Drag Setting in a Sand Spike

I was in a discussion the other day about drag setting. One guy (who catches a lot of fish) keeps his as tight as possible without a big fish being able to break it on the first run. He also never uses a spike, so this may be the difference. I've been keeping mine a bit on the loose side this year, but when I try to set my hook, I've not been able to feel it "sink in". I'm thinking of tightening it up. Any of you other spike guys have any opinions? I'm heading off to Maine on Thursday night for 10 days and look forward to a lot of fishing.