I use eleven foot poles and instead of using line counters I measured out from my reel in 1 foot increments and painted a mark on my poles at 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 feet. After the initial 11 feet of line I just use the marks to pull off the extra line I need. I always know the exact depth that I am fishing. When I catch a fish, instead of reeling it in, I just strip the line in like you do when flyfishing. When you get the fish off just toss the jig back overboard and your are still at the same depth.