Can you damage gears by tightening the drag and pulling a snag?

[ABU is overpriced]

I used to always tighten my drag, and pull the snag out by simply pulling on the rod. Did this with line up to 50lb. Then i completely stopped because i heard that it'll make your gear set "buzzy" and it'll lose its smoothness, so i rolled the line on whatever, and pulled the snag that way. The thing is, if you do it that way, with thiner diameters (15lb and under), it frays the braid, and weakens your line.

[bulldog1935]

yes, if your pull is hard enough and your gears are soft enough to "brinnell" (mar and change the gear teeth shape and contact pattern).  

This is the reason stainless steel gears are used in UK surf reels to permit higher drag loads (also in Stella - gears that improve with use and never wear).  

 

You see brinnelled pinion gears in many old Penn spinners pushed too hard

[ABU is overpriced]

3 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

yes, if your pull is hard enough and your gears soft enough to "brinnell" (mar and change the gear teeth shape and contact pattern).  

This is the reason stainless steel gears are used in UK surf reels to permit higher drag loads (also in Stella - gears that improve with use and never wear).  

So what line diameter would you say is safe to simply crank the drag and pull on the rod? I assume doing this with a 10lb braid won't affect the gear set?

[bulldog1935]

that's some obtuse sh, but if you're worried, wrap your line a few times around something solid and pull with that.  

[KP Duty]

Don't know about gears, but I jacked something up on an OG Scorpion 1000 trying to get my bait free.   I don't normally pull like that, but I was in a tournament, and didn't want to ask my boater to motor over to the bank.

 

[bulldog1935]

The other thing that can happen is bend the spool spindle.  

[ABU is overpriced]

32 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

that's some obtuse sh, but if you're worried, wrap your line a few times around something solid and pull with that.  

That's what i've been doing for a few years now, but it damages the line, especially smaller diameter braid.

[KP Duty]

5 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

The other thing that can happen is bend the spool spindle.  

Yea...that was what I thought happened, but didn't prove it.

[WRB]

Just keep a 6” wooden dowel to wrap the line around like a handle to break braid or pull the lure free. 
Tom

[FishTank]

I use one of these to wrap the line around and for tying leader knots. I've seen too many damaged reels that have been used as winches to pull out a snag to know better than to tighten the drag all the way down. 

 

[TnRiver46]

I wrap around the boat paddle if I’m stuck that bad. Usually something else bends or breaks well before the gears unless you are using ultra heavy lb test 

[MN Fisher]

Trying to pull free a snag with just the rod and reel?

 

[newapti5]

2 hours ago, ABU is overpriced said:

I used to always tighten my drag, and pull the snag out by simply pulling on the rod. Did this with line up to 50lb. Then i completely stopped because i heard that it'll make your gear set "buzzy" and it'll lose its smoothness, so i rolled the line on whatever, and pulled the snag that way. The thing is, if you do it that way, with thiner diameters (15lb and under), it frays the braid, and weakens your line.

 

It's not about what diameter of the line is; it's about how high you set the drag. If you crank up the drag so it's totally locked down, all the tension force on the fishing line will pass on to those tiny gear teeth, then to the AR bearing. With bass fishing, that tension force may not break the gear teeth or the AR bearing, but it sure will shorten the lifespan of gears, which means the reel will feel "geary" soon. When you set the drag too high, hard hookset and snag-pulling will definitely leave a visible mark on those teeth.  

 

Do what other suggested, with some rubber or EVA material as buffer so you won't fray the line. Or you could just wrap the line around your arm a few times (I assume you wear long sleeve shirts) and pull, but never directly with your reels.

[dodgeguy]

4 hours ago, ABU is overpriced said:

I used to always tighten my drag, and pull the snag out by simply pulling on the rod. Did this with line up to 50lb. Then i completely stopped because i heard that it'll make your gear set "buzzy" and it'll lose its smoothness, so i rolled the line on whatever, and pulled the snag that way. The thing is, if you do it that way, with thiner diameters (15lb and under), it frays the braid, and weakens your line.

get a 10 inch long 1 inch diameter wood dowel and wrap your braid around it and pull. problem solved.

2 hours ago, WRB said:

Just keep a 6” wooden dowel to wrap the line around like a handle to break braid or pull the lure free. 
Tom

i use a 10 inch so i can put both hands on it to pull. either way its the best way to go

[Junger]

I wrap the braid around my fish lip grippers a few times. Or I use braid to light leader so I can break the leader if needed.

[ABU is overpriced]

Wrapping it around the fish lip gripper handle is a good idea, but i wonder if braid isn't gonna slice through that, especially if i am trying to pull a snag with a 50 pound line.

And y'all think its safe to pull a snag by completely locking the drag, and pull on the rod when using small diameter line in the 8-10lb diameter, or that too isn't a good idea for the gear set?

[MN Fisher]

27 minutes ago, ABU is overpriced said:

And y'all think its safe to pull a snag by completely locking the drag, and pull on the rod when using small diameter line in the 8-10lb diameter, or that too isn't a good idea for the gear set?

If you're talking diameter - no....braid diameter equal to 10# mono is 30# braid.

 

Personally - I never use the rod/reel to pull free from snags...I use the wooden dowel method - always.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Why take the chance? Pulling snags with any reel is adusive and should be avoided. I’ve seen so many damages to rods and reels that were 100% avoidable. I have a piece of old broom handle that I use to pull on when necessary buts it’s rare if you pay attention to detail. 

[ABU is overpriced]

1 hour ago, MN Fisher said:

If you're talking diameter - no....braid diameter equal to 10# mono is 30# braid.

 

Personally - I never use the rod/reel to pull free from snags...I use the wooden dowel method - always.

No i mean 10lb test braid. I don't use mono.

[GetFishorDieTryin]

6 hours ago, bulldog1935 said:

This is the reason stainless steel gears are used in UK surf reels to permit higher drag loads

Other than most Japanese distance reels, the majority of surf spec reels are made with SS on SS.  Penn went to all stainless above Battle and ZB, VS and Visser have been SS forever. Honestly Im on the fence about it.  It more expensive, heavier for 95% of people, I don't think SS in necessary.

Stella uses SS? 

[MN Fisher]

5 minutes ago, ABU is overpriced said:

No i mean 10lb test braid. I don't use mono.

Even on my 10# Braid to 8# FC leader I use the dowel method...better safe than sorry.

[Bird]

I simply thumb the spool , spinning or casting and pull straight to break line, no stress on reel.

 

[newapti5]

1 hour ago, ABU is overpriced said:

No i mean 10lb test braid. I don't use mono.

 

Just image directly putting 8-10lb force on those gear teeth, because that's what happens when you lock down the drag. If you're confident that it won't leave a mark on brass teeth, or you don't care much about the reel smoothness when cranking, then go for it. Otherwise, like others said, why take the chance?

 

 

[ABU is overpriced]

12 hours ago, MN Fisher said:

Even on my 10# Braid to 8# FC leader I use the dowel method...better safe than sorry.

Will try to roll the line on my fish lip gripper next time i pull a snag and hope it doesn't fray the line.

[bulldog1935]

hmmm, Japanese

  

work-hardened brass = 175 HV

work-hardened stainless steel = 430 HV