Line Counters

[mrahn]

I only have line counter reels on my dipsey rods for salmon. They are always being adjusted for depth and can be anywhere from 35'-235', too hard to keep track of. All my other reels arre Diawa 27's for walleye, and 47's for salmon. Each pass of the line guide (down and back) is 10' on the 27 and 12' on the 47. Actually my buddy and I measured the line on all of our reels, and some of the line counter reels were off as much as 20% at 130'. I have those line counters you are asking about, Rapalas are nice because they are angled for easier reading, and have a light. I haven't used them for a few years, no reason. Good Luck

[wakina]

This site was created to help fellow fishermen with fishing reports, equipment questions and fishing questions in general, so with that said:

I am not wanting to be a prick nor am I trying to start a pissing contest but I still must say the following, that to tell someone if they can't afford 6 line counter reels then they shouldn't be trolling is like telling some one if they can't afford a 25 ft boat or larger they shouldn't be on the lake. It makes no sense!!

DoubleD:

If you or anyone else wants to start trolling and you don't want to buy line counter reels then by all means start trolling. Buy the equipment that most fits your needs and budget. The clip on line counters will work, but like I said they may not work with braid so well. They do require a little more effort by the fisherman than a LC reel. The most important thing you will need to do, is to be able to duplicate/repeat the setup that is producing fish for you. Such as amount of line out, speed and type of lure, trolling with the wind, against the wind or quartering the wind and what direction that you are quartering the wind.

I will say this about the clip on line counters, they are more accurate than the LC reels as to exact number of feet out, they never change as they measure the line passing through them, it is a fixed system. Line counter reels are so successful because you can duplicate the number on the counter which most probably is not the number of feet out. One thing that I do is check how accurate my line counters are by measuring off both 50 and 100 ft with a tape measure then you can check your reels as to what the counter says as compared to the actual measured distance. Do this with all of your line counters and keep a record about each reel or clip on counter so you are not guessing about how many feet of line you are actually leaving out you may be surprised how much difference there is between the same model of reels. The reels that I am using now are all within one ft/number of each other at both 50 and 100 feet.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that to get the most accurate reading between L C Reels you need to have as close as possible, the same amout of and diameter line on each reel. The counter works from the revolution of the spool so as you leave line out the spool gets smaller. which in turn leaves out less line per revolution as the spool gets smaller. The clip on measures the line as it passes through it making them more fool proof.

[ebijack]

For those that can't afford LC reels, there is another method that works quite well ( as long as you can remember which rod had what length out). With your lure in the water and your rod pointed towards the rear of the boat. With your thumb lightly on the spool or finger if using spinning. Swing the rod towards the front of the boat using a full arm swing. typically that is 20 ft. Do it again your at 40ft. etc etc. Split the swing in half etc etc. There used to be a guy who fished the PWT that did not use linecounters, this was his method.
I don't bother calibrating my LC reels like quite a few folks do. I fill them all the same. And over the season one or two will loose some line but the big thing is if you look at the precision trolling book most baits only dive 1 to 2 ft deeper with 20 more foot of line out. And with all the directional currents out on Erie you really never know exactly where your baits are running as sometimes your going with or cross wise or against those currents. Even running inline weights, they are sooo speed and current sensitive your only guessing on what your average depths are unless each time you first run one out and touch bottom to see for that day what dpeths your getting. IMHO

[pap]

Cabela's has all their line counters on sale for $39.00 they tell you what line # to how many yards they hold, I been useing these reels for 5 years now and I never had a problem with them, know I don't fish every day, but I do put some time on the water each year and I'm a hard core troller. They even offer combo's which you can almost get the pole for free, I have their poles also, never a problem, if you are like me I don't have $60.00 for 6 reels!! when you could almost buy your whole set up for that, and not to bragg I cought my fair share of 30#-40# salmon with these outfits, I spool 20# mono on for a backing and then fill the spool with Power Pro braid 30# test at 8# diameter, I put around 150 yards on of the braided line, that way I can spool 2 reels with one 300 yard box, if you have 4 poles then buy 2 300 yard spools. I run 4 poles with jets and two off the downriggers, hope this helps you. PAP from pa. (what I'm trying to say is that not all lower cost reels are junk)

[ebijack]

If your going to buy the cabela's reels, don't buy the smaller walleye version ones, get the 30's. Out of 20 i've had/re-bought, 16 had been replaced and now they won't replace them. That goes with okuma's also, buy the med sized one's. The first Cabela's reels from many years ago were better than my sealines, they just didn't last.

[pap]

You are 110% correct on don't buy the DM20 models or the DM15 models,I forgot to mention that, thanks for that piece of info I left out. I have 4 DM30 2 DM45;s

[skipper9]

http://www.northwoodsoutlet.com/ before you buy check out this place for prices on counter reels. Cheapest i have found.

[fish/n/chics]

Every time I head north I stop off at northwoods. Was there last Sunday,its the best place I know of for bigger ticket.. fishing gear.I still support the local shops as often as possible

[OneEyedWilly]

Wakina,
For your information I sent the guy a private message on where to get the best price on reels. I just did not post that bc they are not sponsors of the site. I am just trying to help the guy. I was not trying to be abrasive. My opinion is that if you want to troll on erie you are going to burn some fuel. So budget your trips and go one or two less times and that can cover the majority or all the cost of the reels. I have bought many things that I find that I wasted money on after a few years when if I would have just spent a little more money upfront, it would have cost less. Example, cheap trolling bags for 60 bucks. Then spending 100 more on amish bags a few years later which have lasted 6 times as long as my cheap bags. So 160 total or 100 upfront. Just saying its expensive why not make your purchase worth while??

[wakina]

OneEyedWilly:

I know that you sent a PM and I was not interested in the content of that PM because it was private. The first part of your reply was useful and helpful, it was the part I related to that I disagreed with at that time.

The post in question was directed at those clip on line counters. It was obvious to me and probably to most everyone else that the poster either didn't have the funds or didn't want to spend the funds to purchase line counter reels. His reason for that are his and are personal. I was under the impression that the post was related to an equipment question and not a financial question.

It has been my experience in life that when a person starts a sentence, either spoken or written with "I am not trying to be a prick about it". The person using those words are being sarcastic and are doing so with the purpose of castigating the one spoken to. That is why I responded the way I did and that was my intent also. After reading your reply I now stand corrected and realize that you were only trying to help. With that being said I am extending to you an online apology and handshake and hope that we can be friends.