5. Reel Drag

The drag system is pretty much the same on any fishing reel; its purpose is to regulate the force or tension required to take the line off the spool. Having a loose drag makes it easier for the fish to take the line and run, while tightening the drag makes it harder.

In other words, when the drag is set too loose, the line will spool off the reel pretty easily. This will make fighting the fish inefficient. On the other side, if the drag is set too loose, the line won’t go out fast enough, most likely resulting in the line breaking off.

Therefore, use a scale to properly set your reel’s drag. The drag lets a fish take line instead of pulling against it till it breaks, so having it set accordingly is critical. Truth be told, most would-be anglers just give a tug on the fishing line until it “feels right.”

That’s a not-so-good substitute for tying the line to a hand scale and making sure you set the drag to one-third of the line’s rated breaking strength, which is typically considered ideal.