front vs rear drag

N

Nicky Garbutt

Guest
which is the best out of the two types of reel and what are the pro's and con's

thanks

nick
 
P

peter webber

Guest
I like the rear drag best, I find it easier to work with when playing a fish if I need to ajust it.

Pete
 
R

Ron Clay

Guest
Rear Drag without a doubt. The early reels had a front drag which was a real pain. The bail arm often got in the way when you wanted to adjust the drag. The along came ABU with the Cardinals which were the first rear drag reels. A marvellous innovation. Even better is the Shimano rear fighting drag. Great stuff yet again.

Now I notice that some reels are coming out with front drags. What a load of crap!!!

Some people obviously have not learned. Talk about re-inventing the wheel with somthing worse!!
 
C

Carp Angler

Guest
Because front drags have direct control as opposed to thru gears and washers, front drags are invariably smoother and more reliable, although rear drags are easier to adjust 'on the fly'.

With modern reels, where all gearing and mechanisms are so much smoother, then the difference between front and rears has closed somewhat.
 
D

David Will

Guest
Must depend on the reel , my old 54 has the smoothest drag of any reel i have owned only rivalled ny the Suverans.The 54 is rear the Suverans is ... in the middle :)
Then again the old Seaspin 3500's have a wonderful front drag.
 
R

Ron Clay

Guest
You're right David. The old 54s had a brilliant drag.

My Shimano GTM Stradics have got the best drags around. I like the fighting drag idea very much
 
R

Richard Drayson

Guest
Have to just say I agree with Big Rik on this one. As usual, his answer is spot on.
At the end of the day Nicky, whether you prefer front or rear drags depends largely on what type of fishing you use the reels for. I prefer the smoothness and sensitivity of a front drag for general coarse fishing but for pike and carp in particular I'd opt for the rear drag with baitrunner facility.
 
S

Steve Burke

Guest
I too like Shimano's Fighting Drag. For those who haven't seen it, it offers the facility to easily change the drag setting and then return it to its original position.

Front drags are very popular in the States, where rods tend to be shorter and stiffer, as they have a greater surface area. Like many UK anglers I prefer the easy adjustment of a rear drag.
 
A

Alan Roe

Guest
Get a reel with a proper sensitive drag...........Buy a centerpin!!! :)
 
D

Dave O'L

Guest
For sea fishing it's reccomended to use a front drag as it can be locked up for casting. The rear drags can't & will still slip.
Does this hold true for banging out big leads for carp at distance?
 
R

Richard Drayson

Guest
Nice one Alan! (lol) I very nearly replied with the same message :)
 
C

Carp Angler

Guest
Dave O,

yes this is true to a certain extent, but most reels have such a massive drag range that it is vitually locked up anyway.

You most certainly don't want the spool to move when giving it the big one, I had this happen on the beach with braid and almost lost the top inch of my finger. (I now get the Marigolds out when fishing at distance)
 
S

Steve Burke

Guest
Good point, Dave. It's interesting that DAM's range of rear drag reels all had, yes well, rear drags - except for the largest size.
 
N

Nicky Garbutt

Guest
i think il save a bit more and get a reel with a fighting drag.

thanks.
 
M

Martin Wright

Guest
I must admit I've always opted for front drag reels in the past (except baitrunners for piking) because the drags were so much smoother. It seemed that the rear drags needed to overcome an initial inertia which I didn't like

The new Shimanos though are brilliant and the drag on my new 4000 'fightin' drag seems as good as any front drag reel.
 
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