I am looking for 2 new Trolling Motor batteries what do you all recommend. I will also need a new starting battery for this season.
Also looking to buy 3 or 4 decent Line counter reels for trolling
Thanks in Advance
John Smith
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I am looking for 2 new Trolling Motor batteries what do you all recommend. I will also need a new starting battery for this season.
Also looking to buy 3 or 4 decent Line counter reels for trolling
Thanks in Advance
John Smith
Have been satisfied with Diawa sealine SG47lc reels I bought for my buddy.Seams like others like the SG27 reel which is smaller in size.They cost around $110 each
We have been running the same Diawa ADP27LCB line counters for about 9 years now. I did upgrade the handle to the power crank, it's a little longer. The drag work well and has never stuck or failed. The one and only issue we have is every once in a while the line counter doesn't reset to zero. When this happens the reset button needs pushed with some mussel. We run both mono and braided line. Try Frank's Great Outdoors for pricing.
Fish Tales
Kevin
I've been using the Cabela's DepthMaster ll for about 4 seasons. It may be a introductory level combo rod and reel but I can't complain. The DepthMaster lll is out of stock right now but when they come back in I'm going to buy 2 more. There is 3 models I have the larger model with the power crank handle and geared lower. I believe 4.1 or so. Comes with a 8.7 plainer board rod. $69.99 reel alone is $49.99
I have tried multiple Daiwa and Penn reels but my favorite by far is the Abu Garcia Ambassadeur 6500 line counter. It is much smoother and you can tell as soon as you pick it up that it will outlast any of the other reels.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hobo1974
I have Daiwa LCs that are close to 35 years old and have never been cracked open. This includes some years of charter operation. My planer board reels are SG27LCAs. I have about 25 of them and they are bullet proof. Look around for some used ones. Just be careful they don't come from a salt water environment.
As far as batteries go, group 31 gives you the most runtime. Duracell AGM batteries are a solid, economical choice. If you have a Sam's club membership they can be had for even cheaper. Just so you know, there is a nationwide shortage so grab them asap.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hobo1974
As far as linecounters go the Daiwa has already been mentioned. Shimano Tekotas are top tier performers. The Cabelas depthmaster are re-branded Okuma Magdas, they are considered entry level but overall not bad, I use them myself. If they fail they will be replaced with Okuma Convectors which are very solid.
Maybe that explains why Cabela's DepthMaster combo's our completely out of stock. They had 1 left and I didn't buy it because I needed 2.... I hate to here that. I wonder if the Okuma is american made.
The Okuma Magda pro is included with this combo called Great lakes trolling combo. Comes with a decent looking rod that's 8.6 feet long. I may jump on a couple of those. Any thoughts on a rod that long.
Okuma Convectors are very nice reels and pretty economical. I've had 4 for about 15 years and they are still working well. No problems.
I am also in the market for a pair of trolling motor batteries. I appreciate the comment on the Duracell AGM and the fact that there is a shortage. It seems like there is a shortage of just about everything these days.
I forgot to mention that I bought a Cablea's Depthmaster III last year and it has a major design flaw. It won't let line out when you flip the lever. It hangs up so you have to pull some line in to get it to release. Major hassle. That one will end up in the bone pile....
Bordy
I have the DepthMaster ll. I did notice a design difference. I'll avoid that one. I had trouble getting coca-cola down here in the Dayton area back before Christmas. They said there was an aluminum shortage.
I've used Cabelas depth master 2, Abu Garcia Ambassador 5500 and Shimano Tekota 550. The Shimano are easily the best of those 3. I replaced all of my Cabelas reels with Shimano 2 years ago and don't regret it a bit. Running big boards was a pain with the Cabelas because you always have to reel in or thumb the spool in a bit to open the bail whereas no matter what I'm pulling the Shimanos never lock up.
The Garcia reels are fine and a good middle ground. You'd have a hard time damaging them if you tried. I've owned Ambassador reels of some shape or size for 20 years that still work great. The main thing that I don't like about them is the line counter sometimes doesn't work and has to be reset multiple times before they register. Also, when running big boards, unlike the Shimano or Cabelas where you can just flip the lever to engage the bail you actually have to turn the handle on the Abu Garcia to stop your spool. It seems like a minor thing but sometimes it's not easy to do when it's in a rod holder with another rod right next to it.
The Cabelas reels also were geared so poorly that it felt like 2-3 turns of the handle to bring in the same amount of line as 1 turn of the Shimano. The Garcia feel like they're slightly more work than the Shimano, but that could just be that they're just a little less smooth.
I've run the Okuma Convector 30s for many years, and they get used daily.. I've replaced quite a few bail springs in them, and several line counters. For the use we put on them, I think thy hold up very well for the price. But definitely have to be careful that the handle is not in the 'wrong' spot when you flip the bail lever! Seems to be a glitch in the Okumas... no way around it.
Has anyone used a digital line counter reel. I'm looking at the Abu Garcia® 1400534 - Ambassadeur™ AMBS-5500LC S Line Counter Reel. I can't find any information about the battery it takes. I really don't think I would want to deal with that when it fails in the middle of the day. Any thoughts.
I have 6 okuma convector reels for sale on the market place page if your interested in saving some money.
Quote:
Originally Posted by badboards
i use the okuma rigs but 8' 6 is too big they make a lake erie trolling combo 7 6 that i use they work really nice
The two I ordered came yesterday, they messed up and sent me the CLX Classic Reel it has no line counter on it so back they go. Asked them to substitute it for the great lakes trolling combo with the Dipsy rod, it's 10' long and comes with the Okuma Magda reel, it should be able to handle the planer boards too. I saw the one your talking about but its action is to light for planer boards I thought.