Makaira 20II - SEa - Drag Numbers

[Smols]

Just finished servicing and repacking the braid on my new to me Makaira 20II SEa. This is a very nice reel.

It is filled with 130lb hollow core braid and I will be splicing on a 25 yard top shot of 100lb flouro.

So, in setting the drag for a 100lb reel, if I use the Alan Tani method and set full at 50lbs, I am getting only around 25lbs at strike.

If I set strike at 30lbs - which is ideal for a 100 pound reed - full is 56lbs or more.

I might be able to fashion some kind of stop on the lever rail that would not allow the lever to go past 50 pounds of drag.

Or I can set full drag to 50 and live with 25 pounds at strike.

Which do you think is a better way to set up a 100 pound reel.

Thanks,
Smols

[handi2]

You better have a strong back to fish those drag numbers. Many tournament fisherman use a colored electrical tape on the of the handle side plate and mark the drag numbers on that tape. You must warm up the drag first before checking the drag numbers.

Keith

[boon]

50lbs vs 56lbs isn't going to make a huge difference in the grand scheme. At that point you're presumably at full panic-stations and probably cupping the spool as well.

The rod not exploding in your face, if it's not pulled over the side of the boat, is going to be a bigger issue at that point. 56lbs is an unbelievable amount of drag in practical fishing terms.

[Smols]

Thanks for the comments.

Keith, I am using a straight pull off the reel to test drag numbers. The drag is not warm. I would assume the drag numbers go down a bit when the drag gets warm. I may test that by turning the handle in the line winder against 10 lbs of drag for a bit to warm up the drag and see what the difference is at strike.

In theory, the plan is only to use full drag at the very end of the fight when the big tuna is making circles under the boat. Otherwise, I would imagine most of the time fishing at 30 lbs drag while using the rail. I certainly would not be able to hang on long with a fish making a run pulling 56lbs of drag. So I am leaning towards setting the strike drag at 30 rather than 25.

-Smols

[boon]

If we're getting into the nitty-gritty of drag, remember to factor in the increase of drag as the diameter of the stack of line on the spool decreases. At half-spool you will probably have close to 50lb at strike.

Even 30lbs is a helluva lot of drag to pull on. Maybe manageable from the rail, dunno, standup for me thanks

[alantani]

go with 30 pounds at strike.  this kind of drag range on the rail is easy as pie!