Drag?

[SweetClover]

So this is embarrassing, but I have zero idea what a correct drag setting is, what it actually does, or when to adjust it. I also don't know how to tell what my drag is at, unless it's all the way up or down. Do you just estimate or am I missing something obvious...?

I'm sure there's some personal technique that goes into it all, but what is a good rule of thumb so I can actually set my rods properly?

[deathb4disco]

... but what is a good rule of thumb so I can actually set my rods properly?

20-30% of the breaking strain of your line is a good rule of thumb. So, for 6# line, 2# of drag would be about right.

If you want to measure it, hook your line to spring scale, and adjust your drag till it starts slipping at the 2# mark.

That said, perfect drag settings are not necessary for most crappie fishing, so I wouldn't lose sleep over it.

[deathb4disco]

Here's a good video. Instead of carrying a big weight around with me, I used to test my drag with stuff from the kitchen. For example, if I wanted to set my drag at 2#, I would get one of those little plastic bags you get from the grocery and fill it with two pounds of stuff (a bag of sugar or flour, one or two cereal boxes, etc.) It works just fine.

[SweetClover]

Oh sweet, that's useful.

[Crestliner08]

I believe most folks don't give drag much serious consideration when crappie fishing. I pay a little attention to it when I first start my season, by pulling from the reel by hand. After 60 years of fishing and having made mistakes along the way, I've learned what is appropriate for the species I'm targeting. I think this method is both adequate and correct, under most circumstances. Trial & error will certainly convince you as to what you need in short order. I've never used a scale to set a drag.

The other option is backreeling, which, we did quite a bit in decades gone by. Very reliable and efficient way to fight big fish. Not so sure it would work well with crappie however. We used backreeling because of the simple, more often inadequate, drags that were available to us back in those days. Technology has come a long way and competitiveness among manufacturers require a decent reel to have a decent drag. Besides, I enjoy listening to the "whirrr" of a drag!

[Hanr3]

I set my drag by hand. I pull line off the reel.
For crappie I set a real light drag. So light that I usually have to tighten the drag to reel the first fish in.
For larger fish I set a little heavier drag, repeat for first fish.

The goal is to have it loose enough that the fish can pull line when they take off, but not so loose that you can't reel them in when they aren't fighting.
A soft tip on the pole helps reduce the initial shock to the line when they fight back. You also want enough drag to set the hook, but not so much that you rip the hook out.

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