ON THE BRAKES

MOST anglers generally set their drags conservatively and generally use a third of the line’s breaking strain as a rule of thumb. There are many reasons for using a lighter drag setting; the chance of pulling hooks generally decreases with reduced pressure on the hook point whilst lighter drags give a margin of safety and reduce the risk of rod and line breakage for inexperienced anglers. Sometimes, however, fishing a heavier drag setting is needed. If a fish is heading back to a snag or reef, if you’ve hooked something much larger than expected or if you need to haul in your catch