Drag setting has become a more complicated issue with the advent of "super lines". The old "one third breaking strength" rule no longer applies. Today's angler is quite often using a much heavier line test, than he would have just a few years ago, due to the smaller diameter at breaking strength as compared to mono. It is quite common for fishermen to use fifty (or more) pound test for muskie fishing. This creates some problems when determining drag setting.

If you spool your reel with a fifty pound test super line, and then set the drag at thirty three percent, you are likely to be picking up pieces of busted rod after the first good fish hits. Worse yet, you'll loose the fish!

Because the new era lines are virtually stretch free, it takes a lot less pressure to set a hook in a fish. If you are going to use "super lines", a rod with a tip that is more limber, than the traditional pool cue, is a much better choice for most applications other than jerk bait fishing.

I learned the hard way, this spring, that the "cross their eyes mentality" doesn't get it with these new lines. It cost me my favorite rod. A quick, short jerk is the best way to go and will be much less likely to end up costing you new equipment. A longer and more limber rod will be much more forgiving for those times you forget. It works by absorbing the impact over a much larger area.

Before I get into how to set your drag, I should mention that you should put a wrapping of duct tape or a layer of mono on your spool before spooling up to prevent the line from turning. A layer of mono makes a pretty good shock absorber between the line and your spool and would be my first recommendation. This is especially important on level wind reels.

Setting your drag for these newer lines is actually a pretty simple process. Run the line through your rod guides and then attach it to something solid. Adjust your drag so that it gives when there is a decent bow in your rod, and then back it off a little more. Then pretend to set your hooks, remembering to use a short, sharp jerk. If everything looks OK, then you are all set. If you are unwilling to back off your drag at the end of each trip (recommended) then at least be sure and pull some line off against the drag before using each reel again. Even good quality reels will occasionally stick, but if you have a reel with a "jerky" drag, don't use it with the new lines.

Unless you are a stranger to this column, you know that I have stated in the past that in most instances I still prefer braided lines to mono, or the new breed of fishing lines. However, I am being won over for some applications. On a recent trip I was surprised to find that my fishing partner was able to reach greater depths using thirty pound Fire Line, than I was using lead core line. Using identical lures, he was rooting bottom five feet deeper than me. I know it has to do with the dynamics of line diameter, the five mile an hour current we were trolling into, etc., but I'm not a physics professor and the bottom line is that his line was out performing mine. Guess who's making the switch?

Friend and mentor, Ron Fodor, recently recommended replacing the hooks on my muskie lures with GamaKatsu round bend treble hooks. According to Ron, these hooks penetrate easier and hold better than other similar hooks. When Ron makes such a recommendation, it has been my experience that you can bank on it. I can't comment yet from personal experience, but I am in the process of replacing hooks now. You might want to get a jump and do the same. A couple things that I noticed are that, in addition to being extremely sharp right from the package, the barb is less pronounced than on most other hooks and closer to the hook point. Significant details, I'm sure.

I hope to never become stagnant as a fisherman and too set in my ways. If something new and better comes along, I want to be using it. I'm going out on a limb, but I think that someone has called this "progress."

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