I was told the other day to loosen the drag and friction knob when storing a reel even for a week and especially for several months. The guy said it relives tension on the drag washers and such.

I'm talking about baitcasters and spinning reels.

Was wondering what the reel pro's on the TFF think.

Thanks for any and all input.

I'm not a pro but that is correct.

Thanks for the reply Late4lake.

Boy, I had been putting a lot of time into getting specific R&R combos to cast longer and the drag set right for specific baits. I guess I can count the clicks on drag and turns on tension knobs and fine tune on the lake. Got a lot invested in gear though so I guess it's worth it.

Yes,Yes,and Yes.....Keeping the drag set all the way will screw up the drag washers.

I'm sure there are a couple thousand members on here who've fished for over 20 years that'll tell you they've never done it. I've read it before but have yet to see a drag washer that's messed up.

It's your gear so treat it as you prefer.

Thanks for the replies.

It's not like I'm cranking all the reel settings to max, just a happy medium. KD, that makes good sense to me. Now on a line change to a different lb test or bait and such I can see doing that. Also, If the reel is not going to be used for a long period of time, I can see that too.

I certainly don't think it'll hurt, but man you'll have to condition yourself to tightening the drag back down each time you go fishing.

Thinking back I think I tried it at one point. I distinctly recall catching a fish and going to set the hook and the reel just spinning as I pulled the rod over my head.

That was the end of that experiment!

That's it, Game over. I've sure been there with the adjustment gig on the lake and missing a good fish because of the zinggg sound over my head while setting the hook because the drag was too loose.

Thanks

I fish a good bit, 5-7 days a week. Catch a few good un from time to time, red drum and nice heavy blues in the 20-50# range. Some of my reels are nearing 12-15 years old and have never had the drag backed off, they are preset by me and stay that way. I have never had a drag problem, and they are tested by fish very regular. Others are probably right but be darn if I will back off and adjust 15-20 reels daily, not gonna happen.

I loosen up my drag on my baitcasters at the end of every trip unless I am camped and know I'll be fishing the next day.

In order to keep me from casting before I reset the drag, I put a big rubberband over the trigger and one of the handle grips.

I have had problems with Quantums that the drags seem to stick if I don't back them off after use. I have also heard this and I try to treat my equipment the best I can as it is sometimes the thought that counts.

I haven't ever done it and haven't had a problem with the drags. Not to say it hasn't done any damage. I am afraid I would forget to retighten when money was on the line. I have them back off with some bouncing on the deck, and cost me. I try to check after each run.

Thanks Again to All for the input.

I'll be leaving them like they are if already rigged, but will loosen them if I store some unused over the winter without line on.

I always loosen them now...didn't used to but was convinced by a couple of reel mechanics I totally respect that it was a good idea.

The fun part is the first hookset afer you forgot to retighten them.