A fishing reel with a nonmoving spool on which the line is wound by means of a revolving arm which can be disengaged to allow the line to spiral freely off the spool during casting
Spinning reels have two types of drag: Front or Rear.
Spinning reels all come with Front Drag, but Rear Drag is an additional feature, and are called Bait Runners or Bait Feeders. Rear drags, have an adjustment screw on the back of the reel along with a separate lever to activate its use. It automatically flips off whenever the fisherman touches the spool-crank and the front drag then steps in at that moment and incorporates its setting into the fight.
Manufacturers seldom issue over ten pounds of drag from the rear but are said to be more complicated mechanically and usually not as precise or smooth as front drags since the drag itself is often part of the drive shaft and not the spool. They are for the first moments of the encounter when the fish has the bait in its mouth and is running with it without the hook set yet. The rear drag stops when the fisherman turns his spool-crank to engage the culprit on the run, and sets the hook.
Front drags, which have the adjustment located on the spool itself, are mechanically simpler and usually more consistent in performance and capable of higher drag forces.