Fishing - Starting drag info please

On 8 Feb 2004 14:19:36 -0800, (zoranlee) wrote:

There were some discussions on reel "inertia". Possibly three years ago? I
also remember exchanging e-mails with at least two people on the subject. It
may have been on another group somewhere, but I don´t think so. There was
also some discussion on the old VFS board, as I recall.

The main point is, that no matter how free running a reel may be, if the
line moves fast enough before the reel engages, then you will get a
break-off, if you are using fine tippet.

This is exactly due to inertia. The inertia of the reel ( and the friction
of the line through the rings, the force bending the rod etc), must be
overcome, before it moves at all.

You can try this quite easily. Put some fine tippet on the end of your
line, get somebody to point the rod straight at you, and jerk the tippet. It
will break before the reel even begins to revolve. Pull slowly, and it will
not. One of the main purposes of a rod is to cushion such "jerks", and
translate them into "smoother" pulls. If you do this with a rod held
vertically, you will see that the rod has a considerable bend in it, before
you even get close to the breaking strain of any reasonable tippet, and
without the reel moving at all. Actually, quite considerable force is
required to set even a free running reel revolving.

This is quite independent of drags etc, although a drag will of course
increase the problem, by braking the reel.

Click and pawl "drags" are really only there to stop overruns. They do of
course add a braking effect as well.

Unfortunately, the description "large arbor" can mean a lot of things. In
fact in many cases it seems to mean "wide arbor", and is independent of the
reel diameter.

However this may be, a large diameter lightweight reel with a wide arbor,
is most efficient at start up ( all other things being equal). It is also
more efficient when winding in line, or in playing a fish.

If one, ( as is common nowadays) uses a very fast ( not only recovery speed
wise, but also "stiff"), rod, and fine tippet, then breaks are inevitable,
no matter what reel one uses. ( Apart from a fixed spool, which would be a
bit pointless for fly-fishing under normal circumstances).

Lastly, and possibly of only minor interest anyway, styles and fashions have
changed over the years. At one time, it was considered extremely unsporting
by many, to use equipment, ( especially tippet), which a fish could easily
break. Of course some skill was still required, even with the appropriate
tippet.This is apparently no longer the case. The trend is towards very fine
tippet, very fast rods, and the fish are often larger as well. The result
is inevitable. This is exacerbated by the tons of absolutely useless advice
flying around, to "get the fish on the reel".

For some fish, this is obviously essential. For normal sized trout and the
like, it is a waste of time and effort. Use the rod to fight the fish, not
the reel. If you do this properly. and with the correct equipment, then you
will never get broken by a fish, quite irrespective of what reel you use.

TL
MC