GregBR549

When the max drag on a reel is measured, is it measured with a full spool? I see max drag ratings on reels. Is this measured with a full spool of line? If so, the drag would be many times morewhen the spoolis emptied.

thanks

Greg

1bandit

The drag on the reel is always the same no matter how full the spool is. The reason you lower the drag when

you have a lot of line out is that the line going through the water especially in an arc creates resistance for the fish.

First Catch

I'm pretty sure that the max drag ratings are with an empty spool, so you are correct that when you have a full spool you won't necessarily get the same amount of drag.

jim t

Ithink the drag is working a lot harder when there is less line on the reel. If a fish takes as foot of line on a full reel that might mean a single revolution of the spool. If a fish takes a foot of line from a nearly empty spool it might mean 10 revolutions.

A full reel doesn't seem toget hot... a half empty one sure can.

I could be wrong though.

Jim

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GregBR549

Looking at it from a technical viewpoint, the more line you have on the reel, the more leverage you have to turn the spool. Just like using a cheater bar to tighten a bolt, the longer the bar, the more torque you can put on the nut. Same for the reel. The more line on the reel, the longer your "cheater bar" would be. Lets say you have a 6/0. With full line, your cheater bar would be lets say, about 2 inches. When the spool is empty, your cheater bar is about 1/4 inch. Now for the full spool of line, if you pull 20# on the line, you are putting 2"x20#=20 inch-pounds of torque on the spool. When the spool is empty, you are putting .25"x20#=5 inch-pounds of torque on the spool. The highter the drag is set on a reel is just the higher torque required to overcome the resistance and make it rotate.

thanks

Garbo

Are you Sure about that?

Let's say when a spool is full there is 14 inches of line in a full revolution of the spool and when it's low there is 4 inches of line in a full revolution of the spool. That being said and the drag not being adjusted, it would take the same amount of energy to get 4 inches of line on a low spool that it wouldalsotake to get 14 inches on the same reel's full spool. Meaning that a low spool with an unadjusted drag would be heavier drag than when the same spool was full.

Downtime2

The drag, (preset when adjusted on a trolling reel), doesn't care how much line is on the spool. It may take less turns of the spool as dictated by the amount of line, but the same amount of drag is being used.

GregBR549

You are right Garbo. All the drag does on a reel is to keepthe spool from rotating. As you tighten the drag, it increases the resistance to rotate.The reeldoesn't know how much line is on it.

From an energy standpoint, each revolution of the spool takes x amount of energy. If the spool is full, and you pull one foot of line off, you have rotated the spool ( letsmake a guessfor illustration) one revolution. Now if the spool is empty, and you pull one foot of line off the reel, the spool rotates (again lets guess for illustration) four revolutions. It takes more energy to pull the one foot off with an empty spool than with a full spool. So, it is harder to pull the line off an empty spool than an full spool.

Garbo

Wade, are you saying that the amount of drag arunning fish has to overcomeis the same on a low spool as a full spool on a trolling reel?

I would agree that the preset lbs would be the same, but I would have to think the amount ofenergy the fish has to use toovercome to take line/dragis greater on a low spool than a full spool if the lbs of drag is not adjusted,even on a trolling reel.

Please correct me if I don't understand something.

Lil' Scout

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