Rudy1922 Posted July 1, 2014 Posted July 1, 2014 I noticed 2 days ago that I thumb the spool of my baitcaster while setting the hook. When I start my sweeping hook set I let the drag start to work and by the end of the hook set I'm thumbing the spool. I then take my thumb off and let the drag take over. I never noticed it until now. Bad Habit? Does anybody else do this? Will this damage my reels? Quote
Super User A-Jay Posted July 2, 2014 Super User Posted July 2, 2014 I noticed 2 days ago that I thumb the spool of my baitcaster while setting the hook. When I start my sweeping hook set I let the drag start to work and by the end of the hook set I'm thumbing the spool. I then take my thumb off and let the drag take over. I never noticed it until now. Bad Habit? Does anybody else do this? Will this damage my reels? You'll get different opinions on this but I'm going to say Very Bad Habit. I used to do it and I snapped Off Way Too Many Fish ! If a decent fish is heading the opposite direction - you can pop you're line a lot easier than you think. Additionally, any fray, nick or weak point in your line has less of a chance of survival to begin with but less chance to hold if you thumb the spool. Set the drag correctly and let it do it's job. Short story ~ one night after a fairly frustrating day on the water, I was complaining to my Dad that I hadn't landed many big fish that season. He asked me - "How many fish have you snapped off on the hook set ?" I said "5 or 6 I guess" He replied "Those were your Big Fish" I never thumbed the spool again. A-Jay 6 Quote
Super User Raul Posted July 2, 2014 Super User Posted July 2, 2014 What if accidentally you press the thumbar ? Let's suppose you press the thumbar completely, hmmmmmm, the mother of backlashes when the fish launches like a rocket and then ooooops the line breaks cuz it's all tangled. Or ..... Your thumb doesn't presses the thumbar completely and .... Godbye gear teeth ! 1 Quote
Rudy1922 Posted July 2, 2014 Author Posted July 2, 2014 Sounds like a bad habit. I'll stop doing it and thanks for the advice. Quote
Super User Maxximus Redneckus Posted July 2, 2014 Super User Posted July 2, 2014 Lmao what Raul said .yuup been ther down that how can a fish make a backlash worse the a tiny teeny tiiiny twig behind you ??? No way that fish is makin that spool go 30,000 rps Quote
Super User Deleted account Posted July 2, 2014 Super User Posted July 2, 2014 Depends, I fish my drags for bass either locked down or quite loose, depending on what lure I'm fishing, and the rod/line that I'm fishing it with. With locked down, obviously, there is no further action required. With a loose drag for cranks, poppers, finesse plastics and the like, I'm usually thumbing the spool on the hookset, and then letting the drag take over. I fish a Med of MH leaning towards Med rods a lot with these baits, so that helps a lot. It takes a lot of effort, bad knots, (or being silly and using flouro) to break off with anything over 6 lb test mono. Try this, tie a snap swivel with a 100% knot on your line and clip it to a chainlink fence or the like, walk back 20 feet or so, and try to break the line using the rod (don't blame me if you break the rod) its almost impossible. Quote
Super User A-Jay Posted July 2, 2014 Super User Posted July 2, 2014 Depends, I fish my drags for bass either locked down or quite loose, depending on what lure I'm fishing, and the rod/line that I'm fishing it with. With locked down, obviously, there is no further action required. With a loose drag for cranks, poppers, finesse plastics and the like, I'm usually thumbing the spool on the hookset, and then letting the drag take over. I fish a Med of MH leaning towards Med rods a lot with these baits, so that helps a lot. It takes a lot of effort, bad knots, (or being silly and using flouro) to break off with anything over 6 lb test mono. Try this, tie a snap swivel with a 100% knot on your line and clip it to a chainlink fence or the like, walk back 20 feet or so, and try to break the line using the rod (don't blame me if you break the rod) its almost impossible. As an "experiment" I'd agree with this - but as a stationary object, the fence does not accurately duplicate the same force as a bass swimming away. Additionally, standing on the ground may will not simulate what may be happening when fishing from a boat, which is free to move any number of directions both toward and or away from the fish. A-Jay Quote
Tim Kelly Posted July 2, 2014 Posted July 2, 2014 I can't remember ever snapping the line of the hook set. I've broken a couple of rods on hook set, but not the line. Surely breaking off on the hook set is as bad an angling practice as thumbing the spool. Unless your line has abraded and you haven't noticed (bad angling) you should only even be hook setting in a way appropriate to the technique and tackle you're fishing. If your tackle is balanced properly then the drag should slip before anything bad happens, whether you're dropshotting 6lb or flipping with 65lb braid. Other than that getting broken off should only be a pike or maybe a zebra mussel. Stuff goes wrong occasionally, but if you're regularly breaking off on fish your technique or tackle has to be faulty or poorly balanced. Quote
Super User Deleted account Posted July 2, 2014 Super User Posted July 2, 2014 As an "experiment" I'd agree with this - but as a stationary object, the fence does not accurately duplicate the same force as a bass swimming away. Additionally, standing on the ground may will not simulate what may be happening when fishing from a boat, which is free to move any number of directions both toward and or away from the fish. A-Jay Stand on a skateboard, clip it to your dog's collar and throw a MilBone®. Same results... 2 Quote
Super User Raul Posted July 2, 2014 Super User Posted July 2, 2014 Lmao what Raul said .yuup been ther down that how can a fish make a backlash worse the a tiny teeny tiiiny twig behind you ??? No way that fish is makin that spool go 30,000 rps Wanna bet it can happen ? Been there happened that. Quote
5dollarsplash Posted July 2, 2014 Posted July 2, 2014 Stand on a skateboard, clip it to your dog's collar and throw a MilBone®. Same results... This needed quoting, and I hope to see it used more often in other topics. Quote
FrogFreak Posted July 3, 2014 Posted July 3, 2014 Stand on a skateboard, clip it to your dog's collar and throw a MilBone®. Same results... I took your advice....I just got back from the emergency room. Has anyone seen my dog? 1 Quote
Fish_Whisperer Posted July 3, 2014 Posted July 3, 2014 When I went striper fishing using herring, it was important that we kept the spool disengaged so that the herring could move about and we could feed line freely. Because the line stayed tight most of the time, I was scared to engage the spool as soon as I got a strike, for fear of tearing gears up. Stripers typically don't ****** bait and sit still. I would set the hook holding down the spool with my thumb. Quote
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