Were is the drag on a fly fishing reel?

Question

my mom got me a flyfishing pole for christmas. I was messing with it the other day and i dont know were the drag is on it. can anybody tell me if they have one, and if they do were is the drag located on the reel.

Answer 1

I remember my first fly rod... sigh...
Many fly fishing reels DO have a drag. Battenkill and Vortex are two of the types I have, and they not only have a drag, they have adjuments from free spool to full on dead stop.
Like I said, not all reels have a drag. You have to use the flex of the rod and your hands as a drag, so to speak. Fighting a fish that wants to run? Let some line go slowly thru your fingers, using them like a drag. This keeps you in contact with the fish. Its a very different feeling that other types of fishing. More fun I think. One way to get started is to go where people are fly fishing and watch them. Ask them questions. Its been my experience that if you get a fly guy talking, he'll talk your ears off.

Answer 2

There are several different kinds of fly-reels.
The simplest (and probably what you have) involves a
"click" drag. There is no adjustment. If you pull the line out
you will probably hear an audible click. As you wind line in the reel will probably be silent. What you need to remember is that when you are fighting a fish on a flyreel the fish is fighting against the weight of the flyline. When a fish pulls you will hear the reel clicking. You can add pressure to reel by "palming"
your hand against it to create some friction to "slow" the fish
down.

Answer 3

Pheasant tail is right about the click drag. If you have a disc drag on your reel, there will be a knob on the back side of the reel. It has a small disc, leather for example, that slows the spool as line gets pulled off. Turn it to the right to tighten the drag, left to loosen.

Answer 4

A fly rod is not used like a regular fishing pole. Fly fishing is an art in itself. first thier is the cast. when you make the first cast the fly is only going to go out about 5 or six feet, as you work the fly through the air you strip the line off of your reel until you have mnay many yards of fly line in the air at one time. After you make a successful cast you don't real the line in but wrather you pull the line in with your hand letting the line coil up at your feet or drift off back down the stream a little bit. When you catch a fish again try and pull in by hand wrather than using your reel, if the fish is so big that you need to use the real, then reall in slowly with the palm of your cranking hand on the face of the real to act as a break. to lett off the drag a little realease pressure on your palm and apply more pressure as needed. all of this takes a lot of practice. When i first started flyfishing my dad had my fish for rings in my fron yard for months before ever being allowed to tie a fly on my rod.

for more information on learning to flyfish buy some videos from wal mart, and watch the Outdoor channel...both places will show you good tricks and tips. Also when you go fly fishing try and talk to one of the "Old Guys" after they are bringing it in for the day, they usualy are more than happy to show you a few pointers and tell u what you are doing wrong and what you are doing right.

I C you guys gave me a thumbs down on this advice, wich is ok, but i would like to know where i messed up since i am writing from my own expirience with my one and only fly rod ( can't remember the make of my rod or real since both are made before the Depression of 1929)

Answer 5

A fly reel usually has a built in drag, but sometimes it has a switch that turns on the drag.

Answer 6

Depends on the reel, as traditionally Fly fishing reels were just intended as something to store line on, and some people didn't even bother using them, as instead of like on normal reels you pull the line in by hand (usually dangling round your feet).

Some modern fly reels + Salmon fly fishing reels do have them, usually in the form of a small knob (not the handle) on one side of the reel....... at least it does on my Shakespeare SUMMIT Fly Reel.

As you're just getting into Fly fishing, I highly recommend the book "JOHN BAILEY'S COMPLETE GUIDE TO FLY FISHING"
http://www.amazon.com/John-Baileys-Complete-Guide-Fishing/dp/1580112331

One final hint I learned when I first started fly fishing 3yrs ago when I bought a fly rod & reel with my Christmas money is Don't wear a jacket with drawcords at the bottom, otherwise they try to mate with your flyline while you're trying to cast.

Answer 7

A FlyFishing Pole, doesn't have a drag. You just pull the strings! Unless there's been a Flyfishing Pole made, that I've not seen. ~Good Luck~