So what could go wrong if you

[Nasty Wendy]

adjusted the drag knob on a lever drag reel when its not in free spool?

I've always wondered about that.  I don't have the cajones to try it because I can't afford to break my reels LOL.  I'm just not getting why it is dangerous to the reel to do so.  Please help me not destroy one of my reels to find this out. 
Thanks,
Clay

[Dominick]

try it.  you won't be able to move it while in gear.  Dominick

[Makule]

You can adjust it until it becomes too tight to turn.  If the lever is set low, it can be adjusted but if the lever is already adjusted tight, you likely cannot turn the knob.

[SoCalAngler]

I hate to say this but the above advice is pretty poor IMO.

Take a look at your lever drag reel and you may notice there are several parts on the handle side where adjusting the lever while in gear and under load where problems can happen.

First, just like with all lever drag reels the pinion bearing has a max load and exceeding that will cause problems.

Second, the lever has a cam which can break down or sheer the high spots that give you the max drag at strike or full.

Third, with the push/pull design of a lever drag reel the threads in the cam or on the spools shaft can get worn or have a failure when adjusting the preset knob while under drag.

There are also a few other things that can go wrong when adjusting a LD reel when under drag or fighting a fish without putting the reel into freespool to adjust the preset knob.

The whole idea of a lever drag reel is to have the drag set before catching a fish so only minor or major adjustments will stay within the drag rating of the reel.

Adjusting the preset knob while under drag, like when fighting a fish, you will never know if you over taxed the reels specs, until a failure happens.

[alantani]

You can adjust it until it becomes too tight to turn.  If the lever is set low, it can be adjusted but if the lever is already adjusted tight, you likely cannot turn the knob.

i sort of agree.  if the drag is super loose, you can tighten it a little just like you would a star drag reel.  it's just that you are looking at going from zero drag to maybe 1-2 pounds.  it's not something i ever recommend because of the risk of damage to the spool shaft and preset knob, but i am actually guilty of this once in a while.   

[Nasty Wendy]

Oh wow.  I certainly don't want to do any damage to my reels.  I ask this question because there have been times that I hooked a mule and the max drag couldn't stop it from getting back into the rig legs and of course its all over if they get back into the barnacle encrusted rig legs.  It is very tempting to turn on that knob to try to stop the fish but having never actually done it it sounds like it would be rather difficult to turn it with the drag lever at FULL.

[alantani]

You'd have to hold the spool tight,  flip the lever to free,  crank the preset knob a few turns, and then feather the lever forward. A deckhand and I did that on a 200 pound yellowfin tuna in Puerto Vallarta.  I thought Scotty, the deckhand,  was crazy but it worked.

[Nasty Wendy]

I'd try that Alan. 

[Dominick]

Wear gloves.  It works.  Dominick

[Nasty Wendy]

Wear gloves.  It works.  Dominick

[SoCalAngler]

Clay,

Try setting the drag with a scale before you start fishing. For me and my LD reels I like to set the drag around the 1/3 of the lines breaking strength at the strike setting of the reel. This way if I hook something big or need more stopping power I can move the lever past the strike setting to increase drag. Be careful of this as if you need to move the lever past strike, the drag ramp up of the reel will most likely be very fast, meaning when you move the lever just past strike the drag pressure will increase quickly.

For the LD reels I fish the 1/3rd of the weakest line at strike leaves me head room for more drag, so if the reels you are fishing at the 1/3rd of the lines breaking strength is the max drag for the reels you may want to drop down to 1/4th of the lines breaking strength which will allow you to move the lever past the strike setting for more drag.

Like I said when moving the lever past the strike setting on most LD reels the drag will increase quickly, a nice ramp up of the drag until you reach strike is pretty common but a few pounds of drag jump is also common when moving the lever just a bit past strike, barley into the full position of the reel. Well, this also depends on the line test/reel used the drag pressure you want at strike. Of course there are variables so a good scale should be used to measure the drag.

A good scale will let you know where the drags are set, how fast they ramp up and also where the lever is pushed past where you want it.

[Nasty Wendy]

Clay,

Try setting the drag with a scale before you start fishing. For me and my LD reels I like to set the drag around the 1/3 of the lines breaking strength at the strike setting of the reel. This way if I hook something big or need more stopping power I can move the lever past the strike setting to increase drag. Be careful of this as if you need to move the lever past strike, the drag ramp up of the reel will most likely be very fast, meaning when you move the lever just past strike the drag pressure will increase quickly.

For the LD reels I fish the 1/3rd of the weakest line at strike leaves me head room for more drag, so if the reels you are fishing at the 1/3rd of the lines breaking strength is the max drag for the reels you may want to drop down to 1/4th of the lines breaking strength which will allow you to move the lever past the strike setting for more drag.

Like I said when moving the lever past the strike setting on most LD reels the drag will increase quickly, a nice ramp up of the drag until you reach strike is pretty common but a few pounds of drag jump is also common when moving the lever just a bit from strike, barley into the full portion of the reel.

A good scale will let you know where the drags are set, how fast they ramp up and also where the lever is pushed past where you want it.

Yeah my Tyrnos 16 has a fast ramp so I set the drag at 20% of the lines rated strength at strike.  80lb test so it get set to 16lbs at strike.  There is quite a bit of swing left in the lever from strike to full and with that fast ramp up it has I won't risk setting the strike at 27lbs.  I don't know if it will even achieve 27lbs at strike and still free spool.  I do know that with the reel set for 16lbs at strike the full drag position is not the max drag of the reel.  That is why I've contemplated turning that knob when something is toting the load back into the rig.  Those instances could be Goliaths which I think they could overcome the max drag of a Tyrnos 16.  Its when its a 60ish lb AmberJack that I think a bit more drag could turn him.  I don't use a scale to set my drag, I use weights.  With my strike at 16lbs I can lift 16lbs of weight off the floor and the drag gives but slows the weights and eventually stops them before they touch the ground.  This is with no drag through eyelets.  It I touch the weights they take drag.  I'm pretty confident that I'm at 16lbs or 20% of the line breaking strength.  I've actually reset all my drags to 20% of the rated line strength because I use mainly 80lb braid and I fish stand up so long fights with heavier drag would be a butt kicking experience.  Setting my 80w to 26lbs at strike was rather tiring.  130lb topshot and 200lb braid and as tiring as it was to set it at 26lbs I'm glad I didn't use a 200lb topshot and set it to 40lbs.

[Rivverrat]

As usual SoCal & Dominick are giving great advice. Wearing a glove or having your thumb taped allows you to apply pressure to the spool for more drag.  Most reels today can take certain types of occasional abuse.  It's getting to know your gear well, that lets you know where that line is that you dont want to cross. Outside of not doing general maintenance or dragging your reel behind a truck there is little that will render a reel
not repairable....Jeff