Strike or Max Drag-which to use?

[Bullshipper]

If  a manufacturer rates his reel for max drag, does that imply that the reel will function and last as long compared to another that never exceeds strike settings out of the box?

And does that change after you grease em, and give your ratings on this forum?

Thanks

[Keta]

Pushing anything to the max or beyond it's rated capacity reduces it's life.

Grease might reduce the drag slightly but the advantages, reduced corrosion and increased smoothness, far out weigh the slight reduction in drag.

I've seen corrosion under and around CF drags make spools unusable (CF glued to the spool) and drag stacks on star drag reels fused into a solid block.  In saltwater grease on CF drag material is a very good thing.

[Bullshipper]

Thanks

[johndtuttle]

In another thread on this topic I compared the "Max Drag" rating to really meaning what the reel will do right before it blows up. It really is not a very useful number as what you find the reel can actually do smoothly is more important in the long run.

True Big Game reels have more Safety Margin than lighter reels as they are very heavily built. Generally however, if a reel company says that a reel has max drag at a particular number divide that by 2 or 3 to find what it will produce and hold up to for a good while of heavy fishing. If you use their typically inflated number you may come to grief soon.

Realistically as we increase the drag a reel can do via modifications we are just raising that lower number and increasing mid range smoothness for most purposes.

What a reel is rated to at "Strike" is confusing as well. Generally you want to test the individual reel as you want a setting at Strike that produces no handle binding as your max. If there is increased handle pressure then you are destroying the pinion bearing.

Once you establish Strike then see how much handle binding at Full you have. If is is extreme then be advised that one fish landed on full can mean it is time to replace the pinion bearing.

[alantani]

If  a manufacturer rates his reel for max drag, does that imply that the reel will function and last as long compared to another that never exceeds strike settings out of the box?

And does that change after you grease em, and give your ratings on this forum?

Thanks

bullshipper, welcome!!!!  we've come a long way since the days on the hull truth!   

[SoCalAngler]

I guess your talking lever drags because their the reels with a strike setting. Many times when you see strike and max drag listings for the same reel they should be pretty close. What I'm trying to say if a manufacture lists a reel with lets say 10lbs at strike and 14lbs as max when you set your drag at 10lbs at strike you should get right around 14lbs at full. Some reels when set at strike will get over the max drag listing when you move the lever to full and you will start to cause damage so it is a good idea to do your drag measurments before you start fishing so you know where they are. You could set these pressures higher but you will start to cause damage to the reel. Now if the manufacture only lists one, which I'm guessing would be the max drag, the reel should never be fished over that number at full. To find what the drag at strike would be when the reels drag was set at full with the max drag you would need to back off the lever to strike and measure the drag at strike.

[Ron Jones]

One more reason to stick with a star drag! To much to worry about for me.
Ron

[SoCalAngler]

But levers are so much better for trolling and adjusting drag while fighting a fish.

[Tightlines667]

With lever drag reels we often times consider max effective drag setting at strike to be the maximum drag achieved before the reel loses freespool or experiences any handle binding issues.  Unfortunately this varies by reel and is not always the same as stead by the manufacturer.  I've noticed that when pushed to the max range, some reels experience handle binding issues despite still having freespool at that given setting.  This leads me to believe that there may be excessive side loads or other issues leading to faster wear when the reel is fished at this 'effective drag' setting.  This is especially true when Bellevilles are reconfigured from stick to achieve a steeper drag curve.   I think this also depends in how the reel is used when fished near its upper drag limit.  For instance, a reel can handle a great deal more drag when it is engaged and line is simply being pulled off steadily as opposed to quick/rapid surges, or trying to reel/crank the handle when the reel is under load.  I think fishing the reel at 50-66% of max effective drag allows for a more reasonable margin of error.  I believe this will typically provide smoother drags as well as less wear and tear on enternals.

[Bullshipper]

Thanks for all the great replies. Really learned I was wrong to make buying decisions based on this.


Jigging reels used close to the bottom on hard hitting fish like yellow need heavy drags or your thumb to not loose fish and lures. As they  get wound up a lot more every day than trolling reels, I am thinking that I will have to keep the max drag settings below strike if I want them to last, like 75% of the manufacturers recommended setting for strike + my gloved thumb in emergencies.

But I see a look more binding on the small Amet JX than I do for the Torsa and TLD's, so does Avet go wildly overboard and is Shimano more realistic. In other words, should I knock the Avet back to 50% but leave the Shimanos at 80% of Strike?

Is this also true for the spinning reels?


This is what I use

Conventionals
Avet 50W 2 speeds - infrequently for the big stuff

and I am currently using the the rest of these smaller reels a lot for yellowtail and dorado
Torsa 16n -
Avet 6/3 Jx Raptor-
Shimano TLD25's-

Spinners
Shimano Saragosa 8000SW
Shimano Spheros 14000b
Diawa  BG 90

[johndtuttle]

Not to worry on the spinning reels. Those Shimanos use the best Anti-Reverse in the business. If you keep it clean it should last for years.

Avets are not truly bottom fishing reels, imo, for exactly the reasons you describe. They are beautiful for fly lining a bait (for a lever drag) but if I wanted a dedicated reel for Yellows I would fish heavier duty reels and probably 2- speed reels (if lever drag). You really want something that can make ~20lbs to stop them short and then not destroy itself soon after .

[Keta]

Conventionals
Avet 50W 2 speeds - infrequently for the big stuff

The Avet EX reels have a far more robust pinion bearing and do not have the problems when running higher drag settings that the smaller Avet reels do.

Your JX6/3 Raptor should fish up to 60# (20# at strike) real well, my standard JX6/3 does 40# (12#of drag at strike) well.   I fish my HXJ5/2 Raptor "low" at 20# at strike most of the time, it's rated for 40# at strike.  My standard HX and my HXJ Raptor are on Pacific halibut rigs and work well for them....when I can put down my 349H's.