Was out fishing yesterday and hooked up with a big one. Kept pulling drag , i kept tightening the reel up little by little. after about a minute and half my 30lb line broke ...

Being newer to fishing , should i just let the fish pull and wear down ? what did i do wrong here?

Usually i set the drag where its hard to pull the line by hand then adjust as needed after a hook up. Need some guidance here...

What kind of 30lb line? Mono? Fluoro? Copoly?
Where did the line break? At the knot? How far above the knot?
Were you fishing around deep timber? rocks?

My guess is there was a knick or weak point in the line.

In general, with Texas rig single open hook, you want the drag set fairly tight for a good hook set and then adjust to lower tension if needed from there and wear them out. With exceptions being around thick heavy cover--you want to get the fish to the surface as quickly as possible and water ski them in.

Was it a bass? Could it have been a carp? drum? gar?

my general rule of thumb is to have the drag slip just a lil on hook sets with Flourocarbon. No slip with Mono and NO slip with Braid. If a fish pulls drag on my reels it generally tells me I have a fish larger than 3lbs on. Mono stretches enough to not warrant any drag and braid you don't really need drag.

Now this all depends on having the proper line size for your application. I don't flip with anything less than 15lb line...braided lines are all 50-65lb....only my drop shot and deep cranking have 10lb or less.

mono , broke about 5' off the rod tip. fish was about 30 ft out. saw the bass surface one time . caught on a spinner bait. shallow grass flat.

line type is key because of the different properties. For example, I will set my drag a little bit looser with braid not because i might break it but because there is no stretch and - with no stretch and a stout rod, something has to give, which could mean the hook gets bent out or it tears a big hole in the fish making it easier for her to throw it.

breakoffs will happen, it doesn't necessarily mean your drag adjustment was off. you might have hooked a toothy critter that chewed through your line, or if the fish got you around a piece of concrete, rebar, or something abrasive. Or as mentioned above, you might have put a week spot on the line earlier. If you were throwing fluorocarbon line and you get a kink in it, always cut the line above the kink and re-tie, otherwise it is a break off waiting to happen.


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ahh - see you added some details. 30lb mono 5' off the rod tip with the fish 30' out - that to me screams of a weak spot in the line. looser drag may have made a difference, but she also might have taken you to school - a bass shouldn't be able to break 30lb mono even with no drag if there isn't a weak spot.

Beak offs happen. That's just part of it. I fish mainly fluorocarbon. I set my drag to max or dang near it. I adjust as needed after the hook set. A lot of times I will keep the drag maxed out and let line out by releasing the spool, if I think I can get away with it.

30lb line?? had to have a bad spot on the line.....

Check your eye inserts to make sure there isn't a knick fraying your line. That close to the rod tip with that much line out (and 30 lb test?)... Break offs happen, but check your setups too!

Never assume that your line is at full strength. I generally fight fish with the assumption that my line is half strength. Mono/flouro lines get stretched, kinked, frayed, etc. Braid wears down & frays and can get clipped pretty easily when it rubs against metal. In most situations, if you assume that your line is at half strength, you have a better shot of getting your fish. An exception would be in the case of heavy cover like thick grass mats. In that situation, you may have to try to force the fish out whether you think your line can take it or not.

Tighten drag down with channel locks and push freespool button with thumb on spool for drag.

Must have been BIGGUN. Sounds like you had your drag adjusted just fine. Normally the line will break at or near the knot. If your 30# line broke five feet from your rod tip, that is pretty weird.

I set my drag pretty much like you - hard to pull off by hand and loosen it half a turn once the fish gets to the boat if it is a great ole biggun. They always make that one last dive under the boat and that is where 99% of all big bass are lost.

You will get about 100 different answers to your original question but it sounds like you didn't do anything wrong IMO.

Agree with this too. Your line is ALMOST NEVER full strength but like he says, sometimes you just have to pull hard as you can & pray it holds!

This, I lost a giant today on RR came out of the water and spit my top water bait right at me.

My drag is mostly very heavy on my bass rigs....I use my hands, body, and boat as a drag.....and I've never had 30 lb mono in anything.... Had to be a nick

Spring scale would be the most accurate way.