Fishing Reels Do’s & Don’ts: Drag Settings
Larry Lambourne
Larry Lambourne is a member of the Ottawa chapter for more than 25 years. His hobby is maintain and repair fishing reels.
This article was originally published in the Release Journal of Winter 2025 (Vol.48 Issue 4)
The drag system in your muskie reel is essential, offering protection for your reel and tackle components. It essentially acts like a pressure release valve. The factory drag rating for your reel has been determined by the components that make up the workings of your reel. If you were to exceed that rating, all of the excess force or pressure is transferred directly onto those components.
Yes, you have brass or stainless-steel gears in your reel, but that is only for the pinion and drive gear and sometimes the worm shaft. For the rest of the gears, such as the idler gears for driving the spool, worm shaft and transmission gear that drive the main gear are typically comprised of nylon. These are the ones that fail 99% of the time, not the metal gears. They make your reel feel smoother while also being sacrificial in nature for the more expensive components inside the reel.
Having the drag set too high also transfers these stresses to the spool bearings / bushings and the line guide. The axial pressure on the spool bearings changes the wear pattern and eventually wears the bearing or bushing unevenly. I’ve seen spool bushings worn in an oval shape. The same goes for the worm shaft and line guide pawl. A tremendous amount of pressure is exerted on these small but key components.
When casting or trolling, you should set your drag for the strike. If you make a long bomb cast, you want the drag set strong enough to set that hook solidly if a fish were to strike. When trolling, you want to set it to where a hard strike sets the hook but does not pull the bait out of the muskie’s mouth. As your line comes off your spool, the diameter of your spool decreases, causing your drag to increase. Conversely, your drag decreases as you reel your line in as your spool fills up and gets larger.
You can always tighten your drag as you reel in, if necessary. The bend in your rod can also compensate and add about 10 pounds of drag pressure. You may think you have a good drag setting before casting or letting your line out, but it can become locked down solid at the end of your cast. Having a strong and efficient drag system is crucial. Many anglers set their drag at a fixed spot and hope that it works correctly.
Many times, setting the drag is an afterthought that doesn’t become apparent until a fish is on the line.
Think about it. You have 100-pound test line, 250-pound test clips or swivels. You’re putting great stress on your reel trolling a large crank bait or double tens at a speed of 5 miles per hour, then you snag a stump or a big fish slams your bait bending your rod to its limit. If your drag is not set correctly, you can end up breaking your rod or something inside the reel.
If you’re lucky enough not to break anything, your reel just won’t feel or perform like it did before and has become a liability. A power handle can also exacerbate the damage as you have more cranking power that increases the stress on components. I commonly see this when people put a power handle on a 200 or 300 size reel and expect it to be as robust as a 400 sized reel.
So, remember to stop your spool before engaging the reel, and set your drag only after you have let your line out or made your cast.
Tight lines everyone… but not too tight!
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