I am new on this site, so, hello! I hope to learn a lot from you guys and maybe give back some day! I am new to dragging and I am wondering what speeds do you guys drag at and what size heads do you use while you are dragging? I seem to not be catching onto this concept very well and hope a few of you could give me some tips and pointers to look out for? Thanks in advance.
Upstream .5-1mph. downstream just a hair faster than the current. I use very light jigs depending on the conditions for downstream and whatever weight is necessary for up stream. You want your baits to be off the bottom. It was hard for me to grasp jig fishing without contact to the bottom but I love dragging now that I know how to do it properly.
Look at the old post “Looking for a Drag Queen”. You will find some excellent information on dragging from the guys who really have it down. I have been experimenting with this my last couple trips and have started catching fish doing it. MAN do they sock that bait!
Your boat speed will depend on current and jig size — it’s sort of a “balance” thing. If you’re going upstream (which can be easier from a boat control perspective), you’ll adjust jig weight, the amount of line out, and your boat speed until the jig is running just off the bottom. The way to do this, is get things set up until your jig just ticks the bottom occasionally, and then either reel a bit of line or or speed the boat up a hair so that it never hits bottom — that way you know you’re close to, but not on the bottom. Also, there are times when the fish are up off the bottom, especially in deep water. You can make adjustments to get your bait 5′ off the bottom in those situations and strike paydirt. 
P.S. Good starting points are 1/8 ounce jig for 12-20′ depths and 3/32nds for anything shallower. You could go heavier if you want, but your bait may be too close to the boat if you do. And remember, the current will work the plastic tail for you; you only need to be creeping upstream.
Dragging speeds are going to vary based on conditions.
This time of the year though, I would never be going faster than .7mph downstream and .5mph upstream. (take those speeds with a grain of salt, 95% of the time, I’m not going anywhere near that fast)
I rarely move at or above .3mph on the upstream runs.
When you first start, concentrate on knowing your jig is close to the bottom. You do this by letting your rod tip drop back and watching your line. If it goes slack, your within range of the bottom. If you are constantly banging bottom, your either moving to slow, have to heavy a jig on or to much line out.
Also when first starting, don’t start by dragging over deep water. Get comfortable with depths at or less than 15’deep, then give the deeper water a try. Eight feet of water is not to shallow to drag in. Neither is six feet or even the occasional four foot depth. Especially after dark.
I would have to agree with everything stated so far. Joel is spot on with starting shallow and getting the feel. Nothing drives the training home like a few fish to gain confidence that you are on the right track.
I wonder if it was called jig trolling people would grasp it better?
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I wonder if it was called jig trolling people would grasp it better?
I saw an episode of Lindner’s Angling Edge a few years back where they referred to it as jig trolling. They were doing exactly what we refer to around here as dragging.
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