When a fish is peeling line off casting reel, and you crank the handle?

[Darth-Baiter]

The drag is letting out line, and you happen to crank the reel; are gears being destroyed?   Or is it just slipping at the drag (more)?

 

 

 

 

 

[gim]

I brace my reel hand on the rod for leverage.  And when the drag stops, then I reel.

[garroyo130]

11 minutes ago, Darth-Baiter said:

The drag is letting out line, and you happen to crank the reel; are gears being destroyed?   Or is it just slipping at the drag (more)?

 

 

 

 

 

 

The drag is just slipping. 

[TOXIC]

Reeling against the drag gives you nothing and adds to premature wear on the drag system.  I don’t do it.  Options are to let the fish tire on the drag or reach down and tighten the drag depending on a lot of factors like line type and fish size.  There are a lot of times I purposely set my drag light and adjust during the fight.   Remember also, some like to backreel instead of using drag. 

[Tatulatard]

Winding under load winching in fish with high drag pressure is the reason bass anglers destroy so many gear sets.  So yeah you are doing some wear and tear on those gears cranking while the rod is loaded.  You are supposed to pump the rod and wind in slack.  This is proper technique used in angling elsewhere and why the same bass reels used to catch red fish won't suffer from the same excessive gear wear.  No one is locking down the drags on them and skiing in fish like we do with bass.

[Captain Phil]

A quality rotating spool casting reel will not be harmed by turning the handle as a fish pulls drag.  In the early years of bass fishing we never used a drag, we back reeled.  Reel drags have improved over the years making back reeling obsolete.  Some old timers like me still do. You do not want to turn the handle on a spinning reel while the drag is being pulled as this will twist your line. 

[Darth-Baiter]

Thanks.  Just trying to understand the mechanics. 
 

in my mind it’s slipping on the drag. 

[WRB]

16 minutes ago, Darth-Baiter said:

Thanks.  Just trying to understand the mechanics. 
 

in my mind it’s slipping on the drag. 

Correct!

[J Francho]

All it does is add wear and tear on the drag. 

The system literally protects from wear on the gears 

[Woody B]

My opinion is you're not hurting anything by reeling, but you aren't accomplishing anything either.   I'm not an expert, but I don't lose many big fish.   I frequently experiment with my rod, reel and line.  I'll tie my line off to something in my yard and get a feel for how much my line can take.  I also do this with knots.  When fishing I keep my drag fairly loose,  I'd guess 3 or 4 pound but I've never checked with a scale.  I thumb my reel for a good hookset then let the fish do what it wants for a while.  If it's headed toward cover, or somewhere I don't want it to go I'll thumb my reel to put additional pressure on it.  This is where experimenting in my yard helps me know how much pressure I can put on a fish.  Once I've got a bigger fish "turned around" I bring it to the boat my pumping the rod.  Reel while lowering the rod tip, thumb the reel, pick up the rod to pull the fish in, then repeat.   

 

It may not be the right way but it works for me.   I used to back reel like @Captain Phil but just use a light drag setting with my thumb lately.  When I was 12 I lose a HUGE bass by leaning on it too hard.   That's when I started experimenting by hooking my line to stuff in my yard.   A couple months later I caught a 20 pound striper.   

[Cbump]

19 hours ago, TOXIC said:

Remember also, some like to backreel instead of using drag

Can you back reel a casting reel? 

Edit: seems so after reading the rest of the posts, but I legit didn’t know this was a thing. 
 

 

 

[MN Fisher]

14 minutes ago, Cbump said:

Can you back reel a casting reel? 

Edit: seems so after reading the rest of the posts, but I legit didn’t know this was a thing.

Older round reels that didn't have AR, or if you've disabled the AR...otherwise no.

Kinda like how spinning reels are more-and-more removing the AR switch so there is no way to back-reel them.

[Cbump]

Maybe I catch weak bass but other than sometimes on the initial hit, they don’t pull drag on my casting reels. 
I probably keep It tighter than most and from most comments I read on here, I like heavier line than most. 

[J Francho]

1 hour ago, Cbump said:

Can you back reel a casting reel? 

Edit: seems so after reading the rest of the posts, but I legit didn’t know this was a thing. 
 

 

 

There were several Daiwa models that not only had a flipping switch but also a switch the disengaged the the dog and bone AR mechanism. These were low profile reels. The feature slowly disappeared as the 90s rolled on. It actually kind of nice if you were drifting natural baits for other species than bass. 

[Captain Phil]

2 hours ago, Woody B said:

I thumb my reel for a good hookset then let the fish do what it wants for a while.  If it's headed toward cover, or somewhere I don't want it to go I'll thumb my reel to put additional pressure on it.

 

 

Back in the earliest days of bass fishing, casting reels had no drag system.  Reel handles turned all the time, even on the cast.  This required heavy lures which is why all old bass lures were large chunks of metal or wood.  Experienced anglers became adept at anticipating what the fish was going to do when hooked.  Free spool reels and drag systems came out in the 50s.  One of the first manufacturers to offer these reels was Pflueger.  Back when I started fishing, the Pflueger Supreme was the ultimate bass casting reel.  

 

Once a big bass breaks you off, you start thinking about how to prevent this.  Drags are not always trustworthy.  Washers wear, dirt gums up the works and drags can stick.  When I bass fish, I never use the drag.  I lock it down and use my thumb.  I know what a big bass is going to do before it does it and I am ready to react.  With experience,  you will know the drill.  When a big fish surges, I push the free spool button and give line while holding spool pressure with my thumb. I have not been broken off by a big fish in decades.  This will not work when fishing in salt water.  A large tarpon, snook, striper or red fish will burn your thumb on the run.  This has never happened to me when bass fishing.  Maybe some day it will?  Maybe I'll catch a world record too?  Not likely.  ?

[WRB]

^^^^^this^^^^^my 1st Langley 330 & 340 casting reel were direct drive knuckle busters. Great casting reels, light weight 4 oz with drilled aluminum spools...but your thumb was your drag.

Tom

[Alex from GA]

I also used bait casters pre spinning reels with no drag and don't miss them at all.  I do have several 80s Shimano bait casters with switches that disengage the anti reverse and can back reel.  

[bulldog1935]

When a fish is peeling off drag, I usually have two hands on the rod.  

There's plenty of time to take in line.  

Direct answer to your question, there's nothing in the gears to hurt, and you're not moving them - but you are wearing the drag washers faster.  What you're really giving up is control of the fish, like keeping him from going under the boat.  

[WRB]

Fresh water bass are not fast running fish when hooked like most salt water fish. This means when fighting bass your goal is control keeping the fish in front of you and out of cover or structure damaging the line. 

The reel drag “set” at 1/3rd equal mono, Copoly, FC line prevents the line from breaking and enough force to control bass. You shouldn’t reel against the drag, simply add force using your thumb if needed.

Tom

[bulldog1935]

that may be true for reservoir bass, but river bass will make 2 trips into the backing.  

[J Francho]

I don't ever recall using two hands on a freshwater fish - including huge carp and king salmon - while it was pulling drag. Saltwater, yes that's another story, but that's a completely different deal. We're talking black bass. Maybe it's because I go to the gym?