ok so when you store any reel you should back the drag off.... my question is how to keep taps on the drag settings its easy on a leaver drag as its all pre set how would you do it on a star drag or spinning reel count the number of turns each time or is there an easier way?

We wash our gear, rinse well under light hose spray
Rack the rods
next day innox and back off the brakes

When comes to prep for fishing, the bigger rods I set the drag at just over1.5 kg ball park direct off the end of the rod
The light gear around 1kg
Doing so, one 'keeps in touch' with how it feels to simply pull off the reel and reset...espec after getting a good sized fish and start to crank the drag up....

Lethal wrote: set the drag and leave the bloody thing alone, since matt started his tv show he has been running his thumb on the spool and everyone seams to think its how you do it, well if you were to spend $500 to $1500 bucks on a reel you would expect the reel to do its job, the reel stores the line and winds it in, the drags are made so smooth these days there is no reason what so ever to use your blood thumb and risk the chance of loosing a massive fish of which i has seen matt do on many accusations, here is the crunch line considering he promotes catch and release you would think breaking off a fish would be the let down because it sure as hell will die the worst death dragging around any large amount of line behind it, but no that seams ok by him, just a dam bad moment... so think of the fish when placing your thumb on the spool and enjoy the reel screaming, the fish isnt about to go far, and while it is swimming away its less likely to reef you because it is swimming not stopped dead in the water and nowhere to go but under the weed or ledge and bust you off...

so you set your drag then leve it don't you have issues with jurky drags or uneven drag pressure or on the other hand water getting in when washing down? only reason I ask is I have been told from a very young age that you should tighten drags as tight as you can for wash down then back off to nothing for storage other wise you bugger your drag washers which I have done once or twice myself be interesting to hear what you have to say about that

Hi sappercatcha, i reset my drag before going out its easy enough,
if like me i have run 6kg on my basic snapper gear for at least 30years you sure get to know the pressure and how it sings when unloading line, normally set it at about 2 to 3kg which is high but still will not break unless the line has been snagged and to free it you have stretched all the give out of the line, this then makes it weaker and hence break at 4kg... thats Nylon,

with braid which is more reliant on the rod and trace for forgiveness before the drag kicks in then you would be wise to run only 2kg on a 6kg braided line, but then some will break way above this so knowing your lines limitation are even more crucial if your about to set it at 1/3 the breaking strain...

as for the drag washers getting wet or salted which is the biggest problem, salt is fine practicals which create the lumpy drags, like Steps said on a star drag the washers are encased inside the main gear of your reel and if the reel is serviced properly with a light heat resistant water proof grease no intrusion will happen, if its a lever drag then all the new good reels have a shield protecting them,
my reels are near 20 years all old some even 30 years and they are smooth as when it comes to slipping under pressure....

foot note: some rods will add another 1kg of weight to your line when loaded so be sure to test from rod tip when using scales or water in a bucket to set your drag...

edit: LOL my reels are older than you are i just looked..
old reels used to have very loose set-up in the drag systems and salt water could easy make there way into the drag system, then when it dried out would leave bits of salt to make it jerky...