Tension Question

[Seanstone]

I was messing around the other day with some lines and knots. I would tie a knot to a scale and see how hard i had to pull before the line or knot failed. After doing this for a while I realized that the amount of pressure needed to break the line was ridiculous. I then grabbed some of my poles and hooked them to a scale to see how much pressure they put on the scale until the drag slipped. I found that it took about nine pounds of pressure before the drag slips. (With drag almost all of the way tightened down) I could use my thumb to add more pressure. This was quite shocking, seeing how it takes three to four times that pressure for most of my line to break. I have had no problems landing fish, but I was curious to see if the reels you guys were using slipped at a similar tension? I have seen that some reels have a drag weight rating, is this what is meant by those ratings? If it helps I used 2 of my poles, the first was a catfish series ugly stick 8' with a abu 6500 spooled with 30lb silverthread, the other was an ugly stick tiger 7' with a abu 6500 spooled with 50lb suffix 823 superline.

[mmagis]

Something to keep in mind is that when doing that type of experiment, you have the reel basically filled with line, and that larger diameter of the spool makes the drag slip easier. If you were to do the same test with a half empty spool, it would take more resistence to slip the drag. The angle from rod to scale makes a big difference as well. As you found, 9 lbs is quite a bit of resistence, more than most would imagine. It;s been a long time since I checked, but I think I remember keeping mine somewhere around 6 or 7 for flatheads. Really I just set it how I think it should "feel".

[Seanstone]

you have the reel basically filled with line, and that larger diameter of the spool makes the drag slip easier. If you were to do the same test with a half empty spool, it would take more resistance to slip the drag.

I never would have imagined that the amount of line on your spool could affect the amount of pressure on the drag. Six or Seven pounds of pressure seems to be a happy medium. This reassures my initial thought that most rods apply a similar amount pressure. So I guess my next question would be, If your pole can only apply lets say 12 pounds of pressure (Max) to the line, whats the point of using heavier line. Obviously abrasion resistance is crucial for fishing around cover and a heavy leader is needed to avoid break offs from the fishes rough patches/ fins. Most line is rated nearly half of its actual breaking strength, I know lines such as Berkley big game and Triline XT break at double its labeled strength. Why not just use lighter line with superior abrasion resistance? (I'm not sure if such a line exists, so I'm hypothetically asking?)

[katfish]

Why not just use lighter line with superior abrasion resistance? (I'm not sure if such a line exists, so I'm hypothetically asking?)

Lines with superior abrasion resistance (harder lines) do exist.
The trade off is they are stiffer, have more memory, and will backlash more easily.

www.tackletour.com/reviewsufixtrit.html

fishing.about.com/od/fishingtackle/l/aatplinetough.htm

The most popular lines strive for the best balance most anlers desire.

If your reel spool has plenty of capacity, there are no advantages to downsizing line size. If line capacity is a problem then superbraids are the solution.

This is just my thinking now.
Mono line degrades with oxidation (exposure to air) and it gets weaker with exposure to sunlight. Each time you fish you will cause some abrasion as your line rubs bottom or even as it comes through guides. Each time you stretch mono (like catching a big fish or hanging it up) it loses some of its elasticity (gets weaker)
Your line may be 40 pound test when new but after fishing it is only as strong as the weakest point. Unless you respool every trip you can never be sure you have 40 pound breaking strength.

Your abrasion problem is minor compared to us hard heads that fish with dacron braid ;D