A fishing reel drag mechanism includes a manually adjustable dynamic drag mechanism as well as a static drag brake mechanism. The static drag brake mechanism allows a fisherman to select a predetermined amount of static or constant drag whereas the manually adjustable dynamic drag mechanism allows the fisherman to instantly add or lessen the total amount of drag while playing a hooked fish. The manually adjustable dynamic drag mechanism includes a dynamic brake member, a lever, and linkage. The linkage may also include an adjustable leverage mechanism that allows the user to select the desired amount of mechanical advantage. The static drag brake mechanism includes a brake member and a static drag adjuster. The static drag adjuster preferably includes a static drag selection device, a static drag adjustment cam, and an adjustment link pin. The static drag adjustment cam preferably includes a curved channel having a circumferentially decreasing radius. In practice, the fisherman adjusts the amount of static drag by rotating the static drag selection device, thus rotating the static drag adjustment cam and moving the link pin, which in turn moves the brake member.