Line counter & Trolling Book

[wallter]

I'm guessing I need a line counter to use along with the precision trolling book I just bought. Right??? What is a good product at a fair price. NOT CHEAP, I'd like something that will last. Also, I'd like to here about what kind of pole to buy. Thanks.

[Mike Walerak]

Diawa Sealine is by far the best reel for the money. The Accudepth is another option but will not stand the test of time. The longest an Accudepth reel has lasted me was 2 years. I have one Sealine going into it's 6th season and it works great yet.

As for rods do a search and you will find plenty of threads on this topic. You do not need a very fancy rod for trolling.

mw

[wallter]

Mike,

Nice tip. Thanks. Do you think a line counter is a must in use with the precision trolling book?

[Mille Lacs Guy]

I think the Sealines are great too. I have 2 sealines and 4 accudepths and the sealines are definately better. If you are just looking to get into trolling the accudepth may work for you, espcecially if you aren't trolling a ton.

You definately need a linecounter to get the most out of your precision trolling book. You will also want to be sure you spool your reels full so your line counter is accurate. If the spool is not full the counter will not be accurrate.

[wallter]

You mention one real vs. another for a beginner who may not be doing much trolling. Why? Thanks.

[Mike Walerak]

I think Millelacs Guy was addressing a cost issue. The Sealine is only about $20 more. Well worth the extra money since it will last much longer.

mw

[PerchJerker]

I agree, Sealines are the reel to go with for price / value / quality.

Regarding your question of do you need a linecounter, the answer is no. If you have a level-wind baitcast reel where the line guide moves as you let line out, you can measure line out and count passes with them. I use all linecounters now but when I started buying trolling gear I had a mix of Sealines, Abu Garcia 5500's, and Shimano Calcuttas. They all let me get close enough, and repeat how much line I had out when I found what was working.

[Team Otter]

Mike is right on.

[18 inch Crappie]

You could look at one of those combos that Cabelas has, a rod and reel combo. For $100 or so you can get a nice reel and rod to do the job you want.

[solbes]

Hmm, couting the winds is a great idea, I might have to try that. I purchased the trolling book 2 years back and it helped a lot. Unfortunately I tried adding one of those external linecounters that mount to your rod and are supposed to keep track of how much line you let out. There's $10 wasted.

If that doesn't work, I'll start looking for a good linecounting reel.

[Muddog]

Spoonpluging by Buck Perry is a very good book (But very old) on trolling.

If you want to know how to troll this is a must read. Or you can just ask other people how and why they do what they do.

[fiskyknut]

My anti-reverse dog has gone out again on the old SG27, so I'm back to the trolling with the ABU's. Something else you can do is mark your line with a permanent marker. I've been using the new crystal fireline this trolling season in 14#, mark it at 50, 100, 150 and 200. You can run it out quick near to your desired lineout and refine from there by counting your passes. With an ABU 65 say you wanna run a deep TD 22 foot down, approx 115-120 foot back, you'd run her back to the 100 foot mark and then let out about 2 more passes. Varies a bit depending on how full your spool is and line type. A bit of trial and error and you can come up with a 'recipe book' for line out lengths for varios lures/depths with and without snap weights ect.

I have a few Abu's and different 'topshots' of various types/strengths of line for different seasons and different fish sought and those ABU's can make for a great do all reel. Kind of a hassle to switchout the topshots but it beats spending big coin on many different reels. My 6501's are spooled with heavy braids for early Pike and Sturgeon, then 10# mono for early shallow water Walleye trolling, midsummer that 14# fireline for the deep Walleye trolling, then back to heavy braid for the late summer and fall Red river Catfish.

Hope this helps.....fiskyknut

[Northlander]

Get a line counter. When setting multiple lines you dont always have the rod in your hand to watch how many passes your letting out. If your going to get into trolling they make life way easier.

I have a few Okuma Magna Pros that have served me well and they were cheaper than my Sealines. Sealines are a bit pricey but a great value. Besides the Shimano its the best I have used. The Shimano is over twice the cost though.

Look in stores that sell the Okuma and Sealine and make your decision based on what you think you can afford. Unless your a charter guy I think the Okuma would serve you well. If your looking for something to last for a long time than spend a few more bucks and go Sealines. I like the 17's for eyes and the 27's for Lake Superior trout and salmon. If you ever go to Lake Mich you may want 47's.

If you have any more questions you can mail me.

[solbes]

Cool, I think I will check out both of them. Mostly I'm just trolling for walleyes and pike on our lake which has a lot of suspending fish in the summer.

I'd like to try it out on Leech someday after it starts to come around. I'll probably stick with the smaller sizes since I will rarely, if ever get on the big water (Superior, Michigan).

[island guy]

I don't fish big or really deep water. So for me, I use a permanent marker and dot my line. One dot at 10ft, 2dots at 15ft, ect. Not high tech, but cheap and it works for me.