Why aren't rear drag spinning reels more popular.

[Syn]

Ok we already know baitcasters are the work of the devil with their rod guides being on top and the majority being right hand retrieve :lol: So I won't even go there (except for musky fishing).

 

Anyhow since I started using rear drag spinning reel, I find them 10X better than front drag reels.

 

With rear drag I just push a button and the spool pops off so I can switch quickly without having to waste time unscrewing the spool, risk loosing the small washers and cap and having to retighten the drag.

 

On a rear drag I can quickly adjust (or fine tune) the drag lever depending on how hard the fish is fighting without having to reach in front of the reel and twist the cap which is awkward when fighting a fish.

 

OK the rear drag reels weight about 1.5 oz more for a 1000 series and 0.5oz more for a 4000 model, but imo the pros outweigh the cons. Yet I've only seen a few rear drag reels.

[Roy]

Simply because a rear drag is less efficient.

[fish_fishburn]

well Syn I have both but I prefer the front drag way more. It seems alot easier to adjust the drag when fighting a fish with the front drag. I just find the rear drag to complicated in the spur of the moment with the preset drag and drag tension at the back. Just my 2 cents

[Spiel]

To the best of my knowledge rear drag designs typically incorporate smaller drag washers thus making them less efficient and less durable than the larger washers of front drag reels.

[asdve23rveavwa]

Not as smooth, less efficient...about 25-30 years ago the "fighting drag" was a big novelty...turned out the fighting drag pretty much sucked.

[pike slayer]

i think it is alot easier to fine tune your drag when fighting a fish with a rear drag reel. there doesnt seem to be any better quality rear drag reels out there, in shimanos line isnt the spirex the highest quality that comes with a rear drag??? i really think they need to improve it and start doing it to more reels. i only have one rear drag spinning reel and its an old el cheapo shimano.

[superdad]

Those classix Abu-Garcia Green and Cream -rear adjusting drags worked like a charm for years and years and years. In my years, the drag has never caused me to lose a fish.

 

I prefer rear drag, as you adjust on the fly and makeitfor that fish.

 

Just my .02

[vinnimon]

Those classix Abu-Garcia Green and Cream -rear adjusting drags worked like a charm for years and years and years. In my years, the drag has never caused me to lose a fish.

 

I prefer rear drag, as you adjust on the fly and makeitfor that fish.

 

Just my .02

Now those were nice reels.I beleive some of them are a collectors item.

[MJL]

As others have mentioned, the drag washers on rear drags are smaller than front reel ones. I actually find front drag reels easier to use and adjust in the heat of the battle.

 

With all this talk of rear and front drags, whatever happened to the center drags that Abu brought out back in the late 90’s (I think)? I remember they had one called the Suveran (or something like that and the CD series). It’s been almost a decade since I bought a 2000 sized spinning and haven’t really been looking in the market to see what's out there. Back in the day I was seriously thinking of spending my Christmas and Friday's lunch money on a Suveran after watching Italo winch in Kalum river steelhead with one . Apparently the drags were even more efficient than front drag reels and the washers had twice the surface area.

[LeXXington]

I prefer the rear drag but get a big fish on and I find it slips and you have to adjust.

 

Could be that its just my cheaper reels but for smaller fish love rear drag systems

[Spiel]

Those classix Abu-Garcia Green and Cream -rear adjusting drags worked like a charm for years and years and years. In my years, the drag has never caused me to lose a fish.

 

Yep, great reels, simple in design and durable. I still have 4 of them that get frequent use but admittedly I have replaced the worn out leather drag washers in all of them, more than once.

 

They're only true weakness was broken bail springs! Fortunately I still have a couple of sets left.

 

But hey they still work.

[asdve23rveavwa]

Those classix Abu-Garcia Green and Cream -rear adjusting drags worked like a charm for years and years and years. In my years, the drag has never caused me to lose a fish.

 

I prefer rear drag, as you adjust on the fly and makeitfor that fish.

 

Just my .02

Ooops...that was a reel that I forgot about...okay, one exception.

[vinnimon]

Yep, great reels, simple in design and durable. I still have 4 of them that get frequent use but admittedly I have replaced the worn out leather drag washers in all of them, more than once.

 

They're only true weakness was broken bail springs! Fortunately I still have a couple of sets left.

 

But hey they still work.

out of curiosity, didnt red fisher back in the day swear by them?To this day I cant get my bud to part with his.

[bare foot wader]

As others have mentioned, the drag washers on rear drags are smaller than front reel ones. I actually find front drag reels easier to use and adjust in the heat of the battle.

 

With all this talk of rear and front drags, whatever happened to the center drags that Abu brought out back in the late 90’s (I think)? I remember they had one called the Suveran (or something like that and the CD series). It’s been almost a decade since I bought a 2000 sized spinning and haven’t really been looking in the market to see what's out there. Back in the day I was seriously thinking of spending my Christmas and Friday's lunch money on a Suveran after watching Italo winch in Kalum river steelhead with one . Apparently the drags were even more efficient than front drag reels and the washers had twice the surface area.

 

I bought an abu cd6 and loved it...smooth drag and easy spool removal...used it for everything and it worked flawlessly(until the day i decided to take apart and clean myself and now it sits in a shoebox in about 50 pieces)....I'd still say that a front drag is easier to adjust while fighting a fish but that might be force of habit from years of fishing front drag...

[JPD]

As others have mentioned, Drag size is a big factor. Other things to consider is that with rear drags the pressure on the spool shaft is being done from the back of the reel and the shaft is being pulled down as you apply more drag. The is done with the "t"pin which also allows you to have a quick release spool.

 

Front drags are direct pressure on the spool from the top and now they almost all have micro adjustment so drag pressure can be finely tuned.

 

The other major factor which directly affects the weight of the reel is the fact that they can make the reels smaller with front frag since all of the drag components are housed within the spool. On a rear drag model the spool size is the same but just wasted space.

 

I know that rear drags are far more popular here in Canada than in the US and that's probably the main reason why most manufacturers make so few of them. Shimano has a few models that have them but the highest end one is the Symetre which is the middle of the road reel for their line up. It also still has the fighting drag which I know quite a few people use specifically for fishing jerkbaits. They leave it cranked tight to get a good hook set and then immediately back it off to fight the fish.

[bassjnkie]

As others have mentioned, the drag washers on rear drags are smaller than front reel ones. I actually find front drag reels easier to use and adjust in the heat of the battle.

 

With all this talk of rear and front drags, whatever happened to the center drags that Abu brought out back in the late 90’s (I think)? I remember they had one called the Suveran (or something like that and the CD series). It’s been almost a decade since I bought a 2000 sized spinning and haven’t really been looking in the market to see what's out there. Back in the day I was seriously thinking of spending my Christmas and Friday's lunch money on a Suveran after watching Italo winch in Kalum river steelhead with one . Apparently the drags were even more efficient than front drag reels and the washers had twice the surface area.

 

The center drags disappeared as fast as they came out. I managed to get the Suveran 2000, 3000, 4000 and the cheaper CD6 3000. Now they are in my collector reel collections. They are bullet proof with a wicked drag.

[limeyangler]

i think it is alot easier to fine tune your drag when fighting a fish with a rear drag reel. there doesnt seem to be any better quality rear drag reels out there, in shimanos line isnt the spirex the highest quality that comes with a rear drag??? i really think they need to improve it and start doing it to more reels. i only have one rear drag spinning reel and its an old el cheapo shimano.

 

 

I know that rear drags are far more popular here in Canada than in the US and that's probably the main reason why most manufacturers make so few of them. Shimano has a few models that have them but the highest end one is the Symetre which is the middle of the road reel for their line up. It also still has the fighting drag which I know quite a few people use specifically for fishing jerkbaits. They leave it cranked tight to get a good hook set and then immediately back it off to fight the fish.

 

 

hey Worm Dangler and JP.......Shimano do a lot of rear drag reels....but i dont think they sell them all in Canada?US....i have not seen alot of there rear drag models that i could buy in England....check out the models they sell in Europe SHIMANO'S EUROPEAN REAR DRAG REEL LINE UP....got my heart set on getting 3 TWINPOWER XT RBs , one for a walleye rod and 2 for trout fishing on ice...

 

They also do a line of reels called baitcasters...which were primarily designed for carp fishermen....but i found the freespool coupled with rear drag and fighting drag was the perfect pier fishing set up back home when freelining live sandeels for sea bass (stripers). The freespool is also cool to use when lowering your line on downriggers i found out when necessity meant i had to use my XT-RA Baitrunner as it was the only reel i had with a large line capacity. That would be the only drawback with baitrunners for regular fishing....they are big.... the 5000 series being the smallest.

 

CLICK HERE FOR 'BAITRUNNER' REELS

[cram]

Rear drags are impossible to fine tune (to the level of a front drag) and to me are less durable.

[DRIFTER_016]

To the best of my knowledge rear drag designs typically incorporate smaller drag washers thus making them less efficient and less durable than the larger washers of front drag reels.

 

 

DING, DING, DING, We have a winner!!!!!!

The drag surface in a rear drag reel is quite a lot smaller than what you can get in a front drag reel.

Thus they are much smoother and don't overheat when fighting big powerful fish.

[MJL]

hey Worm Dangler and JP.......Shimano do a lot of rear drag reels....but i dont think they sell them all in Canada?US....i have not seen alot of there rear drag models that i could buy in England....check out the models they sell in Europe SHIMANO'S EUROPEAN REAR DRAG REEL LINE UP....got my heart set on getting 3 TWINPOWER XT RBs , one for a walleye rod and 2 for trout fishing on ice...

 

They also do a line of reels called baitcasters...which were primarily designed for carp fishermen....but i found the freespool coupled with rear drag and fighting drag was the perfect pier fishing set up back home when freelining live sandeels for sea bass (stripers). The freespool is also cool to use when lowering your line on downriggers i found out when necessity meant i had to use my XT-RA Baitrunner as it was the only reel i had with a large line capacity. That would be the only drawback with baitrunners for regular fishing....they are big.... the 5000 series being the smallest.

 

CLICK HERE FOR 'BAITRUNNER' REELS

 

Hey Limey

 

If in the future you're looking for a smaller baitrunner than the 5000 size, Shimano Europe has 2 new models out that come in 2500 and 4000 sizes. They are front drag though.

 

Shimano ST FA

 

Shimano DL FA

 

Mike

[limeyangler]

Hey Limey

 

If in the future you're looking for a smaller baitrunner than the 5000 size, Shimano Europe has 2 new models out that come in 2500 and 4000 sizes. They are front drag though.

 

Shimano ST FA

 

Shimano DL FA

 

Mike

 

 

Good to know Mike...thanks. I actaually have the Aero GTE-B which is quite a few years old now.....was state of the art 6 years ago....lol.

[dave524]

Those classix Abu-Garcia Green and Cream -rear adjusting drags worked like a charm for years and years and years. In my years, the drag has never caused me to lose a fish.

 

I prefer rear drag, as you adjust on the fly and makeitfor that fish.

 

Just my .02

 

To almost the man, steelheaders ran those in the 70's / 80's with the odd Daiwa Whisker Tournament , also a rear drag, thrown in the mix. Now, we never had a drag problem and had fish making longer runs than the head shake or brief spurt of a bass or a walleye that didn't fight like it was on life support. My old Cardinals were Zebcos, I don't think Abu Garcia got rights to the name until they marketed a graphite skirted spool remake with the same rear drag and body housing in the late 80's. Near the end of the Zebco run there was some tannish coloured ones as well. BTW Zebco is really an acronym for the full name of "Zero Hour Bomb Company"

 

edit: the Zebcos were made by Abu, kinda strange how Garcia got the bait casters and Zebco marketed the spinners.

Edited February 9, 2010 by dave524

[Syn]

Worm Dangler: The shimano symetre is also rear drag eg SY2500RJ and an awesome reel. Spirex does not have the infinite antireverse (super stopper II) which is unfortunate.

 

Spiel "To the best of my knowledge rear drag designs typically incorporate smaller drag washers thus making them less efficient and less durable than the larger washers of front drag reels."

 

Aww that a heartbreaker to learn. No wonder front drag is more popular. Learn something new everyday. Thanks guys.

 

 

limeyangler: thanks for the rear drag models link. Multidisc drag sounds like the way to go. Thank God for Shimano reels.

 

TWIN POWER CI4 RA I think I just fell in love.

Edited February 9, 2010 by Syn

[limeyangler]

TWIN POWER CI4 RA I think I just fell in love.

 

 

 

LOL....HANDS OFF....SHE'S MINE!!!!!!!!

[Syn]

LOL....HANDS OFF....SHE'S MINE!!!!!!!!

 

I just watched the Tridrag video VIDEO

 

It has front and rear drag and looks super smooth. Take that front draggers lol.

 

You adjust the front drag to the strength of the line then use the rear drags for fish fighting. Freaking awesome. 2nd fishing thing I've learned today.

Edited February 9, 2010 by Syn