Okay, the Curado DC is one of the new reels I'm looking at for this year (along with the Tatula SV and Smoke S3) but it kind of worries me that it only has an 11lb. drag...why does it worry me, I don't know. It's not like where I live we have 11lb. bass, the heaviest I've heard of is around 9lbs. but generally speaking is 11lbs. of drag enough? I mean if you're going to haul a big girl out of thick pads and slop is it enough? If it is I'm definitely looking hard at it but of the 3 reels I'm considering it has the least amount of drag so I was just wondering.

Most people who pay attention to their drag set it between 1/4 and 1/3 of the line test they are using.  So 11 lbs would cover 44 lb line at 1/4 drag.   That's strong enough for the bass I'm trying to catch and anything more would probably break most of my rods.

Except in extreme fishing conditions, you typically only need 4-8 lbs.  What rod do you own that you are willing to tie 11 lbs. to and yank at full force?  My bet is none.

1 minute ago, J Francho said:

Except in extreme fishing conditions, you typically only need 4-8 lbs.  What rod do you own that you are willing to tie 11 lbs. to and yank at full force?  My bet is none.

You would win that bet easily .

You can see pros like Scott Martin thumb down on the spool when he's ripping them out of thick cover if you need more drag

What do people think of the torque on the 7.4:1 vs. the 8.5:1? I know some reels it's a trade-off between torque and speed when you get into the higher gear ratios.

XH swimbait rod bottoms out lifting 8 lbs of weight or 1 gallon of water. Try lifting 1 gallon with your favorite rod! Why would anyone need more then 8 lbs of drag bass fishing?

Tom

15 minutes ago, Brett's_daddy said:

What do people think of the torque on the 7.4:1 vs. the 8.5:1? I know some reels it's a trade-off between torque and speed when you get into the higher gear ratios.

What are you using the reel for? Not exactly the same reel, but I haven't found there to be a noticeable difference in torque with the 8.1:1 vs the 7.1:1 on the Chronarch. The 7.x:1 would be my pic for an "all around" reel speed though

1 minute ago, anderb54 said:

What are you using the reel for? Not exactly the same reel, but I haven't found there to be a noticeable difference in torque with the 8.1:1 vs the 7.1:1 on the Chronarch. The 7.x:1 would be my pic for an "all around" reel speed though

That's what i was thinking too. I might use this for skipping docks and laydowns though and I've heard people say you want the fastest reel you can get to pull the fish out from under the cover before they wrap you up in something.

What does torque have to do with drag force?

Tom

You only need > 11 lbs drag if you’re trying to boatflip the car at the bottom of the lake. Just my 2 cents!

5 minutes ago, WRB said:

What does torque have to do with drag force?

Tom

Nothing...lol. Sorry, sort of flipped the script on ya'. i turned this into a 2 part question post :).

5 minutes ago, Brett's_daddy said:

That's what i was thinking too. I might use this for skipping docks and laydowns though and I've heard people say you want the fastest reel you can get to pull the fish out from under the cover before they wrap you up in something.

You're only looking at 5" per turn difference between the two... aka the length of a Senko. Take that for what you will.

Tell us why 11lbs isn’t enough...

21 minutes ago, rippin-lips said:

Tell us why 11lbs isn’t enough...

If i could i wouldn't have posted ?. Like that said, just see some other reels with bigger drags and also reviews like Tackle Tour and they usually say 11-13lbs. drag is average to low in today's reels but honestly I'm sure its enough for me as we don't have bass that size anyway.

Brett

A lot of folks thought as you did.. #drag =max weight of fish. 

As you found out it doesn't work that way. 

 

With max this and minimum that, this sport can be confusing sometimes. 

 

You're good 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

No need for more than 11 lbs. If you're in a rare situation where you really just need more than 11 lbs. you could always switch to another reel, but that's not common.

Tackletour tested the OG Fuego at 5.4 pounds and the Scorpion 4x4 SVS at a mere 3 pounds.

I have no problem stopping and turning around  20# salmon in a flowing river with 10# of drag so I don't think any bass would be an issue.

All my reels have/will have the drag set to 1/3 the pound-test of the line, with the exception of the Fuego. Since I'll be putting 50# on that, the drag will be set to 1/2 it's max rating...so 6.5#.

 

The Avocet is rated to 18# on the drag...WAY more than I need since the line will only be 8# test...it's set to 3#.

My Calcuttas only have 9.5# drag, I landed double digit bass & 25# Bull Reds.

 

Bass anglers tend to button down thier reel drags, it's the only group of anglers I know who do this. The bass are tough fish crowd have apparently never hooked fish that are really tough and break your tackle if you don't learn how to use the reel drag set properly.

Tom

   In case you might have questions in the future, this is what you do:

 

   Have someone hold your rod. Tie a gallon milk jug, elevated, on the end. Start trickling sand in. The rod will bend ... and bend ... and bend. When the rod reaches full bend or shows signs of wanting to break, then that's the max drag for that rod. Any more and you'll have a broken rod. Measure the weight of the jug of sand, if you wish. I'll bet it's nowhere near 11 pounds. Don't set the drag for the fish. Unless you have light line, don't set the drag for the line. Set the drag for the rod. That way you can tire the fish out and still have a one-piece rod.  ☺️   jj

 

11 pounds of drag is more than enough for black bass fishing and lots of 50 pound or better fish are caught with only 10 pounds of drag.

Max drag is kinda like bearing count in that it’s just something for reel mfg to talk about. Has no practical application in actual fishing or overall quality.