Trolling Rod Calibration

[dreamcatcher]

As I talk to more and more new trollers, and even mildly experienced trollers I find out the number of people that are unaware of line counter calibration and its importance. For instance a non calibrated reel may say your running lures 65ft back when in all actuality they are only running 30ft. One would be amazed on how far off it is when reels are not properly spooled and calibrated.

So here it is; when line counter reels are designed they are not based to match the spool right out of the box. In other words the counter does not know the diameter of the spool and for each rap of line that diameter changes it only knows revolutions and cranks. To compensate for the lack of education the counter has, the individual must match the amount of line on the spool to the counter's revolutions. So here's how its done.

First mark off a distance of 100 feet

Determine your desired line whether you decide to run lead core, mono, or braid all works the same. For braid I back spool with a lesser dollar mono line before beginning or else you will be putting 60 dollars in braid on each reel.
Once you have back spooled with mono for your desired amount ( I fill the spool about 1/2 way with mono) tie your braid on and begin spooling. At approximately 3/4 the spool stop and using a trolling clip anchor the line from the rod tip to one end of your 100ft mark. DO NOT cut the line. Set counter to 0, and walk the 100ft. If when you reach your 100ft mark and your COUNTER is[COLOR="darkred"] GREATER THAN 100FT you need to add more line increase spool diameter, if your LESS THAN 100FT take line off decrease spool diameter[/COLOR]. keep making adjustments as needed. I found that about 5 feet off on the counter spooled with 30lb braid is about 50 linear feet of line adjusting either way. Finally when your counter matches your 100ft point you can cut your line at the anchor point!

Hope this helps some increase their fish catching this season. Any questions just ask or stop in and see me Ill be glad to help anyone out. Also if ya need reels spooled up let me know we can do it, and calibrate them at the same time. Take Care tight lines

[FishOn205]

I found this out the hard way myself... could never figure out why one rod was catching fish 60 back and another was back 120... once dave told me how to do this and the correct way to do it, we haven't had any problems since.. thanks for the advice dave

[wakina]

Try this web page it is a video of Lance Valentine calibrating a line counter. It is a video presentation to what dreamcatcher said in his post.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNHH...layer_embedded