Line counter reels

[Karlforester]

What's everybody use for line counter reels??
Looking to upgrade, main problem with cheaper ones I use is counter sticking and button getting stuck, very hard with gloves/cold hands in cold weather

[Dieseltrux]

Okuma cold waters have been good to us the last few years.

[itsbob]

We use the Diawa Sealine 47LC but the smaller 27LC works good also.Had good luck with them and they have held up well.

[sherman51]

it also depends on what you fish for. i use 3 Daiwa sealine sg17lc3b reels on one side of my boat and Okuma Coldwater reels on the other side. they are both good reels but i haven't used the coldwater reel much as i bought them to replace the old sg17lca reels i was using. the main reason i use different reels is to keep from putting the wrong rod and diver on the wrong side. before doing the reel thing it happened a few times causing some bad tangles with the less experienced fisher people. we would have a few rods in the boat and one would get switched.,

both the sg17lc3b and the coldwater 203 are great for walleye but not big enough for salmon. Okuma Convector size 20 is also great for eyes. and I guess from what I've heard the Shimano Tekota is the top of the line as far as I know but they cost over 200.00 each. Daiwa does have more expensive reels but I know nothing about them. if you are wanting a cheaper starter reel you might look at the Accudepth plus 17lc reels. they were very good to me and were working great when I sold them. so far I love my coldwater 203 reels they have a smooth drag and a very smooth cranking reel and they come with a power handle on them.

[DW72]

My cheaper Okumas aren't that good. I mean at $60 they do the job for a weekender. But...as you say the counters stick and a couple if them spin backwards out of nowhere sometimes. I have 7 of them. Good for beginners and for cheap but I'd also recommend Diawa or Penn.

[sherman51]

My cheaper Okumas aren't that good. I mean at $60 they do the job for a weekender. But...as you say the counters stick and a couple if them spin backwards out of nowhere sometimes. I have 7 of them. Good for beginners and for cheap but I'd also recommend Diawa or Penn.

when I moved to the central basin of Erie from the west I started with the Okuma Magda pro reels but it didn't take long before I knew it was a mistake. soon after I upgraded to the Daiwa sea line sg17lca reels. now I use the sg17lc3b reels on one side and Okuma cold water 203 reels on the other side. the Magda pro reels work ok but for quality, they are lacking. I use lite bite slide divers and have never set the left rods out on the right side since I started using different reels. marking rods is another trick to prevent this.

[DW72]

Indeed. Mine are also the Magda Pros I should have said. As they fail more often I will definitely spend more for better reels. On 2 of them the handles will spin backwards out of nowhere in "free spool". I can deal with the occasional issue since they are cheap but it isn't as easy when I am hosting less experienced friends and family.

[sherman51]

Indeed. Mine are also the Magda Pros I should have said. As they fail more often I will definitely spend more for better reels. On 2 of them the handles will spin backwards out of nowhere in "free spool". I can deal with the occasional issue since they are cheap but it isn't as easy when I am hosting less experienced friends and family.

the Daiwa sealine sg lc3b reels have been great for me. the only problem I have encountered so far is the counters get stuck on the half count and doesn't count. but this doesn't happen often. just make sure the counter is zeroed out before letting the line out. I highly recommend them and I use the sg17lc3b for walleye fishing on Erie. I like to run 3 lite bite slide divers off each side to help new people from setting the wrong rod out on the wrong side of the boat. I just replaced the 3 sg17lca reels last year and I replaced them with the 203 cold water reels. I got 4 so I would have a spare. but when I started rigging them 1 wouldn't work at all. but I returned it with a copy of the receipt in an email and they repaired it at no cost except for shipping cost. these are very smooth reels with smooth drags. so far I like using these better than the Daiwa reels but i really haven't used them long enough to see how they stand up. but for now, I really like using the cold water reels very much. each of these reels cost a little over 100.00 each. if you need a better reel for less money the Daiwa accudepth plus or the Okuma convector reels have been good to me.

[DW72]

Thanks Sherman. I'm going to research all of those models. Hey, I posted another question but got a little long winded. How soon can we catch them on crankbaits? I'm sure early April. Perhaps even March if good weather? Thanks again for the info.

[Karlforester]

Thank you for all the info and replies! I use mostly diawa spinning reels and have been very happy might buy some of both diawa and cold water