To loosen drags or not?

[Eric 26]

I’m in the @herder and @gimruis club with the biggest difference being I haven’t been fishing nearly as long or have as much time on the water as these 2 gentlemen.

[ironbjorn]

No, and I've never had issue. And I've never needed a switch to back reel on a spinning reel. And I've never had a rod take a bend from leaning against something. And I've never had braid put grooves in guides. Or anything else people say can happen, other than storing wet tackle and baits causing rust if not dried off first.

[WRB]

On 8/27/2023 at 12:32 PM, WRB said:

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

I am finicky about proper functioning smooth drags. Since I use line with lighter pound test then the fish weight setting the 1/3 the line strength using dead weight is essential to preventing line/knot failure.

Check your drag for smooth operation and set properly every outing you never know the next hook set could be a fish if a lifetime.

Tom

[DogBone_384]

When I remember to, yes.

[LionHeart]

Had some of my reels for 7-8 seasons and haven't touched the drag since I first set it.  Haven't seen any difference in performance.

 

If you like to loosen your drag, I can't see any harm, but in my experience there is no reason to.  I'm the type that would forget to reset it until I tried to set a hook.

[MassYak85]

I got in the habit of it. If it helps preserve the drag stack a bit great, but it also keeps me honest to set the drag appropriate for each time out.

[Crow Horse]

Loosen as soon as I'm off the water. Old habits die hard.