Backreel vs Drag

[elnutsmalljaws]

Allright fellas, I need somebody to enlighten me on the advantages of Backreeling. My Brother In Law (eatsleepfish) has fished for many more years than I, and he has been trying to get me to backreel when I am fighing the BIGUNS on my spinning tackle. I have a Quantum TI-30 and TI-40 that has a WONDERFUL drag system. I very rarely get broke off by a fish during the fight due to my drag setup. I always have my drag tight enough that it will not give any during the initial hookset and only gives enough as needed. I am notorious for loosening my drag during the fight, even more, the closer the Smally gets to the boat anticipating the quick run when she sees the boat. My B-I-L says that I need to backreel to really have all the advantages during the fight. I feel that the drag was made for a reason and I am going to use it. He wants me to take my spinning tackle this spring / summer and try to catch some Whisker fish locally and only use my backreel to get some experience. My Curado does not have a backreel and I assure you I have way more confidence in my drag on my Quantum spinning reels than my Curado. I fully understand the lighter line that I use on my spinning reels causes a much greater need for the drag or backreel on my spinning reels. Just looking for other opinions on the topic. I NEVER backreel and have had some pretty good luck at landing some really big Smallmouth on 4 and 6 lb test. Landed a 6-4 and 6-6 on 6lb test in December and a 5-6 lb Smallie on 4lb test last February. All of these were on the FNF where the long rod plays a HUGE part in keeping the fish from breaking the line but still these were landed. Somebody convince me one way or another on this topic.

Tight Lines

[elnutsmalljaws]

After further review of the responses, I have decided to heck with the backreeling. I love my Quantums and just had both of them serviced with new springs and washers installed (they work great and for $12 each well worth the money). I will let them do their jobs and if the BIGUN breaks me off then the Fishing Gods from above decided that she was not ready to be caught, kissed, photographed and released. I did remember this morning driving in to work another day of my 25 years sentence, that I caught a 13lb Striper at Ky Lake on 8lb Test with my TI-30 that is on a 6' IM8 Bass Pro Rod with no problems. The drag worked perfectly as did the trolling motor to chase her down by the way. I appreciate all the responses but will stick with what brought me to the dance.

Rob, you will have to work a little harder on me to start backreeling the BIGUNS.

Tight Lines

[tglass]

my take on it is that both have a time that it works and some it is both or being able to do both. I have fished float-n-fly and that is really the only time that i have back reeled. it was because as everyone knows a drag system does not function as well once the weather gets extremely cold. At that point you can back reel if the drag sticks a little so that you do not break off that once in a lifetime smallie or striper that grabs you little jig if you are on cumberland. i have the same stuff that a bunch of you guys use and yes i believe that you pay for what you get alot and an expensive reel usually has a better drag but i also know that as reels get a little older the drags stick a little more and the washer develop flat spots on them and will hang and on 4 or 6 pound test that means bye bye big brown fish. So neither is really going to be that much better but it helps to have a back up plan if something goes wrong. Just my thoughts.

[Moose1am]

Back in the late 1950s and 1960's fishing reels didn't have drag systems and fishermen were forced to backreel when fighting a fish.

Today with modern reels with smooth drag systems this is not really necessary.

I too adjust my drag system while fighting the fish. Tight to hook the buggers and loose to prevent a breakoff at the end of the fight.

Works great for me.

If the fish does not get off at the very beginning then I normally can get them into the boat. Most of the fish I loose are lost in the first jump because they were not hooked tight. I set the hook hard two or three times on Bass so that after that first jump I know they are hooked good.

Regards,

Moose1am

[rocfisher]

About 5 or 6 years ago,while fishing for crappie with 4 lb test line on a 6 foot lightning rod and a quantum ss1 and a 1/16th oz crappie jig, I hooked and landed a 22 lb striper in Fishing creek.I didn't need to back reel,the reels now IMO are good enough to handle about any size fish. I think the main thing is not to get excited and horse the fish to the boat. This is just my opinion.

[gettingonefishin]

I use backreel, because I think it keeps more pressure on the fish resulting in him not shaking the hook loose. But I say ya stick with what you are the most comfortable with. I do alot of lite line fishing especially for the hybrid white bass at Herrington with ultra lite equipment. I have found that when I get hooked up on some of them between 6 and 10 lb I have more control over the fish backwinding. If he heads toward some stck ups most of the time I can put more pressure on him and turn him away. Where as with the drag he just keeps goin. I landed a 11.2 Hybrid on 4 lb test and an ultra lite rod using this method and twice my spool was empty. Thats when the high on the trolling motor came in handy. Loads of fun. My opinion only. Try it ya might like it.

[Viking]

I use spinning/casting about half and half. For spinning I think backreeling is an advanced technique where YOU have the control. For fighting big fish you need to keep the energy in your rod, and not depend on a drag that might be too loose or too tight. Trust me, you can learn to backreel as fast as forward. Only a humble opinion. LPH

[kc]

I used to back reel on my spinning rods but haven't done so for years. I think the thing that has changed me the most is the quality of the reels I use compared then to now. I used to own pretty cheap stuff comparitively with drags that you couldn't trust so back reeling was the safer option. On the cheaper stuff when a fish makes a run the drag doesn't smoothly play out or binds after being tested resulting in variable levels of tension on the line.

Currently I have all Daiwa SS or Team S spinning reels that have fantasticly smooth drags. Now I believe having reels with good drags and using them is an advantage over back reeling. I have lost fish back reeling by not controlling them well enough and letting them wrap me up or getting slack in the line and loosing the hook set. Using the drag and keeping steady rod pressure I think does a better job controlling fish and keeping the hook in the fish. I regularly catch quality fish fighting them against my drag and don't often break my line nor lose the fish. A recent example was a fish I took in November. I caught a 30", 13# striper on 8# line back while bass fishing with a tube jig. Stripers make much longer and stronger runs than your average bass (for a couple of minutes I thought I had stuck the "real" smally I was after) and I fought that fish through several long, hard runs on the drag which worked that fish beautifully. What more could you ask for except for that fish to have jumped and been brown? !!!

kc

[ragdaddy]

I have friends who believe both ways are best but my opinion is a good drag set loose enough to give as needed is better. I once landed a 20# carp on 6# line ,which by the way ate a shiner while I was fishing for smallies ,using my drag. I also quit reeling when the drag is slipping and point my rod at the fish when he is making a strong run. Pump and reel pump and reel just not both at the same time. I believe the backreeling method was used by older folks with older equipment that did not have the smooth drags we find on quality reels we have to choose from today. My friends that beleive in backreeling still land a lot of fish with their skill. I kind of look at it as learning to use the drag correctly is easier. Our modern cars have antilock brakes which makes stopping in a straight line fast and easy, a really skilled driver might be able to stop quicker with standard brakes most of the time. One time making a braking mistake may be your last. One time making a mistake backreeling may lose your trophy fish. I belive drags and antilock brakes are more dependable in the long run.
Mike

[kc]

Another thing to be said on this thought are line and knot quality. The lines are much better today also and I use strictly a palomar knot which has eliminated knot failures for me. The point being when you use your drag exclusively you tend to put a bit more stress on the knot and line during a hot run but again these improvements have enabled us to not have to back reel. The one variable to that thought is that anytime you use light line you've got to watch it close for abrasion. It you have a bad place in your line you might do better back reeling on a hot run but again I opt to watch my line close and re-tie often. I rarely break off fish these days and I fish a lot of light line. About the heaviest line I use for bass is 12 lb -- even on my casting reels. Shows my faith in the line, knots, and drags that I use.

kc

[dpage70]

i personally use when fighting a bigger fish. i like to keep my drag just slightly on the to tight side just for the tension on the fish. so when i hook a bigger fish i back reel to make up the difference basically. if i'm going to lose a fish i want to be because i did something wrong rather than my equipment screwing up. also i'm just not coordianted enough to work the drag while i'm fighting a fish. everyone is exactly right about the newer equipment having so much better of a drag system than the ones in the past. my opinion is its just a matter of personal taste. my advice would be to try it and give it enough time to see if you like it. if not you can always go back to what you were doing.

[kc]

It's easy to see everyone has their preferences in fighting fish. I like back cranking too but just haven't felt the need to use it much anymore with the tackle I currently have. I also don't like to mess with my drag while fighting a fish. My dad messed up that way a couple of years ago fighting a huge smallmouth on KY. He hooked that fish on medium spinning tackle and had his drag set a touch on the light side and this fish really took off on him running under the boat and by the motor and when he tried to tighten up a bit to gain control -- pop -- and she was gone. As hot as that fish was I don't know if back cranking would have helped or not running up under the boat like that fish did but tightening that drag sure ended it quick.

I say do what feels right. If what you are doing is putting fish in the boat then you must be doing something right. If not, it may be time to re-consider. Tight lines all (just not too tight)!!!

kc