Cabela's Depthmaster Gold Linecounters

[Nordicron]

I have already done an extensive search on the archive without finding much info. Does anyone have these reels? How do you like them? How bout the digital model is it worth extra price? Thanks.

[tbarthel]

I used them last season and am getting different ones this year. Sometimes the digital reading gets "stuck" and you cannot turn it off to reset the reading. Then you have to take the digital display off and take off 6 little screws to get to the battery. This is a big pain in the wind and not to mention the time it takes. My attraction to them was the size. Most linecounters are too big and bulky. I also ended up with some moisture in the display. I would stay away from them if I had to do it again.

TB

[J.P.]

I bought 2 of these when they first came out. Both displays quit working in the first 2 months. I tried to put in new batterys but that is a major operation. After getting them apart to put in the battery I dicovered plastic gears inside. JUNK! Sent both back and swapped them for Daiwa's.

[Chuck Pederson MN]

They had a bunch of them returned to the bargen cave. Thats a good sign that people are not happy with them.

[peshtigo joe]

I have four of them in my JUNK box I dont think thay are worth the the metal thay are made with

[eyeswon]

I had one and it was junk not even good for a sinker. Should tie a quarter to it and throw it away. That way I would be throwing away something worth the money.

[ND]

I bought two of them when they first came out.....within first few days of use both didn't work.
Sent them back for repairs.
Both have worked now for two years without any problems.
I fish with them for salmon and the stress that fish puts on the reels is considerable. I have seen better drags on reels, but sometimes a lighter drag is more forgiving.
I understand that the newer generation of these reels have addressed the battery changing.
The LCD can still be washed out in sunlight.
It's no match against the Daiwa, but it is good reel.

[Bigeye]

Guys I think that you are all confused. The Depthmaster gold is not the digital counter. The gold is Cabela’s new line counter. It has Aluminum side plates, a top mounted counter, and an excellent drag system. I know because the two I ordered arrived last week.

[Bigeye]

Sorry guys, Aluminum frame and graphite side plates.

[tbarthel]

I am not confused. The questions was whether the digital ones are worth the extra price and the answer like everyone has clearly stated is they are JUNK. The Depthmaster maybe a good reel counter who knows they are new, from other posts on the message boards I am taking everyones advise and going with the Daiwa's.
TB

[IaCraig]

I am not confused either, and I realize their GOLD linecounter is not the gold colored battery operated one. I am a big Cabela's fan, but I have been very disappointed in my 2 digital Cabela's Linecounters. , In my opinion, if Cabela's $99 line counter is considered JUNK by so many people, why take a chance that their less expensive $79 model would be any better? Go with the Diawa that gets rave reviews by just about everyone. If you ask about Cabela's rods, I'd give you a thumb up.

[Nordicron]

Thanks for all the replies. I was actually considering the manual counter models that are called 'Depthmaster Gold Linecounters' and am certainly not going to get the digital model due to the replies above. The combo prices seemed like a good deal but if the reel (manual or digital) is junk then it wouldn't matter. Sorry for any confusion. Looks like some Daiwas for me. Thanks.

[Bigeye]

Seems to me you may be confused, the original question states nothing about the digital line counters. It does however ask about the new depthmaster gold reels. All I am saying is that I have first hand experience with these reels and I think they are very well put together. I think you should at least look at a reel before you post how bad they are going to turn out.

[Atomic Eye]

I didn't have either a Cabela's "Gold Cup" line counter reel or a Daiwa SG27LC line counter reel. So, I ordered one of each to make my own evaluation.

Before I go further, I've noticed from posts and polls on this forum that the fisher folks who use this forum have a LOT of disposable income to use on fishing. So, the cost of an expensive reel is not a detriment to them. From one poll, a lot of them have incomes >$90K or so. From another poll, a number of them own expensive Loomis rods, and feel they're worth all of the couple of hundred dollars it takes to buy them. From another poll, a majority of the Lund owners have the ProV series boats. And from yet another poll, almost 1/3 of those buying boats this year are buying Lunds, i'e., expensive (but d### well worth it) fishing boats. So, these folks are going to migrate to top of the line in whatever irregardless of cost.

Maybe Scott Golden needs to create another forum for the regular fishing guy who has less money to spend?

A recent series of comments I read said the new BPS reel was "junk" but didn't offer up much other than they were sending them back. So, inexperienced as I am with these 2 line o****er reels, here is my take on their different features:

1. Price - BPS = $60. Daiwa = +$32 more (~$93 total).
2. Finish - BPS - looks almost like graphite or plastic. Daiwa - nice metallic & gold trim finish.
3. Perceived smoothness on retrieve- goes to Daiwa by a far amount. Don't know how to quantitate this.
4. Line counter position - advantage to BPS. It's set at a better angle to read the digits.
5. Reset of the line counter - huge difference, advantage to Daiwa. The BPS felt like pushing a rubber eraser to me and didn't reset cleanly. The Daiwa was very positive and crisp on reset.
6. Click from letting line out - advantage to Daiwa. It reset and moved position of the lever instead of just having an audible click like the BPS.
7. Overall size feel - Advantage Daiwa. Felt more compact & solid in the hand.
8. Accuracy - I didn't get to check this as I think I will send the BPS reel back, because I like the feel of the Daiwa for reasons mentioned above.

Any other descriptive comments of people who have both in hand?? Thanks.


Atomic Eye (New Mexico) -- "Gone Fission!" ~~~<}}}:>