Santa brought me a Daiwa SG27LC for Xmas. While reading the pamphlet about the counter it says to use 14lb mono (.35mm dia) line in order for the measurement to be accurate. That means constantly converting to get the correct depth when using the Precision Trolling Guide. I have seen a lot of posts about using the 50lb braid that is 10lb diameter. Is it better (easier) to stick with the PGT 10 lb standard and adjust the distance back or to use Daiwa's recommended line size and adjust to the depth? Does braid versus mono make a difference in performance?
Any thoughts or recommendations from experinced trollers?

Impatiently waiting for spring on Lake Erie.

Barry

This would probably be a 20 minute dicussion if we were face to face.

Spool the line that you want. We have around 15 of these reels and variables involved make exact line measurement impossible. I once pull a measure 100' of line off of 6 freshly filled reels at once and found the line counters to vary from 85' to 118'. This is not a slam to the reels. It has to do with the fact that you just can't fill 2 reels exactly alike.

The line counter reel gives you the ability to get back to the same distance. Repeatability is the issue, not dead-nuts accuracy.

Superbraids do have different performance characteristics. Simply stated is much easier to land a fish on mono, and I would definately recommend staying with mono. I use completely different rods for superbraids (longer and softer), and still have trouble with rip-offs.
You are just going to have more get off with the superbraids.

Hope this helps. If you have more questions, just ask.

Good luck and come on Spring!!

PS If you get to the boat show in Cleveland, stop by and say hi.

I agree with ETT.
The only true difference you'll effectivley realize, is that Monster price tag on 10,000 yards of Braide versus the mono. Mamma-Me-A.

Well said ETT!! Scott Steil

bagman: if you do a search on "linecounter" in the general discussion and search the archives you will get three pages of info to scan through. one post in particular has some very good info on reel accuracy. look for the post "how do linecounter reels work". the sg-27 's are very nice. i've had 6 of them for three years and put hundreds of fish in the boat with no failures from these reels.

I never really thought of it that way, but your right. It's not that you caught the fish 100 ft behind the boat, but instead you let the same amount of line back out after the first catch!

Barry: What is your e-mail addy? If you want a long version on how to calibrate a linecounter, I'll forward an attachment.

Dan -- Could you please send that information to me? Thanks. Rick Mitchell (rmitchel@uwsp.edu)

Dan

This is one of my favorite subjects so I would also love to check out what you have. Thanks in advance!!!

aquaholic110@aol.com

email me too....Thanks
bt_henton@yahoo.com

Dan, Could you send this info to me also? I have 6 of this reels so would really help. Thanks GBOES@msn.com

Bagman,

This might make the ballpark feel a bit smaller.

PT dive curves were developed using properly spooled SG27's, 10 lb mono (XT I think), rod tip two feet off the water. If PT says a lure goes 10 ft with 100' lead it means 10' when the numbers on the reel say 100, if your using 10# mono, rod tip 2' off. Adjust for different diameters of line using their chart.

If you use PT you are not interested in the Diawa instructions concerning what # test makes the reel accurate.

Try to fill spools with the same tension and same amt of identical backing if you use it. Beyond that, try to keep the amt of line (spools close to the same dia) on the reels and reasonably full. Linecounters are far from perfect, but they beat counting passes! Because of all the varibles, PT is not always dead on, but it's an excellent tool.

Good Luck,
jc

why dont ya see if Scott will let ya put it up on the website somewhere for all to benefit?
just a thought

Bagman,

After years of struggling with the same dilemma this is what I do. I have several kinds and qualities of line counter reels and have them all calibrated to within 2% +/- at 100' it is fairly easy just take a rod or two at a time to the local park take a 100’ tape measure. First put backing on your reel I use 14-17lb mono. I fill the reel almost full. If you are going to use a super line fill a little fuller because of the small diameter then tie on your line of choice and fill the reel up to what appears to be a full spool DON’T CUT THE LINE. Zero your reel, lay your rod down and pull out exactly 100’ go back and check your line counter it most likely will read something other than 100’ If it reads 108’ this means you are roughly 8% shy of full add more line. If it reads 97’ like wise you are 3% over full take some off. After you do several reels you will get the hang of it. If you use a leader you can add it later or pull off the same amount and tie it on if you wish. It won’t have much of an effect because 25’ is only 3% of 750’ or 250 yards as an example. I rarely use more than 100 yds. of superline the rest is backing and leader. The key is setting the reel at the distance you usually fish behind the boat if it is 150’ measure out 150’ and uses the same procedure. The more distance you fish “short or long” from the preset length more chance for error but the reels will be nearly 100% accurate at the predetermined measurement. Test the accuracy when you are done at 50’ or 150’ or if you used 200’ as your main fishing distance test at 100’ and 300’ you will be surprised how accurate even a low cost line-counter reel will be. The kicker is if while fishing you loose substantial amount of line you will have to re-calibrate. Learn to tie a double uni-knot as it is the best knot to add lost line. This method will work on any line weight.

Good fishing!
Mike

Good Job Mike,

That's basicly what I do. Another thing that you could do is go back and measure (using the line counter) the amount of super line you have on each reel and record that measurement. When I start to loose a significant amount of line on a reel I go back to the uni-nots and retie using the measurement that I recorded. Makes in fast and simple duing tournaments. Hope it makes sense.

As a side note. I like taking mailing labels and water proof pens and record the line type and lengths on this label and then attach it to reel. Hiding it under the reel seat seems to preserve it longer. Now I don't have to remember what I had on that reel and can just look/read before reloading.

Dan,

email me at bagman2@core.com

jcarp, you make a couple of referances to 2 ft. off the water. just so you know, unless you're flatlining directly off of the boat, that is'nt an issue. as soon as you put your line in a clip you lose most of your control over how far off the water the line is.