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Dolphinman432
Posts: 148 Officer
Whats the right drag setting?!
Dolphinman432
Posts: 148 Officer
To be a little more specific, does anyone know what is considered to be the "correct" drag setting for trolling? Im a frequent troller myself, and i prefer my drags to be set right at 7.5lbs at strike. Yet I fish with other people who like less, and one buddy in particular who likes to set his drags at 18-21lbs. I know there is a rule of thumb to set your drag to 1/3 or your lines breaking strength, but that can be extremely tight or loose at times. Any other opinions as to what the "best" is?
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http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?303-8-21-10-FPI-Crazzzy-Day-Offshore-Fishing-Trip
Generally speaking for local trolling targeting sailfish and dolphin, I set strike drags on my reels at 5 lbs while using 20 lb test. On a very big dolphin you can easily push the drag all the way up to full without fear of breaking the fish off providing they aren't 500 yards away from the boat.
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I know how to operate my reels, im just curious of what everyone else sets their reels at while trolling
“Everyone behaves badly--given the chance.”
― Ernest Hemingway
there is no set drag for trolling it all depends on too many factors what you're pulling how fast your going if you're pulling a naked ballyhoo you may only need one or two pounds of drag at 5 knots if you put a planer on it now you may have to go up to 10 to Keep line from going out if you're high speed trolling with three pounds 3 pounds of lead and a large lure you may have to hit Strike Condition or go past it what I do is when I let my line out i put the rod in the holder and adjust the drag for four or five pounds of drag pressure to pull the line out. you don't want it to feel like its in free spool but you don't want it to be locked down either
http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?303-8-21-10-FPI-Crazzzy-Day-Offshore-Fishing-Trip
there is no set drag for trolling it all depends on too many factors what you're pulling how fast your going if you're pulling a naked ballyhoo you may only need one or two pounds of drag at 5 knots if you put a planer on it now you may have to go up to 10 to Keep line from going out if you're high speed trolling with three pounds 3 pounds of lead and a large lure you may have to hit Strike Condition or go past it what I do is when I let my line out i put the rod in the holder and adjust the drag for four or five pounds of drag pressure to pull the line out. you don't want it to feel like its in free spool but you don't want it to be locked down either[/QUOTE]
This really sums it up. So why would Captain Dave give you a number? Well my guess is because he strikes me as a very consistent fisherman; he both catches fish consistently and targets them with very consistent methods: the same lure/bait combinations, same rigger tension and height, etc. Also since he is fishing 20# line, he has less range available.
For me, I fish 30# rated Diamond (tests closer to 40) and being a lure junky, I fish a continuously evolving spread. Different lures need different amounts of drag applied to keep from slipping, and it then further varies with position in the spread, use or not of flat line clips, trolling speed, and sea conditions. I tend to set 10-12# at strike position on my TLDs, and troll with the lever backed well down. Generally I troll with just enough to keep the lure from creeping and enough to open the rigger clip. I particularly like minimal drag on my shotgun/WWB as it is often something small or non-popping, thus the light drag helps indicate weed on this bait. If it has been holding position and suddenly starts a slow creep, I know we need to check that bait. A good sharp hook doesn't need tons of drag to set well.
How did you arrive at 7.5#? Why does 0.5# either way matter? This is based on your "right at 7.5" statement?
In June I was fishing 130# main line for marlin (not here) using 12-16" lures. The reels were scaled for 37-40# at strike as I recall, and we trolled with them down around 17 I think. Again range becomes an issue in my opinion -- I'm not sure you needed that much drag while trolling, but to have approaching 40 at strike you limit the low end. We used up around 45-50# during at least one fight. I'd want less trolling drag on these rigs for inexperienced or smaller anglers -- moving an 80W or 130 on a long bent butt chair rod from the covering board to the chair at 15-20# of drag requires effort and concentration. Again, just an example of different situations leading to different drag settings.
You are correct... in the big picture repetition leads to consistency.
That part sounds correct on paper, but it's actually not true. We have a tremendous amount of range in our drag settings depending on what we hook and how they are fighting. The reality is that it only takes one or two pounds of pressure to "set" a properly sharpened hook into any fish, including sailfish and marlin. Everyone thinks you need tons of pressure to drive a hook in but that's simply not so.
I spool all our TLD trolling outfits with "20 lb" Momoi Diamond mono, but their "20 lb" rated Diamond line actually has a breaking strength at roughly 38-39 lbs., despite being extremely thin. Spooling this specific line on our reels accomplishes several things:
We hold about 800 yards of Diamond on each TLD 25. We obviously don't need that much line on the reel for what we are doing in SE Florida, but I'm constantly cutting back the last 100' of mono off each outfit after ever couple trips where we catch nice fish so as not to risk breaking a quality fish off. With all of that cutting back so often through a season, I'll still always have plenty of line left to fish with before eventually re-spooling every spring.
Doing this keeps good fresh line at the forefront with no nicks or abrasion to worry about whenever we hook up a nice fish.
This also gives me great confidence to go after any fish aggressively and get it in the boat fast or to get a billfish close for a quick, healthy release. There's no worse feeling then hooking what may be a fish of a lifetime for your guest and then worrying if the line is going to hold up during the fish.
We never leave the dock without all of our tackle being 100% ready for war. I know I strayed a bit off topic, but it all ties together at the end of the day.
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I set my reels at about 25% of line test at strike. The variation is based on the tackle and target. For 30lb tackle, I use 7lbs as I'm usually using them for local phins, sails, etc and I'm more likely to have kids on the boat. Heavy drag settings are less forgiving and harder to handle with standup.
On my 50s, I use 14 lbs at strike. Here I'm hoping to fight wahoo or tuna. With tuna, you can leave a lighter setting for the big runs, then, push it up to get them up during the death circle and hopefully beat the Sharks. When the drag is pushed past strike, a kidney harness is a big help. With hoos, the rod stays in the gunwale and drag is adjusted to prevent slippage while dragging a lot of lead.
In all cases, you can add drag with your fingers if needed. Btw, I use my Boga grip on the snap swivel or hook to set the drag. Someone holds the Boga at an angle off the rod tip while I'm lifting the rod until the drag slips.
Hewes 18' RF Y130 Flatfoot
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That's a great point you made. We also set our drags with a certified Manley spring scale while leaving a rod in the rocket launcher and pulling from the dock behind the boat as if we were a fish out back. That bend in the rod (when under load) puts additional pressure on the line as well. We may only have the drag at the reel set at roughly 4 lbs for our 20 lb line, yet when pulled with a scale from behind the boat with a bend in the rod it shows around 5 lbs. The devil's often in the details.
Love talking about all this technical stuff. This is how the forum used to be that made it so great back in the day.
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This. So much this!
I love talking about these finer points, these details of fishing technique. I hope you all understood the high regard I hold Captain Dave as a fisherman in my comments above; it is fairly rare to catch with consistency the quality that Dave does. Being around anglers like him will make you better -- you get to watch the fine points of the detail they apply to something as "simple" as fishing. I've fished with a lure maker and former serious charter mate a couple of times; each time I come away with a new appreciation for a detail (or three) that can make me better if I apply it to my situation. I believe it is with great experience and practice that you can make this level of detail simple.
I too like to set drags with a scale. I do it in the driveway with the boat on the trailer. I put the rod in the covering board and attach the snap swivel to the scale. I walk straight away from the stern several times and average the last few readings. You need the first couple to warm up the drag. This is also a good time to watch for "stickyness" in your drags -- the rod tip should not dip and pop. If the drag isn't smoothly and consistently slipping as you walk away, you should look at servicing your drag (clean and potentially grease, with DRAG grease, all drag surfaces). I like to test at multiple positions, not just "strike". If you're going to fish light tackle where you might catch a big fish (like fishing TLD 15-30 off South Florida), you need to know if you can really jam the lever to sunset. I know I can, and based on Captain Dave saying he's fishing 20# Diamond with 5# at strike, I'd bet a beer he can too. Most lines over test, which is what lets us think we have a chance against BIG fish that might hit our light (but nice to fish with) tackle off South Florida. Extra line capacity give you time to react with the boat.
footankleg makes reference to a very good point that is worth repeating: the ability to fish more than moderate amounts of drag on stand up gear, particularly without a real kidney harness, is really limited. Yes, I know Avet makes a 50 class reel that is advertised to produce upwards of 100 pounds of drag. I don't believe that is a realistic drag setting to fish. Until you've fished 47# of drag on a 130 with a full bucket harness and a chair, I don't think you should try to fish 50-100# of drag on stand up gear.
However, with this I'm slipping away from the original topic -- trolling drag settings off South Florida. For that several of us are saying, I think we are doing this with overlapping philosophy while fishing different line strengths.