Loosening the drag on spinning reels

[Mobasser]

Do you loosen the drag on your spinning reels when your done fishing? I was told by a tackle repairman years ago to always do this. Or, is this a holdover from the days of leather drag washers on spinning reels? I still do it out of habit now. Any one else do this with spinning reels?

[A-Jay]

Yes - casting & spinning reels.

And it wise to remember to readjust them before the next cast.

A-Jay

[Mobasser]

Do you loosen the drag on your spinning reels when your done fishing? I was told by a tackle repairman years ago to always do this. Or, is this a holdover from the days of leather drag washers on spinning reels? I still do it out of habit now. Any one else do this with spinning reels?

[papajoe222]

Not on spinning reels. I’ll do it on baitcasters with greased washers, but I only have two that do, so it’s easy to remember which ones to do it to. 

[JustJames]

I do that on both my spinning and baitcaster, not every time when I'm done fishing but when I know I'm not gonna use them for awhile.

[DogBone_384]

I back off the drags on all of my reels when I'm not using them.  Nobody told me to do it, just made sense.

[OkobojiEagle]

daily... no

between seasons... yes

 

 

oe

[Scott F]

How would leaving the drag tight damage a spinning reel?

[Tywithay]

I have a couple that have been set at the same tension for over 5 years. They're still as smooth as the day I bought them. 

[Chowderhead]

Never would think to do this. I’m guessing helps prolong reel/drag life.

[tkunk]

12 hours ago, Scott F said:

How would leaving the drag tight damage a spinning reel?

I once left a casting reel's drag locked down over the winter, and the spring washers compressed from () to ||, so I couldn't get the drag tight once things thawed. I don't know if spinning reels have the same type of drag.

 

I keep the drag on my spinning reels super loose, so I'm not afraid of hurting anything. But I do loosen the drag on my casting reels every trip. The trick is to set it ridiculously loose, so it's impossible to forget to tighten it after your first cast. 

[Junger]

I do it naturally when I put the lure hook on the hook keeper.  I reel down to where the tip is flexing a little, then I loosen drag, and pull out just a little line to where the tip isn't flexed, but the line is taught.

[Crestliner2008]

I would always recommend loosening the reel drags on either style of reel. Talking with many tackle repair people, no one has ever told me this was a "bad" thing. Therefore, why not?

[PatrickKnight]

I loosen them up if they will be sitting for a while. If I am just between trips I dont bother with it.

[Adam.love05]

Good info. I have honestly never thought to do this.. but, in never doing it I have never had a reel had any problems. Some of mine might go two years in the closet before I use them, so I wouldn't worry to much about it.. 

None of me reels drags are locked down anyways, so maybe that makes a difference. 

[BrackishBassin]

I do it, but it’s a holdover saltwater habit. Every time I get back from fishing salt and/or brackish water, the drags get tightened all the way down and the whole rod and reel get washed down. Then I loosen them back up afterwards. So, I tend to do the loosening of the drag with my spinning gear even after fishing freshwater. It’s just a habit at this point. 

[Paul Roberts]

I do. And I don't even fish with drag. I back-reel. Backing the drag off just seems like the nice thing to do for my reels. 

[N Florida Mike]

Ive been bass fishing for 44 years and have not heard of this before. I havent had any trouble with drags except for the cheap reels Ive owned .

[BobP]

I set my drags fairly soft on spinning reels and don’t loosen them between trips.  But when rigging for the next outing, I’ll manipulate the drags back and forth to make sure they aren’t sticking.  Stuck drag + 6 lb line + big bass = lost fish.

[MassYak85]

If I know they are going to sit for a while I back off the drag on all my reels, casting or spinning. If I am going fishing the very next day I may or may not. The only time I really stress about it is when putting them away for the winter. 

[WRB]

If you tighten the drag down it collapses the spring washer that provides tension on the drag washers, that is how a drag works. If the spring washer is tightened all the way down it can take a set if left tight too long and loose it's spring memory ruining it.

Should back off the drag tension when not using the reel at the end of each outing and will continue to function for a long time. It's up to you how well the drag performs, or have a fish that got away story.

Tom

[OkobojiEagle]

Good point Tom.  I don't want to open my reels... somebody know if most current bait casting reels have uniform sized drag spring washers?

 

oe

[WRB]

No standard size or design even with the same reel mfr. The spring washers range from cup, wave and cionical or bevel. Some rear drag spinning reels use a different design that operates on the drive shaft in lieu of in the spool. Some spinning reels are more subject to outside debris getting into the drag washer stack, others are better sealed. 

Tom