setting drag to max

[mohamedhashem21]

hello every body i have a question that may sounds stupid which is can the drag pushed to max while fighting a big fish without destroying the reel frame and gears (i mean aluminium frame of course) i know that the biggest fish on earth can get caught with 40-50 lbs of drag and probably no mouth of fish will stand this but i'm just asking about the reel's capability!!

for example:
the avet t-rx 50w produces 110 lbs drag at max but can it really stand this??
o course i'm not talking about a stand up fight or man's capability i just want to ask about a reel's apability to stanf the max drag listed by the manufacturer !!

thank you
mohamed hashem

[Reinaard van der Vossen]

What do you wanna hear? The frame probably can but I will not take over the guarantee that it does.

If you look more close than there is a lot more to it than just the simple question. Can it when there is a scratch in the frame?, Is the 100lb drag set at a full spool ar measured at 2/3 of the spool? What happens when you have less than than 2/3 of line on your spool? Will the drag go up to 150 LB? Will the majority of the stress be on the harness lugs or is all stress on the reelseat? How wel does the reel fit the reelseat on the rod? If you go extreme than  you need to take care of everything.

Of the renowned brands I have not too much doubt that the frame can withstand the advertised drag if the reel can reach that drag at all. Most of the frames are, at least slightly and probably significantly, overdesigned, especially the ones with closed top/top bar and if put to the test other parts will probably fail before the frame does.

Pay special attention when selecting a reel to the connection from the reel to the reelseat. That is probably the most vulnerable area.

Plastic frames break easily when fished heavy (even if they have a relative high carbon content)

hopes that this answesr al least a part of your question

[alantani]

yes, um, maybe.......   

ideally, you should be able to beat a fish with a preset amount of drag that is 30% of your line weight.  if you are clearly going to lose a fish without more drag, then you can push the lever to full and hope it works.  you dramatically increase the chance of line failure.  before you do so, check the strike and full settings with a scale and see what your particular reel will do.  on some reel, you might set a drag to 15 pounds at strike, then push it to full and see that it only goes to 22 pounds.  i use this just as an example.  you should check this out ahead of time. 

[mohamedhashem21]

What do you wanna hear? The frame probably can but I will not take over the guarantee that it does.

If you look more close than there is a lot more to it than just the simple question. Can it when there is a scratch in the frame?, Is the 100lb drag set at a full spool ar measured at 2/3 of the spool? What happens when you have less than than 2/3 of line on your spool? Will the drag go up to 150 LB? Will the majority of the stress be on the harness lugs or is all stress on the reelseat? How wel does the reel fit the reelseat on the rod? If you go extreme than  you need to take care of everything.

Of the renowned brands I have not too much doubt that the frame can withstand the advertised drag if the reel can reach that drag at all. Most of the frames are, at least slightly and probably significantly, overdesigned, especially the ones with closed top/top bar and if put to the test other parts will probably fail before the frame does.

Pay special attention when selecting a reel to the connection from the reel to the reelseat. That is probably the most vulnerable area.

Plastic frames break easily when fished heavy (even if they have a relative high carbon content)

hopes that this answesr al least a part of your question

thank you for your reply ,i'm just asking about the reel capability to stand a 100lbs drag at any Circumstances suppose that the drag is fixed and the rod is from the fixed type i know that it is impossible to fish at 100lbs of drag on a stand up or even with a chair and a harness   i'm just asking about the reel's structure strenght

[mohamedhashem21]

yes, um, maybe.......   

ideally, you should be able to beat a fish with a preset amount of drag that is 30% of your line weight.  if you are clearly going to lose a fish without more drag, then you can push the lever to full and hope it works.  you dramatically increase the chance of line failure.  before you do so, check the strike and full settings with a scale and see what your particular reel will do.  on some reel, you might set a drag to 15 pounds at strike, then push it to full and see that it only goes to 22 pounds.  i use this just as an example.  you should check this out ahead of time. 

thanks alan
i will try it on my next trip on my makaira 50wii using 150lbs class braid line and it is fixed at it's end i'll use a fixed rod , like in the okuma commercial video on youtube but pulling the drag to max for a minute or two just to see what will happen

[kamuwela]

watch out your fish might look like this.   

[mohamedhashem21]

oh no!
this is shocking at what drag number this  happened??

[kamuwela]

my tiagra 130's are set at strike position between  32 and 35 lbs.  i never go to full, infact we reduced the drag to almost nothing during the fight. my reels have 150# test and rule of thumb is 1/3 breaking point or 50 lbs on the 150#. that fish was estimated around 600lbs. the lure is over 14 inches long and the eye was the size of my hand.

[mohamedhashem21]

my tiagra 130's are set at strike position between  32 and 35 lbs.  i never go to full, infact we reduced the drag to almost nothing during the fight. my reels have 150# test and rule of thumb is 1/3 breaking point or 50 lbs on the 150#. that fish was estimated around 600lbs. the lure is over 14 inches long and the eye was the size of my hand.

thank you for you valuable advice
i will never set drag to max or even strike in a reel with a large drag force like the avet i'm just asking about the reel capability to stand the stated max drag
did you try to test the tiagra on the max drag setting even with a fixed thing ?
thank you

[kamuwela]

i understand your question about max drag. first i think reel maker's tend to exaggerate number's i have set the drag to max and tried pulling line from the pole set in the pole holder. im more afraid that the pole will break. truth to the matter is i dont think you or anyone else would need that kind of drag pressure. here in hawaii with 130lb rated gear we fight yellowfin tuna in the 150- 200 lb range and a marlin or two now and then.  ive seen granders brought in on this gear. normaly we fight the fish right out of the rod holder or a chair. have you seen the show wicked tuna? they catch 900lb bluefin with the same gear and similar style. sorry for the rambling but i dont think anyone has an answer for you. hard to test in real life situations your line would need to be in the 300 lb test range. hope this helped a little good luck and catch the big one.

[saltydog]

By the time you get to 1/3 of your spool if you don't back off the drag you will either break your reel,rod or back.Most reels will probably come close to stated drag pressures but to stand 150 pounds of drag there is no rod or person for that matter that could either.I have fished with reels that push 60 pounds of drag and let me tell you I don't anymore.Most of the time you are pinned to the gunnel or have a couple of guys hanging on your harness.I am in my fourties now and don't fish with anything over 35 pounds of drag anymore,thats plenty even for big Tigers and Hammers in the surf.Plus it makes the fight more enjoyable.But if you must take a custom meat stick strap on a winch and tie it to the hitch of a truck and see if it will,all it can do is break you or your gear but be careful muscle tears can still happen at 20 pounds of drag so 150 pounds will shred you.

[mohamedhashem21]

i understand your question about max drag. first i think reel maker's tend to exaggerate number's i have set the drag to max and tried pulling line from the pole set in the pole holder. im more afraid that the pole will break. truth to the matter is i dont think you or anyone else would need that kind of drag pressure. here in hawaii with 130lb rated gear we fight yellowfin tuna in the 150- 200 lb range and a marlin or two now and then.  ive seen granders brought in on this gear. normaly we fight the fish right out of the rod holder or a chair. have you seen the show wicked tuna? they catch 900lb bluefin with the same gear and similar style. sorry for the rambling but i dont think anyone has an answer for you. hard to test in real life situations your line would need to be in the 300 lb test range. hope this helped a little good luck and catch the big one.

thank you kamu
i understand that practically this can't be done i was just wondering if it can done theoretically but i found that even this is wrong thinking
i saw the show wicked tuna, yes i understand  the method but i won't deal with such monsters here
thank you for your help 

[mohamedhashem21]

By the time you get to 1/3 of your spool if you don't back off the drag you will either break your reel,rod or back.Most reels will probably come close to stated drag pressures but to stand 150 pounds of drag there is no rod or person for that matter that could either.I have fished with reels that push 60 pounds of drag and let me tell you I don't anymore.Most of the time you are pinned to the gunnel or have a couple of guys hanging on your harness.I am in my fourties now and don't fish with anything over 35 pounds of drag anymore,thats plenty even for big Tigers and Hammers in the surf.Plus it makes the fight more enjoyable.But if you must take a custom meat stick strap on a winch and tie it to the hitch of a truck and see if it will,all it can do is break you or your gear but be careful muscle tears can still happen at 20 pounds of drag so 150 pounds will shred you.

thank you very much for explanation
i was just asking about theoritical measurements not at real life and i found that this will be wrong.
thank you

[Makule]

The question should be asked of the reel manufacturers as they should know what the engineering specs were for their reels.  Additionally, no matter what anyone says, the only way to really know the answer is to try it.  Certainly, you don't want to destroy or damage your  reel by actually putting the reels to the test, so I realize this is just an academic question.

[mohamedhashem21]

The question should be asked of the reel manufacturers as they should know what the engineering specs were for their reels.  Additionally, no matter what anyone says, the only way to really know the answer is to try it.  Certainly, you don't want to destroy or damage your  reel by actually putting the reels to the test, so I realize this is just an academic question.

you are right makule
i will not try this this was just an academic question 

thank you