New linecounter reels

Searching for couple new trolling reels for the upcoming season. Bought 4 okumas from cabelas last spring and after approximately 15 trips, 2 of them started giving me fits. I couldn't get them to release or lock without manually turning them back and forth with my thumb until they would function. Very disappointed with them. I bought the okumas because I use their large arbor fly reels for steelhead in the tributaries and have got over 12 seasons on them and no problems. Wow, what a bummer! So, I guess onward and upward. Would like opinions. Want to stay in the 100 dollar range or so for each. Thanks for any input and good luck to all, stay safe my friends.

I have the same problem with the Cabela's Depthmaster reels. If there is any tension on the line (so any time I'm running divers) you have to roll the spool back with your thumb before you can open the bail. It's a major pain in the butt when you're running big boards and have to constantly let out more line.

I also have some Abu Garcia Ambassadeur 6500LC reels that I love. I know everyone swears by Tekotas, but I think the Ambassadeur is smoother. The only thing I don't like on them is the line counter will stick and sometimes you have to reset them a second time to get them rolling, but they're easy to let out and they have a clicker on them in case you want to turn the drag up and open-bail troll with them. They can be found for around $120-130 each. The 5500LC is probably plenty for any trolling you're going to do in the Western Basin and they're around $10 less per reel, plus you save on line when you respool them.

Don't know if you use eBay a lot mad eyes they got some really good deals on line counter reels guess it'd be worth a look huh?? Lot of them in the 60 to $80 range

i have 2 of the abu's and 2 tekota 500. i love both but lean more towards the tekotas. just spend the money and you wont be disappointed. go tekotas

I’ve had good luck with the Bass pro Stratamaxx. I think they run about 60.00. I’ve had 2 for 3 years now using on Erie and no issues at all.

Which Okuma did you have issues with, the black model? I have two of the black models and one does the same as you described. I would however highly recommend the Okuma Cold Water, I have 7 with no problems, yet. I also notice a lot of the Cold Waters on the charter boats in the marina. Just my 2 cents.

Dave, the reels were the magda series, they had them on sale and I bit on the price. Should have went for the cold water series and been happier.

Thanks for the other options guys, I'm very curious about the stratomaxx tabBiser. I'll be doing some research on those as well as the tekotas.

daiwas...the ones that cost around 105.00 ea...you'll never have a problem with them.

I too am wondering which model you are having issue with. There are a lot of cold water waters on the eye hunter boats as well as a lot of othet professional charters and I don't recall hearing of this issue on our boats yet.

I have used the cheaper madga pro for 3 years on my personal boat with no issues. If you bought the new last year I forget what the warranty period was/is but you might give okuma a call, maybe they can point you to a cause and repair for your issue

fishusa.com has the cold waters from the 15 to 45 series for 105 each now. And after using both there is a big difference between the cold water and madga pro

We have the Magda Pro's and straight out of the box about half of them did the same for me. I found I have to push the spool to the side and rotate back a bit to get the catch to release.

I made the switch from okuma for the same reasons. I now use Diawa and have 20 of them and only had one problem and that was with a new one. They took it and fixed it. I have been using the Diawa now for 3 years.

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Originally Posted by fisherman 2

daiwas...the ones that cost around 105.00 ea...you'll never have a problem with them.

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right now you can get those same reels off ebay for around 80.00 to 85.00 the sealine sg17lc3b is the best price the 27 a couple more bucks the 47 a couple more than the 27's. these are all great reels and these prices are the best I've seen. i have the 17's and they are awesome walleye reels.

We have been using Diawa sealing 47Lc and have had good luck with them.I have 4 of the older style I bought 25 yrs ago and only last season did I need to repair one.I set up my friend with 4 new ones couple years ago with no problems.I like the bigger reel 47 instead of the smaller size to handle the inline boards and dipsey better.Price around $110.

I've had good luck with my Okuma Convector series reels ($77)..... but have heard the issues on the cheaper ones.

I couldn't be happier, thanks for all the responses pertaining to my questions on which avenue to travel in my search of new reels. You all have giving me plenty of choices and out of these I'm sure I can restock with confidence. Now, let's all have a super season and if any of you dock at wild wings, hopefully we can meet . I've leased a dock there for this season. The wife, son, and I are excited.

Yes, the Magda Pros are plagued with issues from what I see here. I did the same trying to save a few pennies but luckily only bought two Magda Pros before my desire to try the Okuma Cold Waters took over. The Cold Waters look, feel and perform so much better. They are so much smoother even a rookie notices. I am no expert and have not used the other highly recommended reels here but this would be good info for anyone considering new reels, if only to eliminate the Magda Pro from your choices. I highly recommend spending the extra couple of $$ for the better quality reels, you will be very glad you did, especially in the heat of the moment when good equipment makes a huge difference. I am glad I did, and I am about as tight with my $'s as they come.