12-10-2003, 07:56 PM
I know lots of guys here have become fans of the loose drag method.
But I have always been under the opinion that the way it is supposed to work is that you fight the fish with your rod, and then the drag. The idea being that you set your drag based on the rod you are using. You set the drag to function just before the rod reaches its maximum bend. Thats why rods are rated for line pound classes. They should be designed to have the proper ammount of give for the line class.
This way you are using the rod to fight your fish, and the drag is tight enough to ensure you get good solid hooksets, yet give when there is almost no more give in the rod.
This is why guys who use 4 lb test line on a 10 -15 lb line class rod often dont get much bend in thier poles, and have to set thier drag loose.
Now, if you set your drag light, so you dont max out your rod and break the line, you run the risk of having the line strip off the drag when you make the hookset like you did and then BLM will give you crap about it for a while. But thats only because he understands the concept and has his rods set up so the drag functions when it should and ensures he gets solid hooksets.
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But I have always been under the opinion that the way it is supposed to work is that you fight the fish with your rod, and then the drag. The idea being that you set your drag based on the rod you are using. You set the drag to function just before the rod reaches its maximum bend. Thats why rods are rated for line pound classes. They should be designed to have the proper ammount of give for the line class.
This way you are using the rod to fight your fish, and the drag is tight enough to ensure you get good solid hooksets, yet give when there is almost no more give in the rod.
This is why guys who use 4 lb test line on a 10 -15 lb line class rod often dont get much bend in thier poles, and have to set thier drag loose.
Now, if you set your drag light, so you dont max out your rod and break the line, you run the risk of having the line strip off the drag when you make the hookset like you did and then BLM will give you crap about it for a while. But thats only because he understands the concept and has his rods set up so the drag functions when it should and ensures he gets solid hooksets.
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