Fishing Reels 101: Drag

Drag: What does it mean and why is it important?
Drag refers to the amount of tension and when it comes to spinning reels, front and rear adjustments are both available. Remember, front or rear, you want the drag to be easily adjusted so it stays in place. Loose drag knobs will frustrate you and you are sure to lose your fish if it slips!

Points to remember:
~Rear drag is typically better for light line
~If you are fishing for large fish, front drag is the better choice

Remembering the Jitterbug (Hooks/Lures) and Fishing as a Youth

As a young fisherman, I learned many things from older, more experienced anglers. My father was one such man, and another was Brooks Stutler. Mr. Stutler was the best smallmouth bass fisherman I have ever known, and the most memorable thing that stands out about him was his patience. There was one lure in particular that exemplified this patience: Fred Arbogast’s Jitterbug.


The Jitterbug is fished at night, and, oddly enough, it doesn’t really mimic any type of food. The ‘bug primarily antagonizes fish, and they are essentially trying to kill–not eat–the lure. We’ve all had noisy neighbors. You get the idea. Back to patience for a bit. Some nights, I remember sitting in a boat in the middle of West Virginia’s Cacapon River and making hundreds of casts with my Jitterbug, and more often than not, the results were a few near misses and a plethora of empty casts.

With the moon as our only guide, Mr. Stutler and I casted into the wee hours of the morning from his semi-v bottomed Starcraft. Generally, I tossed the lure into the trees a couple of times a night. To a large degree, the only catch would be frustration. However, when everything went right, the results were amazing. Some of the biggest smallmouth bass I’ve ever caught were on the Jitterbug.

I remember one such occasion. I was, maybe, thirteen years-old and tossed the lure from the bank into a rapid on the Cacapon. There was a tremendous strike. Ten minutes later, my old Johnson Sabra pulled a 20" smallie out of the fast moving water.

In those days, I had two or three of these lures in my tackle box , but I have gotten away from using them over the years. Mr. Stutler died twenty or more years ago, and sadly, his wife Betty passed away this past Friday. I couldn’t make it to the funeral, but I think sometime soon I’ll purchase a Jitterbug and pay homage to two dear family friends. My first catch and this article will be devoted to them.

Fast Fishing Tips: Eagle Claw Featherlight Rods

Anybody who wants to experience ultralight fishing on a budget should consider the Eagle Claw Featherlight line of rods. They are relatively inexpensive—ranging from $20.99 to $27.99—and come in a wide variety of lengths: 5’, 5’6”, 6’, 6’6”, 7’6”, and 9’. The 5’ rod is one piece, and the others are two piece. All are equipped with a quality cork handle and are comfortable to use.

Personally, I have the 5’6” two piece rod, and a 6” bluegill will nearly bend the pole double, but don’t let that fool you. These rods are resilient! Some of my catches include a 16” smallmouth bass and a 17” sauger. Needless to say, when coupled with any ultralight reel, these rods make catching ANY fish fun. A friend of mine insists on using the Featherlight with a Quantum Xtralite reel. That’s about as light as it gets!



The longer rods (6’ and up) are used primarily by crappie fishermen who are looking for a little extra play from their catch. Another plus with these rods is the fact that this “play” magnifies even the lightest of strikes. If there is a fish on the other end of the line that is interested in your bait, believe me, you’ll know it. That brings up one drawback: the rod is “flimsy” to the point of making hook setting difficult. Anyway, that’s fishing; you take the good with the bad. Overall, the price is right, and you won’t have to catch a lunker to have a good fishing experience.

My Ranking: “A Good Catch”!

Baitcasting Reels: The Pros and Cons

Okay, here’s the scenario. You’re at a large outdoors retailer with your fourteen year-old son, and he points at a $150 baitcaster and asks, “Dad, can I have that for Christmas?” This could evolve into your worst fishing nightmare. Imagine a beginner’s fist time out with a spinning reel and multiply it by ten. Casting reels are notorious for bird nesting; this occurs any time the line comes off of the spool faster than the lure or bait is going through the air. For the novice, this can be every other cast!

There are ways of keeping this problem in check. After putting line on the reel, place it on a rod and run the line through the eyes. Then tie a weight (1/2 oz. sinker for example) on the end of the line and let it drop. Optimally, the weight should slowly drop to the ground. If it hangs there, it won’t cast. If it freefalls, watch out for the bird’s nests! This adjustment can be made with the drag knob. Here’s another small piece of advice. STOP the lure or bait before it hits the water. That’s done by putting your thumb on the roller. Many line problems occur with overcastting, but more often than not, it’s the sudden stop that makes the mess.

It may sound like I dislike baitcasters, but this is not true. They are everyday equipment for professional fishermen, and there has to be a reason. What other type of reel will hold 140 yards of 12 lb. test and cast this heavy line half the length of a football field? None. This is because of a “free flowing” spool. On spinning and spin casting reels, the line flows off in a more awkward, sideways angle. Many baitcasters have high speed gears and have a 7:1 retrieval ratio, and the crank has a more direct link to the spool than spinning or spin casting reels. This results in optimum power for fighting big fish.

Baitcasting reels come in a wide variety of prices and quality. On the low end, there is the Cabela’s All Pro Casting Reel for $29.99, and on the high end the Shimano Calcutta runs $499.99. Reels are like anything else: you get what you pay for, and fortunately there are happy mediums. The Abu Garcia Revo SX-L runs approximately $129 and has many of the features of higher priced reels. A final consideration is reel type. There are two styles of baitcasting reels, round and low profile. The round style allows the fisherman to “palm” the reel, which is a popular technique, and the low profile is sleeker, shaped almost like an “inverted teardrop.”

Like any other piece of fishing equipment, there is a baitcaster for all levels of fishermen, and might I suggest that you give the reel many tries before depositing it in the dumpster in a fit of rage.

Quick Facts about Baitcasting Reels:
-They are not recommended for novice fisherman
-Price range is between $30-$500
-Fisherman who use bait and are trying for large fish typically opt for baitcasting reels

How to Reline Fishing Reels

I have been fishing for over thirty years, and I really cannot offer much sage advice on this topic. Invariably, everything I touch eventually turns into a bird’s nest, unless a friend is there holding the spool on a pencil while it rolls off in the correct direction. As we all know, finding volunteers for this project is difficult: “Say, Frank, I bought a six pack of Bud Light. Come on over and hold my fishing line while I re-spool a half-dozen or so reels!” Yeah, right!

Well, I tried that once, and Frank was a no show. That leaves me with a spool of Stren laying flat on the floor while the line spins out of control onto my favorite spinning reel. Can anybody remember if it should come off clockwise or counter clockwise? I eventually get it loaded, but everything falls apart the first time on the creek. Within two casts, the line is tangled, and out comes the fingernail clippers. On an ultra light reel, one or two incidents can leave you with a half spool of line. After all, they only hold 60-80 yards in the first place!

Years ago, an old timer told me that you can “fix” a spool of twisted line by tying it to a tree and backing up until all of the line is off of the reel. Then you wind it back in while keeping the line relatively tight. I have done this many times over the years, too many times, and I’ve often thought there has to be another way. Well, the other day I found one.


For under $7 there is a little gizmo called the SpoolTool line spooler. It is a cheap-looking plastic implement that mounts on the rod and can be adjusted to the desired line tightness. Both large and small spools can be placed on the tool, and it successfully eliminates the need for our friend Frank and a trip to the local beer distributor. I have spooled several reels, both spinning and spincasting, and the results have been great. You may not be impressed when first seeing the SpoolTool, but results are what counts, and it delivers.

Return to Yesteryear

Once upon a time, Johnson was a major player in the fishing reel market, and as a child I had all of them at one time or another: the Sabra, Century, and Citation. As a youngster, I had to have the biggest reel I could get my hands on, and, naturally, I had it spooled with a ridiculously heavy 20 lb. monofilament. It’s a wonder my Johnson Sabra would even cast such a line, but it did a great job and lasted fifteen years to boot. Of the three main reels in the Johnson lineup, the Sabra was my favorite. Most of us “older” fishermen remember the green metal cap and black plastic gear cover on these reels, as well as the bold “Made in USA” lettering proudly displayed on the back of the reel. These were, and still are, classics.

Today, I’m like everybody else. I use a high tech spinning reel with eleven ball bearings, and it’s loaded with $9 for 350 yards premium line. I’ll be honest with you for a moment. I was a better fisherman as a kid, and I had better luck with the old relics than I do today. I play around on the Internet a good bit, and one day I decided to “Google” some of my old equipment. Surprisingly, all of these vintage reels are available on E-Bay, and they are fetching a healthy price!


I set up an E-Bay account and watched people selling and bidding on old Johnson reels, and, finally, I found something that caught my eye: a Johnson Citation (circa 1970) complete with its box and papers. To my surprise, the reel had never been used! For a week, I bid against two other fishermen, but this one wasn’t going to get away. Eventually, I bid $60, and I got my prize—for about four times what it cost new. When it arrived, I was ecstatic! The only problem was that the grease had become viscous and the handle was difficult to turn. The Citation is an all-metal reel, and the gear housing can be reached by removing a couple screws. I sprayed the gears with a de-greaser and then lubricated them with Zebco reel grease. The Citation was working as it did 35 years ago!

I found an old Shakespeare Ugly Stick that I hadn’t used in twenty years and mounted the Citation on it. I’m a fisherman, not a collector, and I planned from the beginning to put the old reel to good use. The reel has gotten numerous comments from other fishermen, such as, “I haven’t seen one of those in years” and, “Wow! That thing casts really well!” That it does, and the fish don’t seem to mind being caught on an antique any more than they do the new and improved stuff. I hope to use and maintain my Citation for twenty more years and pass it down to somebody else who will take care of it. The old adage holds true: They don’t make ‘em like they used to!

How much should you spend on a fishing reel?

I think a lot of this depends upon one's skills, fishing experience, and just what the desired species is. At the extreme high end, a spinning reel can cost $500 or more, and that's not money well spent while introducing a ten year-old to the sport. Basically, it's not a good investment for the best of fishermen. There are many good reels that can be purchased for under $100. Size and style depend upon the situation.

Beginning fishermen are mainly introduced to the sport with a spincasting (aka close faced) reel. The first name in introductory reels is the Zebco 33. In fact, many old timers making hundreds of casts with lures love these reels. They are easier to use, allow for quicker casting, and are less apt to tangle. The "33" runs anywhere from $18-35 (or thereabouts), and there is an improved version known as the Zebco Omega that goes for about $60. I own two Omegas, and I'll vouch for the fact that they'll cast as far as many relatively expensive spinning (open faced) reels, and with 6 ball bearings, the retrieve is very smooth.

Not every fish you catch is going to be a lunker, and ultralight fishing makes the sport fun and exciting. I have two ultralight spinning reels that I have caught bass up to 16" with. One is an Okuma Inspira IA 10, which runs in the neighborhood of $80. It has 10 ball bearings, and is both smooth and user friendly. The other is a St. Croix PS750. It has 6 bearings, but it is a very high quality reel for the $40 price. It's important to remember that ball bearings are key; the more the merrier. However, a reel with 10 or more cheap bearings may not be as good as one with 4-6 high quality bearings. A lot of people swear by Mitchell reels, but I am not a big fan. Many Mitchell's have 10 or more bearings, yet they still have a grind while retrieving that is reminiscent of reels from a bygone era.

A larger reel with more punch and good quality is the Daiwa Capricorn. Quite frankly, I love fishing with ultralights and rarely use the Capricorn, but for overall quality it is the best reel I own. This reel runs in the $80-90 range. Another quality spinning reel that I have tried is the Pflueger Premium, which costs $100. When mounted on a quality graphite rod, and of these reels will complete a combo that will give years of quality service. While $500 reels are ridiculous for most of us, it is important to also remember that you get what you pay for. Ask the counter person at your favorite sporting goods store to let you handle the reel that interests you most. Give the handle a few cranks. The smoother the better.