I set the drag by feel most of the time, but check myself with a scale at the end of a bent rod occasionally to check myself. 8 - 11 lb drag on a 12 lb line, as mentioned in other threads, is a tremendous amount of drag. I use twenty lb line live bait fishing for stripers and set the drag at 4 - 5 lbs. Any more, and you'll bust off a lot of fish on the strike. I've caught tarpon well over 100 lbs and never had the drag above 6 lbs.