Spincasters and Drag

[Haris122]

Was wondering is the drag on spincasters supposed to behave exactly the same as on regular spinning reels? I ask because normally with spinning reels I feel like I'm either reeling in line or the drag is working and stripping line, rarely much of a combination of the two. But in most cases with my spincasters, even after I set the drag to what feels like a stern enough level, it feels like I'm reeling relatively often not gaining much because the drag or the pull from the fish is just counterbalancing the reeling on the "reelhead" section, but also not getting much of a pronounced drag peel or run. Basically I'm constantly reeling to maintain a tight line it feels like, and then kind of guiding the fish more towards me than outright pulling it in ,letting it run, pulling it in etc. Am I doing something wrong with the drag on spincasters, cause it feels like if I were to tighten the drag much more, it would be at the point that the line either breaks or gets abraded from the reel contact points to the level of breaking while reeling the fish in.

[Al Agnew]

They should work much the same.  Problem might be that drags are not usually very high quality on spin cast reels.  And...if you are reeling while the drag is slipping, that's the surest and worst way of getting a lot of twist in your line.  It's a definite no no.  It's one big reason why the way you're supposed to play bigger fish is by pumping the rod...pull back without reeling, then drop the rod tip to reel in some line, then pull back without reeling again.  

[Haris122]

Thanks Al. Lately I've been trying to get them to fight against the rod specifically, more, but especially once they get closer, I get in the habit of reeling while loosening the drag, because I get paranoid about them pulling the hook. Then once I loosen the drag I feel like I better keep reeling so they don't get too much slack line to do something with. I hope I figure out the right balance with the drag to where I'm actually making progress bringing the smaller fish in quick, but at the same time to where the drag smoothly engages for when the really strong fish fight, so I don't worry about the rod tip giving too much resistance and causing pulled hooks. Not to mention I imagine what I'm doing doesn't help the life of the reel especially.

[fishinwrench]

What spincast reels are you using ?

There are only 2 in the whole world that are worth a crap and one of them is direct drive (doesn't even have a drag system).

[Haris122]

Well, I have several different varieties in my quest for the perfect one (Zebco 33 Platinum, Abumatic 276i, Pflueger President, Zebco 733, Zebco Micro 33 and Micro 33 Gold ), but in the most recent case I had this problem I was using a zebco 33 micro, while trout fishing on a light action rod.

[Al Agnew]

You should be able to set and forget the drag, as long as you are using the same line.  Tie the end of the line to something solid.  Back off to where you have about five feet of line off the end of your rod.  Set the drag loose, and then pull up fairly sharply on the rod.  See how easily it slips.  Tighten it a bit and repeat, and keep doing that until it stops slipping (or breaks).  Then back it off just a bit.  It should now be set to where it will slip on a hard run when the fish is close to you.

If I'm fishing with spinning (or when I used to use spin casting way back when), I always wanted reels with an anti-reverse button, and I always kept the anti-reverse OFF.  That way I could back-reel if I felt that the drag wasn't slipping the way it should.  You should NEVER have to fool with the drag in the middle of fighting a fish.