To loosen drags or not?

[VTFan]

Just wondering how many of you loosen your reel drags after every fishing trip?

[bloom]

not every trip, I try to remember to loosen at the end of the season.

[Loomis13]

Depends on how long it will be before the reels get used again. If it's going to be 1-2 weeks I just leave them alone. If it's gonna be a month or more I will loosen them. 

[Captain Phil]

I have never loosened my drags.  Then again, I fish with them constantly. When my drags wear out, I change the disks.

[Jig Man]

I used to but after forgetting to tighten them back and losing fish because of that I quit.

[Catt]

Set it & forget it ?

[T-Billy]

No need with modern carbon disks IMO. I don't even bother in the off season, and I've never had an issue.

[garroyo130]

Always loosen. If it's a rod I'm fishing often, more so because the last thing I want is to accidentally reel while rigged and snap the tip top.

[Bankbeater]

I loosen my drag on all the reels.   I don't want to snag the line on something and break the rod, or lose a guide.

[Mike L]

Always

Even if it isn’t necessary 

It takes a second to do and with a technique specific combo it takes even less to reset with no guesswork 
 

 

 

 

Mike

[volzfan59]

Always 

[Darth-Baiter]

I don’t.  Never knew it was a thing. I’m so tired when I get home. 

[GreenPig]

Loosen all drags just prior to pushing my boat in the garage. 

[NavyToad]

I’ve heard that with today’s drag washers it’s not necessary. Out of habit I loosen mine after every use.

[Tennessee Boy]

I don’t loosen mine.  I set my drag with a scale and when it fails to hold the desired weight I know it’s time to replace.  They seem to last about 30 years without loosening.

[Dwight Hottle]

If you have a down season like the guys up north just loosen them once a year. Then at the start of the new season reset them. Drags that are set heavy will take a set if never backed off at least that was the wisdom of the past. 

[WRB]

I grew up loosening drags it’s habit today. The older drag disk and cup washers took a set with a week creating a high start up force. Just loosening the drag and give the line a pull to check smoothness before re setting the drag force.

Tom

[Skunkmaster-k]

I loosen them after every trip out. 

[fin]

Ne'er.

[ghost]

I do. The drag washers will get compressed I'd left tight.

[papajoe222]

Even though I know it isn't necessary, I do it every time. It forces me to set my drag properly next time out.

[Columbia Craw]

End of season only.

[GRiver]

Never, don’t know if it matters, but my drags aren’t set very tight anyway. Use my thumb, I know it’s not the most consistent or probably the best way. Back in the day, the drags never worked that well anyways. 

[Mobasser]

I loosen mine out of habit. Been doing it for a long time.

[ike8120]

I always loosen mine when stored for the winter.