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Fishing should be a "drag"
By Gary Poyssick

Here is yet another feature in our "How-To" Series, designed to help you advance your fish-catching skills. In this article we deal with the very important aspect of properly setting the drag on your reel, how it functions, and how this important feature works in concert with the rest of your tackle in achieving your goal of landing that lunker fish.

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The Drag System

The best way to understand how the drag system works is to visualize what’s happening inside your reel. First of all, setting the drag properly means that you can pull line off the reel with your hand. It shouldn’t be so tight that you can hardly pull it, nor so loose that it comes off too easily.

The best bet is to set the drag a little loose, and then tighten it down if you sense the fish isn’t too big.

The run

If your drag is set properly, not too tight and not too loose, a big fish will often run with the lure or bait. Don’t turn the handle if the fish is taking line off the reel – you’ll only succeed in twisting the line. If the fish is running, let him run. You might have to steer them away from structure, but you shouldn’t ever “horse” a fish. Horsing a fish means putting too much pressure on him in an attempt to get them to the boat. Let them tire, and bring them gently to the side.

Fighting the fish

Fish will often run once or twice, and then settle down to a hard tugging contest. That’s the time to gain line. When they get close enough to see you or the boat for the first time, they’ll sometimes get a second wind and take off again. Just be patient, pumping when you can, and you’ll win your share of the battles you get into.