I use the loose drag method. Rod in the holder, line in the releae clip, just loosen the drag enough to let out line as you drop the DR ball. I use 2 hands on the DR to controll how fast I let it down. I want to let it out slow as I pack the gear in tight to the wire (black box) and if it goes to fast your gear will be a mess. Also it seems to keep the line pretty taunt, not much free line to tighten up. I'm like Steve, rods bent over hard but I adjust the drag after it is set so the fish will take line when it hits it. As for how tight to make the line, well that just takes practice to get it right. Can't tell ya how many times I (should I say we here) have popped the line out of the clip trying to get it just right.
Good luck and tight lines, Jeff