What is the necessary amount of drag you should have for froggin'? I've seen some guys use reels with 11-12lbs. and I've seen some guys use reels with 15 - 20lbs. of drag. It stands to reason if you latch on to a big girl around 6 or 7lbs. and you're dragging almost that amount of slop/pads etc. with her that you'd want a higher amount of drag on your reel. What's your take?

The max drag of reels around 11-13 lbs is plenty. It's all you need. 

The smoothness of a reels drag is more important than how many pounds max drag it has, in my opinion. I think all of my Shimano reels max out at 11 lbs and I've never had an issue with them. They're also extremely smooth.

Drags job is to protect the line, rod and reel from shock and overload. The level of drag to accomplish the task depends on the characteristics of the components. Also, 7# fish does not apply 7# of drag pressure as an example. Point is, don’t over think this. Any quality reel with a quality drag will get the job done. What reel models fit that definition are open to interpretation. 

I've got my drag locked down in most situations I fish. I think it's important to evaluate your style of fishing and gear towards it. 

I personally fish 90% at night, I throw bigger baits, I fish in some serious thick ****. All of my rods have 40lb+ braid, I'm always using stout hooks and nothing lighter than a MH rod. To me, drag isn't a factor when purchasing a reel. I don't need it if I'm gonna be horsing bass out of sloppy messes every night. I also thumb my spool so the drag doesn't peel out on hooksets. It was relatively hard to train myself to thumb it hard when I go for a set, but muscle memory takes over. 

 

20 hours ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

Drags job is to protect the line, rod and reel from shock and overload. The level of drag to accomplish the task depends on the characteristics of the components. Also, 7# fish does not apply 7# of drag pressure as an example. Point is, don’t over think this. Any quality reel with a quality drag will get the job done. What reel models fit that definition are open to interpretation. 

If you measure your drag vs. the pressure you put on the rod, 3-4 lbs is max.

 

17 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

If you measure your drag vs. the pressure you put on the rod, 3-4 lbs is max.

 

Agreed! 

45 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

If you measure your drag vs. the pressure you put on the rod, 3-4 lbs is max.

 

 

27 minutes ago, Stephen B said:

Agreed! 

Agreed.

 

5-6lbs is the max you’d ever possibly need. The only time I ever lost a nice fish was when I tried the drag on lockdown. Never again.

I set my drag regularly with a quality spring scale.  It doesn't take long.  A good rule of thumb is take your line weight or highest line weight rating of your rod which ever is lower and divide that by 4.  Like @roadwarrior said,  it's almost always around 3-4 lbs unless you're using very light spinning tackle or braid on an extra heavy rod.  Your drag is an important tool that you should take advantage of.

 

I used to just lock down my drag and it was never a problem until I had the smallmouth of a lifetime break 15 lb test.  That was in the 90s and I've been minding my drag carefully ever since.