I have been taught to never turn the preset knob on a lever drag reel when the lever is not in free spool. Some say that this rule doesn't apply to some brands of reels. This does not seem true. Any thoughts?
Whenever you adjust the preset know, the lever should ALWAYS be in freespool...but I suppose that if you have it set for the lowest setting out of freespool, if you spin the spool until it drag slows down the spool, that could be your minimum drag setting. Then after that, setting drag pressures should ALWAYS be in freespool.
Thanks Bryan. That's what I thought. It was stated on another forum that Accurate's were "too sensitive" because someone damaged a new reel in this way. There was some suggestion that other lever drag reels (Okuma) may be impossible to damage in this way. Cheers...
There are many ways to damage a new/old lever drag reel. The easiest one is setting the drag level too high in the first, then moving the lever to strick or full. Drags should be set gradually unlike star drags where you can crank it down from the get go.
Quote from: Bryan Young on January 21, 2015, 03:37:22 PM
There are many ways to damage a new/old lever drag reel. The easiest one is setting the drag level too high in the first, then moving the lever to strick or full. Drags should be set gradually unlike star drags where you can crank it down from the get go.
Bryan: I watched a video not to long ago that showed setting the drag in the first setting after free spool, giving the ability to go to full drag beyond normal setting. Are you saying to put the drag lever in free spool and then set minimum drag?
Just thought of another question. Can you use the lever drag to control casting in preventing backlash?
Quote from: Reel 224 on January 21, 2015, 05:03:40 PM
Just thought of another question. Can you use the lever drag to control casting in preventing backlash?
Avet suggests casting their non-MC MX and SX series reels with the drag lever in the Bait position. And at least some of the Okuma LDs use the drag system for cast control.
The reel I am using is a Canyon HS-15. What I'm not clear on is what Bryan was saying about setting the drag.
Set it for the strike settling, not the first setting.
Quote from: MarkT on January 21, 2015, 06:27:35 PM
Set it for the strike settling, not the first setting.
Mark: this is the first lever drag that I have owned so I need to understand what the strike setting is.
On the reel starting at the bottom position,(Free Spool) then second position from there to the first stop before full drag.Is that the strike position. Third position to stop. (Full Drag)?
Quote from: Reel 224 on January 21, 2015, 06:35:42 PM
Quote from: MarkT on January 21, 2015, 06:27:35 PM
Set it for the strike settling, not the first setting.
Mark: this is the first lever drag that I have owned so I need to understand what the strike setting is.
On the reel starting at the bottom position,(Free Spool) then second position from there to the first stop before full drag.Is that the strike position. Third position to stop. (Full Drag)?
That is correct.
And don't start off cranking down the preset knob until you lose freespool. That's almost certain to crush the bearings on an avet, and possibly other reels too.
It's a trial and error process setting it at first. Start low, move the lever to strike, and check the drag. Back to freespool, adjust the preset, and repeat until you get where you want.
The beauty of a lever drag is once you get the preset in the right place, you just use the lever to make adjustments and still be able to easily return to your known drag settings.
Well basically that is what I had done initially without knowing a lot about lever drag systems. What had confused me was what I read in Bryan's post. Guess I was reading it wrong.
There was a movie I watched years ago where an actor said to this other character. "Explain it to me like I'm a two year old". I think that fits in a lot of situations.
Couple of things:
1. The preset knob is not a cast control of any kind.
2. What it does is increase the drag's starting position so you can adjust how much drag you will get at strike once you move the lever forward and you are setting what it's final full drag will be.
3. The lever uses a cam inside under the preset knob to ramp up the drag as you move it from free to strike and then full. With a low preset you might have just 5lbs at strike and 10lbs at full. With a higher preset you might get 10lbs at strike and 20 lbs at full etc.
4. Your preset drag at "strike" will vary depending on what line you are using. Typically this is 1/4 to 1/3 of the rated strength of the line.
ie fishing 30lb leader set strike to no more than 10lbs, 40lb leader no more than 13lbs. This can be verified with a scale or many are happy with a hand test (which typically ends up being a very low setting) that they are comfortable with knowing their target fish.
5. It is important that when you set your reel at strike you don't feel some stiffness in turning the handle. If you do, every time you are turning the handle you are destroying the bearings. This is a lot of cranking when fishing all day and it inevitably destroys the bearings. Conversely, if you dial it up until you are losing freespool then the drag washer is actually touching the spool. This is usually a too high setting.
6. "Full" is really only used in an emergency like you need to stop a fish now or lose it. You will notice handle binding typically at this setting so don't use it for long.
just a few tips, it all becomes second nature very quickly with a little use :)
Excellent explanation johndtuttle Thanks for breaking it down in steps. I have rechecked the reels settings and I am satisfied with the preset drag and the feel of the crank. It is set at 5# now with 30# leader. It's a little light but should work out fine for the fish we are targeting. Fluke, and Tog.
John just a question, as I have had this question with several people. If you plan to run at #5, than why not switch to a lighter line test. Would that not aid in helping catch? Just a conversation.
Quote from: fIsHsTiiCkS on January 22, 2015, 03:33:11 AM
John just a question, as I have had this question with several people. If you plan to run at #5, than why not switch to a lighter line test. Would that not aid in helping catch? Just a conversation.
Well, maybe :). Of course stealth is important for some species and some times.
But, if you get bit heavy and you have heavier line on you can really bump up the drag and the heavier line has much more abrasion resistance. And with a lever drag you quickly can push to full to increase it quite a bit. Lever drags allow you to do this easily of course, but star drags are still preferred for many things (ie better casting and lighter spools for live bait fishing etc) but that's another topic.
Anyways, even with light drag abrasion resistance is useful and sometimes to fish lighter you need even better gear and knot tying ability etc etc. A moderate choice allows a more rough and tumble approach with less stress on everyone. It just really depends on the species and the other duties the rig is asked to do. Generally, if they will bite 30lb I use it, even if I only need 5lbs of drag to land them (example west coast rockfish).
The game changer is braid. You can fish 50 and have the capacity as if you were fishing 12lb mono..then put on whatever leader is required. :) That way you get all the advantages of a light line and leader when you need 15lb fluoro, then you can tie on 60lb mono and maybe use the same reel for light trolling.
I set the minimum drag setting and the move up. One way that I do this on some reels is back off the preset knob where the spool is still free spooling in strike setting. Then turn the preset know while in strike until the spool slows down. You can often hear the drag washer contact the spool. Then go into freespool then turn the preset know 1/4 turn then click first notch right out of freespool and measure the drag (if any). Then slide the drag 1/4 to 1/2 to strike and measure the drag. Then 3/4 then to strike and measure the drag. Then back to free spool, 1/4 turn preset knob and repeat drag measurement. Each time I adjust the preset knob, I start at 1/4 turn decreasing to 1/8 or 1/16 or less until I get my max strike drag pressure...which is about 1/4 of line strength. Full then should be about 1/3 of line strength. That is the way I set them for my reels. I hope this is clearer.
But for Accurates, it's a bit different because the drag is either off or on. I find it hard for fine drag adjustments on Accurates. Maybe it's just me...
What Bryan and John have stated is very good info but I'd like to add a little about lever drag reels.
On most lever drag reels the manufacture will list two drag ratings. Normally the first listing is the max drag at strike and the second is the max drag at full. Now on many lever drag reels lets say you set the drag at the max strike setting the manufacture lists. Most times if you measure the drag when pushed to full with the drag set at the max setting at strike you will find that your over the maximum of the full rating of the reel and if you fish the reel at full you will start to cause damage.
Many people think if they set their drag at or close to the max at strike they will remain below the max at full and this is not the case for most LD reels. This is because of the cam in LD reels are not fully linier in their design, meaning if you set the drag at its max drag at strike you will not exceed the manufactures maximum full drag pressure when pushing the lever to the full setting. Many times with LD reels set at the maximum at strike you will notice your drag pressure will be over the manufactures max at full if you have to push the reel to it's full setting.
dont take the manufacturers word for it,they speak with fork tongue ;)
if he says its 40lb max set it a 30lb max
20lb set max at 15lb etc;pull lever back to strike
and see what you,ve got,if your happy fish on
Agreed. I never fish my few lever drags anywhere near max. Maybe that is why I have never had a problem.
Well there has been lots of discussion about lever drags here and my take from it as a novas is almost the same as star drags, that is don't over adjust. And know your targeted fish so as to properly adjust drag for that species. I think that pretty much sums it up.
Not to diminish the instruction on the procedure of adjusting drag for LD reels. I appreciate the assistance in helping me understand the right and wrong ways to adjust drag on my LD. Now I can fish without fear of screwing up the reel.
Quote from: johndtuttle on January 22, 2015, 03:46:27 AM
Quote from: fIsHsTiiCkS on January 22, 2015, 03:33:11 AM
John just a question, as I have had this question with several people. If you plan to run at #5, than why not switch to a lighter line test. Would that not aid in helping catch? Just a conversation.
Well, maybe :). Of course stealth is important for some species and some times.
But, if you get bit heavy and you have heavier line on you can really bump up the drag and the heavier line has much more abrasion resistance. And with a lever drag you quickly can push to full to increase it quite a bit. Lever drags allow you to do this easily of course, but star drags are still preferred for many things (ie better casting and lighter spools for live bait fishing etc) but that's another topic.
Anyways, even with light drag abrasion resistance is useful and sometimes to fish lighter you need even better gear and knot tying ability etc etc. A moderate choice allows a more rough and tumble approach with less stress on everyone. It just really depends on the species and the other duties the rig is asked to do. Generally, if they will bite 30lb I use it, even if I only need 5lbs of drag to land them (example west coast rockfish).
The game changer is braid. You can fish 50 and have the capacity as if you were fishing 12lb mono..then put on whatever leader is required. :) That way you get all the advantages of a light line and leader when you need 15lb fluoro, then you can tie on 60lb mono and maybe use the same reel for light trolling.
I have spoken to a few ppl about this and most reasons fall under abrasion resistance. I am just a big fan of 1/3 drag setting of whatever rated line, even if the drag setting is over kill for that fish. Ill skii them on top of the water than ;D. I just have become a minimalist for fishing line. I will use the lightest line possible. Ppl look at me crazy when bust out 15lb line for 15-25lb yellow tail fishing. But at 5lb of drag I have no prob getting these fish in. I will say my normal line use is 20-30lb line for most of my fishing out here on the west coast. I RARELY use more unless im throwing lures or trolling. All trips in the 1-3 day range
Quote from: Bryan Young on January 22, 2015, 05:52:18 AM
I set the minimum drag setting and the move up. One way that I do this on some reels is back off the preset knob where the spool is still free spooling in strike setting. Then turn the preset know while in strike until the spool slows down. You can often hear the drag washer contact the spool. Then go into freespool then turn the preset know 1/4 turn then click first notch right out of freespool and measure the drag (if any). Then slide the drag 1/4 to 1/2 to strike and measure the drag. Then 3/4 then to strike and measure the drag. Then back to free spool, 1/4 turn preset knob and repeat drag measurement. Each time I adjust the preset knob, I start at 1/4 turn decreasing to 1/8 or 1/16 or less until I get my max strike drag pressure...which is about 1/4 of line strength. Full then should be about 1/3 of line strength. That is the way I set them for my reels. I hope this is clearer.
But for Accurates, it's a bit different because the drag is either off or on. I find it hard for fine drag adjustments on Accurates. Maybe it's just me...
I have not had the pleasure of fishing many lever drags. I have acquired a few 2 speeds lately and was wondering the best way to set strike and full. Most people I speak to say they rarely use full, as they just set the drag at strike and if need be slight increase in lever if more drag is needed. That doesnt make sense to me as the advantage of the lever drag is the pre set drag ranges. I REALLY like the way you set your strike and full, 1/4 and 1/3 is the perfect way. Thanks Bryan!