" position at 30% of line strength. If I can't achieve both, I resort to the 30% "full" as my fall-back choice. Others will have varying input, this is just what my buddies and I use.
Tight lines! 
Craig
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tecate
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Posted: Wed Jul 2nd, 2008 01:16 am |
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Tom
Rule of thumb if you are using a lever drag reel is 25% to 30% of the line test at the strike setting. For example, if you are using 30# test line, set your drag at 10#.
Suerte
Mateo
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barato
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Posted: Wed Jul 2nd, 2008 07:02 pm |
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| i'm confused again. i thought the functional difference between lever and star drag reels was simply ease of adjustment on the fly. yet both you gents' posts seem to imply that your advice is specific to one type of reel. am i missing something?
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fishingnut
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Posted: Wed Jul 2nd, 2008 08:28 pm |
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The better lever drag reels have a much smoother action with very little restance at the start of the run. In contrast most star drag reels have somewhat of a "spike" in resistance when they start. Also, the lever drag will normally handle really fast runs like a sailfish, marlin, wahoo or tuna do without overheating. In contrast the star drag reels with the very small diameter heat up really quick...that is where the word "smoker" came from..the older reels would actually start smoking and we had to pour water on them with a really hot fish just to keep them from burning up. The higher the setting, the more resistance on the drag. That is why if you are fishing blue water with a star drag it is normally set at a lower resistance setting. At this stage of my fishing my minimum line is 50# spectra which has the same diameter as 12# mono. Most of the time I set that at between 12 and 15 pounds of strike drag. That seems to work well. The variable from trolling or baiting is the time to strike. If you use mono you must also allow for the high drag resistance of the water for a fast running fish...you may have to back off the drag to just keep it from backlashing untill the fish slows down. If a fast fish makes a sharp turn and creates a loop in the mono line there is a real risk of the line breaking if you do not have the drag backed off quickly. The other big advantage of a lever drag is being able to change your settings very quickly..some of the better reels have settings or numbers you can return to very easily. Good luck with those dorado.
fishingnut
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Stuart
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Posted: Wed Jul 2nd, 2008 09:09 pm |
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The marlin I caught last week was on a "smoker" (star drag Daiwa 450H spooled with 100 lb. PowerPro). Surprisingly enough, they've proved to be great marlin reels, even though I primarily use them for bottom fishing. And yes, they *do* get hot after the hookset and initial run. I have a set of gloves I immediately slip on, having gotten burnt on the cast frame of these reels during marlin fights in the past. I use two of these, as well as two Penn 15KG two-speed lever drag reels. I check the drags by hand (not an exact science) as I drop back lures and baits into the spread. Typically, I set the drag fairly tight, but loose enough that I can still pull line off by hand without an excessive amount of force. Always seems to provide a good hookset. Others will argue that they go with no drag and just clickers in order to drop back the bait, but my method has worked well for me. Different strokes for different folks.
I prefer the lever drags, and especially the two speeds, since you can go into low gear and really crank on a fish if you need to. Normally, I don't change the drag setting during the fight. If the fish wants to run, I want to have the drag loose enough for him to do so, but still provide just enough pressure to wear him down. Took 25 minutes to boat and release the marlin last week. We did back down on him, but kept the pressure steady. He made four runs and the drag was flawless.
I change the drag washers and lube my reels regularly, nearly every season, depending on how much use the reels have gotten. This is extremely important. I also completely back off the drag whenever I'm not using the reels to keep the washers from compressing and flattening out. I just serviced a friend's Penn reel for him and asked when the last time was he changed out the drag washers. Uhhhhh, never. They crumbled in my hands when I took the reel apart. Good thing he didn't have a fish on with it!
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barato
Member
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Posted: Wed Jul 2nd, 2008 10:00 pm |
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wow! thanks for the education. i'm still using star drag reels til i can afford upgrade, but i've prepped them with help of Alan Tani's tutorials on Bloody Decks and upgraded washers to Smoooth Drag ones. i'll keep a set of gloves handy...sounds like a set of fingerless ones are good idea anyway this time of year, with the jellyfish.
even if most of the pelagics i catch are in my dreams......
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Posted: Thu Jul 3rd, 2008 01:35 am |
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barato wrote: i'm confused again. i thought the functional difference between lever and star drag reels was simply ease of adjustment on the fly. yet both you gents' posts seem to imply that your advice is specific to one type of reel. am i missing something?
1. Fundamental difference is lever drag has one control that goes from zero drag at freespool to a preset drag setting at "strike" with a safety button that allows you to increase to "full" when pressed. The setting at "strike" is repeatable, allowing you to reduce drag (to get a rod out of a holder, pass around an obstacle) and return to the same preset without going over the desired drag setting. A star drag uses one device (lever) to engage/disengage the drive gears for freespool, and the star tensioning nut to set the drag tension. The problem here is repeatability - you can set it to a specific tension, but have no way to get back to that tension if you back off, and no way to know how much more you can add before you have trouble. I used star drags for 40 years and still use them for jigging - you develop a "feel" for how hard you're pulling. The thing is, when I'm pulling my 12" Lumo Sprocket (put it on the long rigger and leave it there! ) if the BIG MOMMA grabs it, I can't afford to guess on my drag.
Oh, and all my lever drags are two-speeds that you just won't find in a star drag - VERY handy for the ones that don't give up for an hour or more!
Tight Lines!
Craig
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tontotom
Member
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Posted: Thu Jul 3rd, 2008 02:33 am |
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Thanks to all for the comments and training.
One final question, if you preset some level of drag is the fish setting the hook? I guess this would also depend on circle hooks vs J hooks?
I hope this isn't too simple for those who have a lot of expirence. I only get a couple of shots a year and my next trip will be September. Getting ready and getting pumped up.
Tom
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Posted: Thu Jul 3rd, 2008 06:17 am |
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tontotom wrote: Thanks to all for the comments and training.
One final question, if you preset some level of drag is the fish setting the hook? I guess this would also depend on circle hooks vs J hooks?
I hope this isn't too simple for those who have a lot of expirence. I only get a couple of shots a year and my next trip will be September. Getting ready and getting pumped up.
Tom
Best case, yes, the fish is setting the hook. Circle hooks, there is NO hookset except to tighten the line - requires skill, training, correct rigging, and patience. Using J-hooks with lures is almost a "no-brainer" - the drag is tight, the fish hits it, he is hooked or not - he comes back if not, or goes to another lure/bait. J-hook bait is a 50/50, bit and hooked, versus bit and drop back until they have it - THEN you have to set the hook. Practice, practice, practice......
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