Backreel

[Fisherman]

Under what circumstances is it better to backreel than rely on your drag?

[Dodge1]

When you don’t trust your drag, and/or you just want to have some fun, and/or you’ve just hooked the fish of a lifetime.

Most people have their anti-reverse enabled from hookset to net but I’ve always believed that it’s a simply brilliant idea to disable your anti-reverse, right after your hookset. That way you have the ability to combine back reeling and your drag, while fighting a fish. This can be an extremely effective way to deal with cheap drag washers and affords you a much better opportunity of landing a large fish.

Here are a couple of more tips regarding drag:

It’s an excellent idea to check your drag, every time you use a reel, to see if it’s smooth when you pull the line out and doesn’t show even the slightest amount of jerky motion. Then you want to set the drag as loose as you can, while still being able to attain a good hook set.

I clean and lube all my reels at least once a year and that includes the drag washers. I’ve been using Shimano Drag grease for the last couple of years and found that it works extremely well but you only want to put on a very slight film, on both sides of the washers, after they’ve been cleaned.

Back the drag off after you’ve finished using a reel but please don’t forget to reset it;)

[Steve CO]

I can't disagree with Dodge 1's experience and I know that a lot of fisherpeople use backreeling. Personally, I am enough of a clutz that I would be afraid that I would lose many more fish backreeling than relying on my drag. Backreeling, at least in my hands, is much more "jerky" that my drag settings. I can't backreel fast enougfh if a good fish takes off on a run. I will continue to buy quality reels, keep them in good shape, and rely on the drag systems. I can only recall losing one really big fish because I had screwed up my drag setting (too tight). I have lost lots of other fish, but usually due to something else stupid I have done (like screwing up the netting process) not due to the drag.

[flattseyetaker]

I like the back reeling method of fighting fish. Once you hook the fish simply flip the switch. If the fish takes a big run you don't have to turn the reel handle backwards you just have to feather the bottom of the spool you can put as much pressure as feel like you'll need for each fish w/out adjusting your drag.

[Dodge1]

Steve,

By disabling your anti-reverse, after the hookset, you’re not disabling your drag. It simply offers you the opportunity to back reel, but only if you chose to do so. By using this method, if you accidentally set the drag to high, or it's not working properly, you at least have another option readily available to give the fish some line.

I’ve got to agree with your statement about more fish being lost by other stupid mistakes then the drag. Improper netting just happens to be my all time favorite way of losing a good fish.

[shadowman]

backreeling all the way, once you get used to it you,ll find you depend on your drag way way less, i,m to the point that if they made a reel without a drag i wouldn,t notice cause i just don,t use it.

[LukeS]

I learned to back reel a couple of years ago and will never fight a walleye with my drag again. I set my drag right tight, then i get a good hookset all the time and the simply hit the swith to back reel anf the fight is on.

[Dodge1]

I’m not going to strenuously disagree with the posters who like to tighten their drag and back reel, because as a general rule of thumb, walleyes simply aren’t an aggressive fish. However, I prefer the added safety that a drag affords because you never really know what fish you’re setting the hook on and sometimes my reaction times simply aren’t that fast.

The other reason that I like to use my drag and back reeling, in conjunction with each other, is that I generally use braided line for all of my fishing. If I tightened my drag down really tight and then set the hook, especially on a large fish, I can guarantee you that the chances of my losing that fish have just increased dramatically. This is the very reason that I set my drag as lose as I can, while still having it tight enough to insure a good hook set. Then after I’ve hooked the fish, I have the option of either disabling my anti-reverse and/or increasing or decreasing my drag; depending on what the fish I just hooked is doing.

[Tom B]

The best reason to back reel though, is to eliminate line twist when fighting fish. Letting fish run with the drag introduces tremendous line twist.

Tom B

[shadowman]

gotta agree with the line twist, that was the #1 reason i started backreeling in the 1st place, and than just progressed from there.

[Atomic Eye]

I started backreeling back in the age when dinosaurs roamed the land and swam the oceans - back in the late 70's. The only complaint I've had was the one time that I was trying to "finger or feather" the spinning reel and the fish took off so ##### fast that the rapidly spinning reel bail hit the nail of my index finger and splintered it! Man, did I bleed from that.

I don't think I'd recommend back reeling for muskies based on that incident.

Atomic Eye (New Mexico) -- "Gone Fission!" ~~~<}}}:>

[shadowman]

OW

[Tom B]

I hear ya, I had a 30 pound carp that whacked me with the reel handle. I couldn't back reel fast enough. Was funner than crap, when my thumb quit hurting.

Tom B