Rear Drag Spinning reels

[J-Man6927]

I was looking at a Shimano Symetre REAR-DRAG reel (1500 FJ) the other day.  Never used one, any of you guys own a rear drag spinner? Prefer them?  Any advantages to them?

[swilly78]

I own a couple, don't care for them.  Its just due to my own preference though, I haven't found them to be lacking in any way.

[burleytog]

Rear drags are more prone to sticking.  Not as smooth as a front drag.

[Triton20XSD]

I agree with the rear drags being more prone to sticking.  Front drags seem to be much smoother.

[Rich Tehan]

I own one, and I like where the dial is.  It is convenient for in-battle-adjustment.

[The Rooster]

Advantage to rear drag spinning reels.........quick adjustments during a fight.  Ability to quickly change spools of line without having to readjust the drag again, just pop off and pop on.  If you string your rod up and forget to loop the line under the bail first, no problem, pop it off, open the bail and pop it back on again. 

Advantage to front drag spinning reels..........larger drag washers so they might disipate heat better for fighting fish that tend to run a lot.  Also when a reel comes with a spare spool you are getting an extra set of drag washers built right into the spare spool vs. a rear drag only has just the one (much smaller) set.  Also having the drag applied right at the spool seems mechanically to me like it would just work better since the rear drag reels have to turn the entire shaft from end to end of the reel for it to work vs. the front drag reel only has to have the spool spin on the shaft right there by the drag washers.  Less moving parts this way.  If you have a reel that has spool bearings so the spool spins even easier then it's so much the better but the rear drag reel turning the shaft means it rotates with some added friction as it passes through the pinion gear inside regardless of bearings.  Who knows, that might actually add to the drag (very minutely) but it will definitely add to the wear factor over time. 

For years I fished with rear drag reels, that's all I would use.  Began using front drag reels about 3 years ago and have loved them so much I don't miss the rear drag.  I don't find it all that hard to adjust it during a fight either.  And I think the drag pays out smoother too.

[Grey Wolf]

Front drag only user here. Bigger and better drag. If you set your drag correctly , you should never have to adjust your drag during your retrieval of a fish.

[MarauderYak]

If ease of use is your primary concern, go with rear drag.  If landing fish is your primary concern, go with front drag.

[BenoBreath]

I own a couple of older rear drag Shimanos. Lost a few fish on them, by trying to adjust the drag. I let the kids use them now.

I'd go with the front drag reels.

BB

[Raul]

You don 't need to adjust the drag on that reel ( no need to turn the knob ), it 's got Fighting Drag II system, you set your drag to the desired pressure, in case you need to increase the drag all you have to do is to move the lever to the right and the drag setting increases by 50 % of what you have set, lever in the middle = waht you set, lever to the left 50% less of what you set.

I 've got a couple of Solstaces with that system and it does come handy.

[IwillChooseFreeWill]

I use both without a problem.  Usually for larger bait rods (1/2oz or bigger lures), I prefer the front drag but otherwise it makes no difference to me.

[bear7625]

I still have a couple reels with the rear drag and they work great. I went back to front drag because I feel they preform better. I have a Symetre 2500 FD and never have had any problems.

[Rebbasser]

Good info! I am planning on getting another Symetre-if you are thinking about getting one you will not regret it-and was debating getting a rear drag.  Y'all made up my mind for me-front drag.

[J-Man6927]

Appreciate all the feedback.  I plan to buy a Sienna or Symetre Rear drag to satisfy my curiousity, if nothing else.  Good fishing to you all this season.

[J Francho]

There's a few guys in my club that like them for the fact that they can switch the spools easily on the water without fear of losing parts.  I honestly don't see too much difference in the drag systems, other than the rear drag is pretty well sealed, and difficult to service.  I've never had one, but I've serviced many.

[.RM.]

I own 5 rear drag Shimano' SP reels.

Properly cared for and maintained they are fine reels and as stated easier to use when fighting fish.

Have seen and service many RD spinning reels, and will agree that they can be sticky.

But the angler/s using them must remember that it takes a lot of fighting torque to turn the spool axel with drags pads in front set tight, and, even more to turn rear pads set to tight...

Just a thought...

Tight Lines All!!!

[PondHunter]

I have 2 2500's and a 4000 Symetre reels with the fightin' drag and really like them.  I set it tight to set the hook, then dial it back to land them.

[piscivorous Pike]

I use 6 Shimano spirex rear drag. The handles are doubled and balanced. The rotor is balanced. The rods all have counter weighted butts. Balance everything makes it smooth and less tiring for long hours casting.

Rear drag with the fighting drag allows for quick changed of pressure while fighting the fish, and adjusting to the correct pressure for the species in mixed species water.

I have many spools which you can change lines quickly with RD. RD is easier, quicker to adjust to the line change.

I fish mostly braid and rarely bass, usually large trouts and Norhern Pike.

Using 4000 size real is a large spool so with mono is puts less twist in the line, large is better for ultra light, small spools twist up line.

I set drag by the least test weight, whether that be the rod rating or line rating. I set it with a scale with the fighting drag set at its highest setting to be 1/3 the test rating, e.g. 12# is set at 4#. I fish with the fighting drag set about 1/3 down from maximum setting. After hook set and the first run you can start to bring that drag up very easy and put pressure on the fish. My heaviest rods use 20# test, set at 6-7#s and I often use 50# braid on these.

For fish with soft mouths, crappie and lake white fish and kokanee salmon, I will after setting the drag throw the fighting drag to the least setting so not to tear off lips. On the other end while fishing single hook lures for big pike they often use big hooks that are difficult to push through that big bill pike have. I set the drag max setting and after hook up immediately back off until the fish tires, then bring it back up to bring them in.

An example of compatability is illustrated in water that I have fished that contained big lake trout, bull trout, and pike. Soon after hook up usuallly can tell what it is, the RD allows setting to the type of fight. That fighting drag lever allows a limitted amount of adjustment and you can tune quickly to the type of fish.

I see with bass fishing one drag is about as good as another as once you set a drag with them there is not a lot of need to vary the pressure. I also notice many bass fisherman use pretty heavy line and are not too worried about line failure as much as lip failure-lol ;D

When working at the limits of the line to the size of the fish then adjustability is handy.

RD is convenient to switch spools and to vary drag for the conditions. That is handy if fishing multi specie water or for a large varience in the size class fof the fish.

Front drag reels usually have larger surfaces on the brake pads, therefore the smaller rear drag reals suffer with the smaller pads if they are cheap reals. Always you get what you pay for. One buddy uses the symtre, has for the 15 years or so we fished together. His success influenced me to switch to the Shimano.