Drag Setting When Fishing Downlines

My drag setting for down lines is varied depending mainly on how deep I am fishing the lines. If I am fishing them deep (>25ft deep), then I'll set the drag pretty tight. With monofilament line, there is a lot of stretch in the line and you can get away with a tighter drag on those deep down lines. Additionally, if you hook into a decent fish on a deep line with a loose drag, you'll have a tough time keeping it out of the trees. When the fish gets closer to the boat, you can loosen the drag to account for less stretch in the line at that point. When fishing shorter down lines (12-20ft), I'll keep a slightly looser drag to account for less stretch in the line.

My drag setting for down lines is varied depending mainly on how deep I am fishing the lines. If I am fishing them deep (>25ft deep), then I'll set the drag pretty tight. I use monofilament, which has a lot of stretch in the line, so you can get away with a tighter drag on those deep down lines. Additionally, if you hook into a decent fish on a deep line with a loose drag, you'll have a tough time keeping it out of the trees. When reeling in a fish, as it gets closer to the boat, you can then loosen the drag to account for less stretch in the line and less threat of a fish hanging you up. When fishing shorter down lines (12-20ft), I'll keep a slightly looser drag to account for less stretch in the line also.

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