INDIANANGLER

Here is a question for the surf fishermen on this forum:

When surf fishing and after having made your cast, what is the drag that you set your reel at (assuming you are using a spinning reel and not a baitcaster).

If it is preferable to keep a low drag to induce the the fish to run with the bait before setting the hook, then is the drag tightened just before setting the hook?

Hi Ashwyn,
The normal setting of your drag, would be 1/3 the breaking strength of the line.
Normally, one does not change the drag setting.
If bait fishing,open the bail arm,and hold the line lightly, to get the feel of a bite.
Then quickly drop bail arm and strike !!
Syd.

Ashwyn,

It would depend on the type of subsurface and ,to a certain extent,upon the type of fish one is after.

If it is a sandy bottom throughout, I would agree that one should set a light drag . Upon hookup, one may then adjust the drag to be tighter and play the fish until landed.

However, there are many places where the beaches have a mixture of sand and reef/rocks under the water. Here, some fish(GTs,coral trout,grouper) are quite adept at immediately seeking cover after being hooked.

If one does not set a tight drag initially, it is curtains for the angler - it is next to impossible to get the fish out without the line being cut on the reef/rocks.

Regards,
Kingfish

I must clarify that my experience is purely from a lure fishing aspect, as I do not baitfish.