Line Counters

[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.