I'm looking for experienced opinions on the drag capacity of Daiwa Tatula reels which most anglers deem to be necessary for hooksets when froggin' around heavy brush.  Thankyou, guys.

Drag? Cinch it as tight as you can and go. 12lbs of drag is more than you think.

47 minutes ago, Drew03cmc said:

Drag? Cinch it as tight as you can and go. 12lbs of drag is more than you think.

Yep. This.

All of my BCs are Daiwa except for the reel on my 7'6" Powell rod I use for frogs, heavy cover jigs, etc.  That baitcaster is an Abu Garcia with 24lbs of drag spooled with 65lb Sufix 832.  I once rescued a whale from a commercial fishing net with it.  Ok, that didn't actually happen but I think it could do it. 

I've never locked down a drag on any reel I've ever owned. Not even when frogging or punching.

 

Everyone talks about locking down reels that have 25 lbs of drag, my poor Calcutta only has 9.5 lbs drag max, I set it at 6 lbs.

Not sure if its right or wrong, but I set my drag a little on the lighter side and on hooksets just hold the spool with my thumb. 

On most reels regardless of their published or actual drag, you can lock them down by turning the star tight enough, and that's how I fish frogs, as a matter of fact, my favorite frog reel's drag washers are so bad, its essentially on or off.

Lock it down. If you don't get that bass turned and headed your way you'll reel back a frog and 5 lbs. of salad. Ideally you want to turn the bass, get it to the surface and drag it to you. Imagine trying to do that with a big bass. I don't see how to do it without at least setting your drag very tight.

Lock down on reels with 9 lbs of drag worked for me for years without any slip.  13 or whatever the tatulas have is more than enough.  You might be able to get that to slip if you yank and rip at the fish like a lunatic while its pinned sideways against a log but that would be the angler pulling drag and not the fish.  Fish like a normal person and everything will be fine.

I use a Tatula 100 for frogging with the drag tightened down it does just fine. 

9 hours ago, Catt said:

I've never locked down a drag on any reel I've ever owned. Not even when frogging or punching.

 

Everyone talks about locking down reels that have 25 lbs of drag, my poor Calcutta only has 9.5 lbs drag max, I set it at 6 lbs.

Same here - my frogging reel is a Fuego CT - 13# max drag...but with 50# test I set it to about 8#

Like other have said, I tend to keep the drag on my frogging reel about as tight as it can go without really torquing it. Last thing I want is slippage when hoisting hawgs from the slop. 

9 hours ago, Catt said:

I've never locked down a drag on any reel I've ever owned. Not even when frogging or punching.

 

Everyone talks about locking down reels that have 25 lbs of drag, my poor Calcutta only has 9.5 lbs drag max, I set it at 6 lbs.

This is spot on. Locking the drag down is unnecessarily hard on the reel rod line and knots. 

“Frogging drag” ?

 

Other of my favorite oxymorons include;

 

Jumbo shrimp

Almost exactly

Awfully good

Freezer Burn

Living dead

Only choice

 

? ?

I keep mine pretty tight, but it's not locked down. The Tatula would have plenty of drag power for froggin'. 

4 hours ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

This is spot on. Locking the drag down is unnecessarily hard on the reel rod line and knots. 

 

We spend hours on this site discussing the right hook, right line, tying the right knot, the right rod, the right reel...let em do their job.

 

11.3# in hydrilla that wasn't quite matted. Shimano Crucial 6'10" M/H X-Fast, 15# Big Game, Shimano Calcutta with drag set at 6#. She never slipped drag.

 

Slippage isn’t always a bad thing. 
All my reels are set up the same way. 

That said, My thumb is always on the spool from hook set to landing regardless of what I’m throwing where, from long distance casting to frogging and/or punching.
It’s there to adjust as needed all the way back. 
 

To rely on a locked down reel regardless of the make and model, just puts too much stress on the entire combo when it just isn’t necessary. 
 

 

 

 

Mike
 

 

 

This thread is getting me excited for froggin this year. 2022 was not the year of the frog for me at all. Wasn’t really a topwater year in general. Here’s hoping that 2023 is better. 

3 hours ago, Mike L said:

To rely on a locked down reel regardless of the make and model, just puts too much stress on the entire combo when it just isn’t necessary. 

 

I agree. My thump is the variable adjustment I use as needed.