Are 'average' drag figures for reels found anywhere?

[dogdad1]

I got this question on the bridge the other day, and found myself stumped for an answer....

A guy asked me why we have all kinds of numbers for rods, stuff like recommended lure-weight, line-weight, action and so on, and for reels we have reel-capacity (often several for different weight-lines), overall reel-weight, gear-ratios, and so on, but what about maximum drag-figures to compare when selecting a reel?  Sure, I can get a lot more drag out of a 12/0 vs a 209, but imagine I'm putting together a combination rod/reel for a certain type of fishing and want to match them to each other - how can I find which goes better with what, and when?  

Obviously, there are a zillion versions of drag figures that could be created for any reel (based on wet vs dry drags, hopped-up mods, 'tanks', etc), but is/was there a chart or similar of what drag numbers could be expected out of a stock, unmodified, regularly-maintained to-spec reel?

Maybe there's a rule-of-thumb that can be used to get in the general ballpark when selecting a reel?  Like maybe the reel is spec'ed for 30#, so I can assume I'd get 2/3 (or whatever) of that as drag before worrying about stuff starting to poke out the sides.

Or is this over-simplifying?  What would you answer?

I have to admit that I'm not experienced enough in any case to even come up with a good suggestion to the guy's question. (Or tall-tale, either    )

[Bryan Young]

Essentially, the reel is designed for the line weight and the drag would be at least 1/3 of the line weight.

I'm not sure about rated braided lines..

[Legal Bill]

dogdad,

I made myself crazy trying to figure this stuff out.  I find the lack of consistency between rod rating and reel rating somewhat manageable along the lines of matching the rod's line rating with the reels line rating and cpacity.  What really gets me going is the different types of rods versus reels.  After spinning rods for spinning reels and fly rods for fly reels, I think an argument can be made to match any type of reel with any type of rod.  It all depends what you are using the set-up for.

[SoCalAngler]

Most of the mid to higher priced reels produced now release drag spec's in the reels discription. Check Penn, Avet, Okuma, Daiwa and others. As far as older models this was not as important to anglers at the time because for a reel to hold enough mono or Dacron dicatated the reels size. So to get enough, say 30lb test onto a reel, like over 200 yards, usually the reel and its drags were big enough in size to support the line fished. Then came along spectra and smaller reels are using thinner lines with greater breaking strength and higher drag pressures. Now it is more important to know what the drag range of reels, also what lengths of spectra sizes will fit onto the spool, so most manufactures list this info now.

[Ron Jones]

I disregard everything that the manufacturers say and use the Alan Tani method. Use as much weight as it takes to get your rod to bend the way you want, that number is the working drag for that rod. Multiply that number by 3 or 4 and that gives you the line test you should put on the reel. The reel should be built with that drag rating in mind and should have enough capacity for your particular needs.

Case in point, the Penn Albacore special:

Fish with 3 HT-100 disks at 10 pounds of drag and fill spool with 30 pound mono and go fish any half day boat in San Diego or the vast majority of salmon in the NW or soak bunker for striper out East.

Build it with a bunch of SS and either Bryan's or Lee's drag upgrade and you can fish it at 25 pound drag+ if you want. Fill it with 60-80 pound braid and the top shot of your choice and go catch all of the medium game fish. Just make sure your rod bends the way you want it to with the amount of drag you want to hold.

Ron

[Dr. Jekyll - AKA MeL B]

this is how i choose a rod for a specific reel e.g. my OC40 is spooled with 40lb mono and i know for a fact, because of experimentation with it, that this reel can handle 12 lbs of drag with the spool spinning forever at free. And because of this i'll buy a rod rated 20-60 lb because of this simple arithmetic equation ((60-20)/2)+20=40lb right there in the middle. also there are rod companies, like OTI Black Hole to name 2, that lists the optimum drag range/max drag while fighting a fish.

if curious here you go;

OTI  http://www.oceantackle.net/rods.html

Black Hole  http://www.jignpop.com/black-hole-cape-cod-special-jigging-rod-chart-black-hole/

[Brendan]

I think it is a bit confusing when the rod mentions braided line rating and not actual line weight or drag setting. the same rod might mention a reel match that max drag is nowhere near the line test of the braided line rating. A bit off the original topic, sorry.

[Keta]

I've found there is little uniformity between manufactures and what I do now is load up the rod to about where I feel comfortable using a drag scale.  Then I put a reel I feel is "right" on the rod.  I also tend to fish with heavier line than the rod is rated and the drag is set for.

[Shark Hunter]

You are exactly right Lee! Whatever feels good to you. I like Ron's AT Method too. 4x the drag rating for the line. The line, rod and reel really count when you are battling massive fish. Its easy on my big Senators. A 14/0 can handle 35 lbs of drag. I'm fishing 1000 yards of 130lb mono and 130lb rated rod.
No knots to fail. Double copper crimps from the mainline right to the cable.
How's that Hand Buddy?

[Dr. Jekyll - AKA MeL B]

I've found there is little uniformity between manufactures and what I do now is load up the rod to about where I feel comfortable using a drag scale.  Then I put a reel I feel is "right" on the rod.  I also tend to fish with heavier line than the rod is rated and the drag is set for.

I totally agree with this. But if all rods are made the same(uniformity) then maybe these rods are all made in the same factory. At the end of the day you buy whatever feels good to you. Anybody that does otherwise is "censored".

Also will stores let you test the rod before buying? And because of what i've learned since 2011, still have to learn a lot, I want to bring my spooled reel and a weight or someone else(to pull on the drag scale) to see how a rod bends, feels etc in short how it performs to my standards(liking). But this is lab testing and "real world" use as we all know is a different story.

I'm sure that most stores will let me test their rods but will probably tell me "you break it you pay it". As I usually say "there's only one way to find out"...

Finally what if you'll have a custom wrapped rod. how will you know beforehand how it feels for that particular reel and line you'll use. Something to ponder about...

[Dr. Jekyll - AKA MeL B]

The line, rod and reel really count when you are battling massive fish.

don't forget part of the equation while fighting a fish, you and your technique.

[Dr. Jekyll - AKA MeL B]

BTW i don't believe this manufacturer's reels max drag ratings and most of rods line ratings, from experience. Why do you think some members here started making after market parts. I just wish that they don't stop at one or 2 components of the reel because "stock sucks". And also you get what you pay for, most of the time anyway.

[Dr. Jekyll - AKA MeL B]

...how can I find which goes better with what, and when?

what you're doing right now, research.
 

Maybe there's a rule-of-thumb that can be used to get in the general ballpark when selecting a reel?  Like maybe the reel is spec'ed for 30#, so I can assume I'd get 2/3 (or whatever) of that as drag before worrying about stuff starting to poke out the sides.

Or is this over-simplifying?  What would you answer?

IMHO there's no over-simplifying it. e.g. the Avet SX and MX single speed series of reels. these 2 reels drag ratings is for a 30lb line but if you go to their website and read they recommend to go down to 25lb line. just an example that it's not that simple at all when choosing a reel.

I have to admit that I'm not experienced enough in any case to even come up with a good suggestion to the guy's question. (Or tall-tale, either  Grin  )

I'm also not that experienced enough but experience is the best teacher.

[Dr. Jekyll - AKA MeL B]

I think it is a bit confusing when the rod mentions braided line rating and not actual line weight...

i convert the braid's diameter to mono's. e.g my trevala is rated 80-200lb braid, 80=18lb mono and 200=50lb mono

http://www.powerpro.com/publish/content/global_fish/en/us/power_pro_v2/info/using_powerpro/specs.html

[Newell Nut]

When talking to a Seeker warranty rep he explained it to me this way and I bet all of load them too much. He said that if a rod has a line rating of 15 to 40 then the rods intended use was for a drag setting of 1/3 of the line rating so the proper drag for this rod would be 5 to 13 lb of drag.
A 30 to 80 should be fished at 10 to 27 lb of drag. I over fish all of mine in that respect and probably most of us do.