Lever Drag Reels

Questions about Saltwater Fishing

Lever Drag Reels

Postby mark_odegard » Sun Feb 06, 2011 9:45 pm

Hey Larry,

I was just checkin out some specs of lever drag reels, and I'm not familiar with the whole concept of "Strike Max Drag" and "Full Max Drag." What's the difference, and how does it work?
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Re: Lever Drag Reels

Postby JRisapirate » Mon Feb 07, 2011 8:09 am

As you push the lever forward the drag gets tighter. Most lever drags have a stopping point which would be the constant drag setting on other conventional reels. You can depress the button and tighten the drag even more which will basically lock the drag, depending on how you have it set. These reels are ideal for trolling or bait fishing with fish finder rigs ect. because you have the ability to loosen the drag to just tighter than free spool then quickly tighten it to have enough pressure to set the hook.
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Re: Lever Drag Reels

Postby dahlberg » Fri Feb 18, 2011 6:20 am

Lever drag reels have a range, from free spool to "sunset" or the farthest position forward the lever will travel. On many, there is a little easily disengaged stopper device that stops the lever at about 1/2 to 2/3 or up path of travel. Its' usually referred to as the "strike" position.
By tightening on loosening the end cap on the drag the overall curve can be changed from light to locked at the top end.
The Torsa even has variable drag cams that can be interchanged which change the curve of the drag pressure as the lever is moved forward.
Depending on the line, size of fish and experience levels the strike feature can be used in different ways.
With inexperienced anglers the captain might set the strike position at the max he want the client to pull and tell them not to touch it.
At other times it might be used to set the tension you want while trolling a lure, then flip it forward as the boat slows and the fight starts.
Often I see it set at 1/3 the breaking strength on the line at strike and an angler finesses the lever forward when a fish slows then backs it off to strike if it makes a run.
In any case, a good lever drag provides the most control and is the most reliable of all the drags made so far.
best,
L
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