Finally fixed this issue

[Kenny Yi]

Prior till the last month, my bite-to-hook percentage on a jig was at an abismal 50%.  I spent a long time trying different hookset styles, different lines, different types of jigs, different hooks, but I just couldn't figure out why I seemed to "miss" the fish.  for some reason, I began looking into drag power as the solution, but my thinking was wrong.  I assumed that I needed more drag, I was fooled into thinking my Curado DC's 12lb max drag wasn't enough to drive the hook home, I honestly believe i was fooled by modern marketing and its reels that boasted 25lb drag.  I browsed an old topic on drag and had found out (I believe it was @WRB) that most hooksets don't require more than 5lbs, so cranking down drag to 12lbs would just rip the bait right out of the fish's mouth.  

 

I am using 15lb Seaguar Red Label, so I set my drag to approximately 7-8lbs to account for stretch and to have a little bit of stopping power, I HAVE NOT MISSED A FISH SINCE.

[Catt]

[LrgmouthShad]

Yeppers. Most of the time my drag is set about 4lbs. On another note, when my "spinnerbait" rod was a medium heavy, fast action, I noticed my hookup ratio was poor compared to another medium, fast action. I concluded that the rod must be ripping the lure out of the fish's mouth. Switched to a moderate fast taper with most recent rod, and it gets em good. Right tool for right job

[Catt]

8 minutes ago, LrgmouthShad said:

Right tool for right job

 

My spinnerbait rod is a Medium Heavy X-Fast but I throw em on monofilament, tradeoff for the rod action. Now I'm usually throwing a 1/2 oz spinnerbait with a rather large hook.

 

The right tool is the one that works for you. 

 

Plus my hooksets aren't like that with a jig, with spinnerbaits ya gotta let em load the rod first.

[the reel ess]

I have the drag on my pitching combo just about cinched down. I use straight 30# braid. I pitch jigs into heavy wood cover and I don't like to give the fish an inch until it's out of the rough stuff. To me, you just can't set the hook hard enough on a jig bite. I've had some savage hooksets only to see the fish come up and spit it. It seems the bigger the fish, the more likely you are to set it well.

[Catt]

31 minutes ago, the reel ess said:

I've had some savage hooksets only to see the fish come up and spit it.

 

It is said of Greg Hackney that he has the most violent hookset of all the Pros. 

[LrgmouthShad]

1 hour ago, Catt said:

My spinnerbait rod is a Medium Heavy X-Fast but I throw em on monofilament, tradeoff for the rod action

Alright. I will hijack thread if I talk longer about this. When I was using medium heavy, fast I was also throwing braid to leader which I believe was just too much. I prefer moderate fast for forgiveness and increased casting distance when desired. 

 

1 hour ago, the reel ess said:

I have the drag on my pitching combo just about cinched down. I use straight 30# braid. I pitch jigs into heavy wood cover and I don't like to give the fish an inch until it's out of the rough stuff. To me, you just can't set the hook hard enough on a jig bite. I've had some savage hooksets only to see the fish come up and spit it. It seems the bigger the fish, the more likely you are to set it well.

I have drag much tighter on flipping setup

[CrankFate]

One thing that always gets me is that no matter what your drag is set to on almost all low profile baitcasters, the drag will slip on the hook set on just about any reel with less than 15-20lbs of max drag. It does not do that on a quality conventional reel set to only 4 or 5 pounds of drag. It gets really annoying sometimes.

[Kenny Yi]

39 minutes ago, CrankFate said:

One thing that always gets me is that no matter what your drag is set to on almost all low profile baitcasters, the drag will slip on the hook set on just about any reel with less than 15-20lbs of max drag. It does not do that on a quality conventional reel set to only 4 or 5 pounds of drag. It gets really annoying sometimes.

That's why I thought more drag was necessary, but I don't use heavy jigs, so it was only a medium hook

[gunsinger]

How does one go about measuring the drag?  Do you just hook your fish scale to the end of the line and pull until the drag gives while watching the scale?

[bulldog1935]

Except to prevent shock and impact breaks, your drag should be set to 1/4 of your weakest link - line, leader, or rod max line rating.  

Shock loading is considered 4x to 10x the static load - you can break something before your drag has time to pay.  

If you need more for hookset, thumb on spool.  

Inshore, we fish a neutral density dog-walking plastic on swimbait hook called TSL grasswalker - takes honking sets to make this hook penetrate.  We get it with braid and spool-thumbing.  

 

measuring drag - I use my Salter spring balance at the first guide. 

[Rich12]

I keep my drag screwed all the way down.  Always have.  When I have a big fish on, as it gets close to the boat, I back my drag all the way off and use my thumb on the spool.  That way, I can control the amount of drag I need or no drag at all.   When that 10 or 12 pounder is next to the boat and decides she is going back down, you want very little drag till she gets some distance then down and tighten up with the thumb.  Never lost a really big fish doing this.  I have had big girls tear off or break off making that last move when using my drag.

 

[bulldog1935]

5 lbs drag is sheetloads.  

7 lbs is enough for offshore.  

Until you measure it, you really won't know.  Talk's cheap.  

 

[CrankFate]

On 8/18/2021 at 11:40 AM, Kenny Yi said:

That's why I thought more drag was necessary, but I don't use heavy jigs, so it was only a medium hook

It’s a weird thing about low profile reels. When I use an Avet SX set to 4-5lbs no matter what is on the other end, once it hits the dog the drag isn’t slipping until after the hook is in. I hate that I love the sound of that click when it hits the dog.

[bulldog1935]

slamming dogs, though, is exactly what causes shock breaks in your line.  

Before A/R bearings, the thing I hated worst was having a dog go out on my BB-1 - I replaced 3 of them.  

Instantly, you need a 3rd hand if you're going to net that hog.  

 

[papajoe222]

On 8/18/2021 at 10:00 AM, CrankFate said:

One thing that always gets me is that no matter what your drag is set to on almost all low profile baitcasters, the drag will slip on the hook set on just about any reel with less than 15-20lbs of max drag. It does not do that on a quality conventional reel set to only 4 or 5 pounds of drag. It gets really annoying sometimes.

I have to disagree. Back in the day, most baitcasters, including low profile ones had drag ratings of 8lb. or 9lb. and I never had, and still don't have, slippage on the hook set unless I have the drag set extremely light. 

[T-Billy]

IMO, ya gotta have a little give somewhere. Where you get it is a matter of personal preference, at least with heavier tackle. Can be line choice, rod, or drag. I've been on a rod buying spree lately as I've gone to straight braid almost exclusively on my baitcasters. Braid and fast rods isn't a good combination for me. It results in torn mouths, slack line, and lost fish.

By going to more moderate taper rods, I've greatly reduced mouth tears on hooksets, the rod stays loaded during the fight and I'm losing very few fish. Much easier on the hands when I crack a fish too. Another benefit is the way a softer rod slingshots fish out of cover. It's been a real eye opener for me. I keep the drag locked down when fishing 30# and up braid and let the rod do the work. The faster you can winch 'em to the boat the less chances they have to throw the hook.

Lighter tackle is a different story. A properly set quality drag is key, no matter what type of rod and line your using.

[CrankFate]

On 8/20/2021 at 11:04 PM, papajoe222 said:

I have to disagree. Back in the day, most baitcasters, including low profile ones had drag ratings of 8lb. or 9lb. and I never had, and still don't have, slippage on the hook set unless I have the drag set extremely light. 

It’s possible. I find that this issue is worst when fishing vertical. Vertical, I get slippage even locked down. I also think it might be the gear ratio, I fish 7-8 speed reels. People say there’s less slip with slower reels. Though I don’t understand how gear ratio could matter.

 

Note: all of my reels have greased drags.

[redmeansdistortion]

I fish king salmon in the rivers with 5lb of drag and have no slippage whatsoever setting the hook in their rock hard mouths.  Bass have paper thin mouths by comparison.  If you're getting slippage, make sure it isn't your line slipping on the spool.  A properly functioning drag shouldn't slip on the hookset unless you're running it way too light.

[islandbass]

On 8/18/2021 at 8:00 AM, CrankFate said:

One thing that always gets me is that no matter what your drag is set to on almost all low profile baitcasters, the drag will slip on the hook set on just about any reel with less than 15-20lbs of max drag. It does not do that on a quality conventional reel set to only 4 or 5 pounds of drag. It gets really annoying sometimes.

Luckily, that is compensated for by “thumb drag” lol. I’ve had it happen occasionally but since I didn’t know any better I thought that was normal. It has never cost me a fish. Come to think of it, maybe my drag slippage is the result of setting my drag lighter than I thought.  
 

 

[newapti5]

Nowadays, I would set the drag around ~3 pound, even while fishing a jig. When I need to set the hook, I just press down my thumb on the spool to give a proper amount of "booster" drag, depending on what kind of hook I am using. And after a solid hookset, I just let go the thumb, and let the smooth drag do the fighting. IMO, the higher to set the drag, the easier to damage the gears in reels. Plus, I am too lazy to adjust drag back and forth for every hookset.