I have looking at various brands of reels and see everything from around 10lbs drag(Steez) up to about 20 on Abu Revo. My question is does the lower end drag numbers affect hook set? I can lock my Abu down and it won't move. Never had a Steez, Core etc but to me something with a lower drag might slip some on hook set. Am I correct or off course. Thanks for any insight

I really think drag is over thought on bass

The instance a hookset happens drag may slip but it's not taking. What you think it does for the hook to penetrate

Drag is more important on fighting a fish and even then set it right and trust it If it's set right you won't have to mess with it during a fight Don't thumb it our try to thumb it or free spool while fighting a fish

Next time out loosen your drag about half way and see how many fish come off. Drag is in no way over thought.

On smaller fish, fish under say 5 lbs, I don't think it is a big deal. But if you want your hook to penetrate the bone in the roof of the mouth of large bass, especially ones 10lbs and bigger, you need a HARD hookset. If your drag slips much when you set the hook on a huge fish, you're probably gonna lose it.

I used to play fish a whole lot more than I do now, and yes drag was much more important then. But over the years I've learned to just get then in the boat asap, and having a locked down drag will let you do that.

Of course all of that is dependent on if you can trust your line with the drag locked down. On 12lb test and up, I keep it locked. Smaller than that and it's just too risky to not have some slippage.

I'm not sure why they do it but, Abu severely over rates their drag systems. From personal experience and other reviews, their drags are only a fraction of what they claim it to be. With that being said, I have found them to more than adequate for good hook sets and fighting large bass.

You definitely do not want your drag to slip while setting the hook. As Tim said above, when it slips you are losing power. With that said, I have no idea what the rating really means on a reel. I use all Revos and they tighten down plenty tight to get a good hook set.

Another factor is vegetation. When hauling in a big bass with a bunch of grass/lily pads/reeds, you might use every bit of your reel's drag rating.

Heres a good & easy home experiment to test how much force you are exerting on the business end of your line. Take your favorite heavy action rod and reel combo. Tie your line to a 10# anchor and with only about 3 feet of line between you and the anchor set the hook as hard as you can. Did the 10# anchor budge. My money says No.

However if you are Dwayne Johnson and the anchor comes flying off the floor and goes through the ceiling tile, I would say you need a reel rated for more than 10# of drag.

Now try the same experiment with 30 yards of line between you and the anchor.

I agree that in some cases like Froggin or Flippin heavy cover with 65-80# braid you will need more than 10# of drag but in most cases, 10# of drag is more than enough.

Drag is good but I think is severely over thought. If you lock down almost any reel you will be able to bring the biggest hooks home in a bass with the proper hookset. Of course there are many variables like knot strength, line size, and rod quality. But even if you have a Abu Black Max and lock it down you can drive a flippin' hook just as good as a Revo or Lews.

But as others mentions it does have many advantages, especially in the heavy grass.

I remember as a kid my dad stood about 30 yards from me and held a lure between his thumb and forefinger and told me to set the hook. Now keep in mind this was during the mono days and 5 1/2' rods, but I could not jerk the lure out of his fingers.

I've got one better than that.

I attended a seminar at the Dallas Boat Show where Jimmy Houston did a neat demonstration.

He took a broom handle and a length of heavy heavy mono. It was tied to a spinnerbait with the hook removed. He picked a guy from the crowd that was about 6' 4" built like a linebacker and handed him the broom handle. He gave the spinnerbait to another guy across the room. He told the guy holding the spinnerbait to hold it in his hand, then he told the guy with the broom handle to jerk as hard as he could in an attempt to pull the lure out of the other guy's hand.

Not only could the guy with the broom handle not jerk the spinner away from the guy holding it, it was amazing how little force he could exert on the end of the line where the lure was being held. Several guys traded positions and it was apparent that even with the broom handle, only 7 or 8 pounds of pressure could be exerted on the business end of the line.

Now do I think there are times when you will need more than 10# of drag on a reel, maybe... I've wrestled 7-8# bass from tangled lily pads on 65# braid that took everything I could do to get them out. My drag never slipped and it was with an old school Shimano Chronarch that had maybe 12-14# of drag at most.

Set the drag for playing the fish. Just put your thumb on the spool when you set the hook !Duh!

No, hammer the drag so it won't slip at all when you set the hook. Very simple to adjust the star drag with your index finger while fighting the fish. Ken, I remember a show Jimmy Houston did years ago on hook sets and lbs of pressure generated at the lure in the water. It was never more than 2-3 pounds.

Got embarrassed years ago from a small old man who proved I could not jerk a hook out of his hand even with a 6'6" rod from 30' away

So this dude just held a hook while you cracked the whip?! If so then he's a bad "a"

I generally set mine @ #8 drag with rod bent. I loose very few fish.