If your trolling crankbaits or longlining with line counter reels..Read this!

I am always learning something on this forum,,and this posting came up about using line counter reels when trolling crankbaits. What i ALWAYS took for granted was that the line counter on the reel was a exact science giving me the correct amounts of line out. BUT! only if the line is loaded on them right. I measured mine with a tape measurer and found out each of my line counter reels are way off as much as 9' so I made a sticker with the right measurement using 40' as a rule and get me close then put a stickon on the reel with what I needed to add for line to the counter to get it out right instead of fooling with trying to get the right amount of line on. For example..if I have 40' of line out on the line counter,,it might only be out 34' so am going to add 6' as I look at the counter,,setting the counter to 46' giving me exactly 40' of line out to get the crankbait down to the exact depth I want it at. If you then let out 150' of line,,line counter is still going to be off cause your spool is not filled properly tho,,so you might want to measure your line,,and mark it with a bobber stopper line or rubber band.

Here is the link I was reading on the main Crappie Forum. You learn somthing new everyday and later on,,will play with the load of the line on the reels to get them as exact as possible using 40' mearurement as my setting up all reels the same on the line counters.

http://www.crappie.com/crappie/main-...s-long-lining/

Its just easier for me to fill my reel spools up........I use a cheap line for a backer then top off with my good line....and fill the spools up to the full level. And being off 9 to 10 ft. on the 40ft. out range and more will only throw your target depth off about 1 foot.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by "G"

Its just easier for me to fill my reel spools up........I use a cheap line for a backer then top off with my good line....and fill the spools up to the full level. And being off 9 to 10 ft. on the 40ft. out range and more will only throw your target depth off about 1 foot.

---

Same here when filling spools,,,your right about throwing target off about a 1'. I normally like to stagger my depth of baits till I am in the zone to run them all the same depth finally tho,,and just figure for now to mark on the stickon label and stuck on reel the difference in measurement at 40'.

Why not just put the right amount of line on.?

Even with the correct amount of line mine can be off quite a bit. I made a chart for my rods by labeling each rod and assigning the differences from 40-100 foot at 10 foot increments. I just glance at the chart to remind me the correct setting for that rod for the desired depth. Sometimes a foot off can increase loss of crankbaits with the structure I target. Some of the places I fish have brush piles the size of house trailers and made out of stuff that can stop your boat on a dime. Lol.

If your 9' off on your line counter when your measuring 40' out in the yard..figure it up when you have as much as 150' of line out. You can be way off target when it counts. Hard to be exact,,but the next time I reload my Okuma line counter reels, will be more observant of how much backing I put on before I put on the Power Pro Braid and try and get it closer. And pay more attention over time to how much line I waste while fishing, when I am cutting and retieing baits on also. Still not a exact science, but will measure the line vs. line counter at 40' again, and mark the rods with a stick on label with the over or under amount and that will get me closer to where I want my baits. Of my 3 reels I use when trolling cranks,,,one was 5' off, another was 6' off, and last one was 9' off. Its just good to know now,,,that they are off and I can compensate. I am about done fishing for the year,,and getting ready to hunt. Just bought a new CVA Optima V2 black powder pistol to hunt with, and sighting in other guns,,got the crossbow out to shoot also and get zoned in,,and been resighting in my black powder shotguns even for squirrel season. Burning alot of powder right now. Aug 15th will be here before you know it.

Yep, it's getting that time of the year. Squirrel and bow season deer are what guys are getting ready for here.

Use them duo-lock snaps, no need to retie. Unless you tangle 3 or 4 rods. Always check your footage before you cut the line off the spool. The way I do it is fill the spool with backing line till it counts right,then pull off 200ft. accordind to the counter an add the power pro an check again before cutting off the spool. The 200 ft.of backing I take off I wind back up on the spool to use on the next one.

I do use the snap and will fill my spools that way. Thx for the tip.

Marked line is the ticket, I use Depth Hunter Power Pro and doubt I will ever go back to a linecounter reel. It's all relative, they all need to be lined the same for sure and all should read the same and then just fish. If 100 on the reel is just 80 thats ok as long as you can duplicate.

I have 2 spots marked on my driveway that are exactly 100 foot apart I stand with rod tip at one spot and send my son to the other spot with filler spool if my line counters don't say 100 I reel up then add or subtract more line from filler spool and send son out again to the 100 foot mark until every reel says 100 this way may take some time but its pretty much spot on with no issues yet

Thats the way to do it. Except I do the walkin myself. After 2 reels its nap time.

And you can always use the "math" method : if line is trailing at 45deg angle, multiply length of line out by 0.6 & you will have the approx. depth of your weight/bait. Or in other words, every foot of length of line out (& below the surface of the water) will equal 7.2 inches of depth (IF line is at 45deg angle). Or in other words :
40 x 7.2 = 288 divided by 12 = 24

With a known 40ft of line out, depth is 8ft for every 15deg of angle :

15deg = 8ft
30deg = 16ft
45deg = 24ft
60deg = 32ft
90deg = 40ft

And since depth is measured by length of line BELOW the water's surface, & NOT distance from rod tip to bait, you have to factor in any length of line from rod tip to water's surface and subtract that length of line from your total length of line out.

So if you have 40ft of line out, and the line from rod tip to water is 4ft long, you'd use 36ft as your "distance". Then at a 45deg angle, 36ft of line would equal a depth of about 21.5ft deep for your bait. (36 x 0.6 = 21.6)

The hardest part of all this is figuring out at what angle your line is running :banghead :Rofl

... cp :kewl