Okuma vs. Diawa Line Counters

[romertrain]

I'm looking to get a few line counter rods/reels to run planer boards this year. I like the price of the Okuma's but know nothing about them. I'd appreciate your thoughts on comparing the two and what models I should use for planer board fishing.

Also - What line should I put on these rods. I know many put fireline but what test?

One more thing - I saw Gander Mountain Planer Board rods on sale. They say planer board right on them but don't have a beefy backbone and actually look like a light/medium action rod. Would these be a good purchase when compared to the Diawa Heartlands?

thanks ahead of time for the help.........romertrain

[Dutchman]

There is no comparison, the Dawia's are superior. With linecounters you get what you pay for. I tried them both and the drags on the Dawia's are much smoother. This IMHO is vital when fighting large fish. On the rods. Check out the combo's at BPS. I would suggest the P&K Walleye angler 8' 6" Trolling rods. They're telescopic and are around 7' when stored.


" Fishing is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope "

[Tom S.]

I have 10 or 12 of the okumas (30DX). Been running them for 3 or 4 years now with no problems. I plan on getting another 6 for wire line set-ups. Haven't regretted the purchases yet.

[BRS1]

DAIWA SG27LC

[ETT]

If you fish 20 times or more a year , and catch big eyes or steelhead, you'll want the Diawas.

[Nordicron]

I think there is a real comparision but you must make sure you are comparing the right reels. The only Okumas you should be considering are the 20dx or 30dx. I to was unable to make a decision on this until I bought one of each $90 dollar Diawa 27lc vs $50 dollar Okuma 30dx. Spooled both up and had friend play like fish. Can tell you both where real close on ft readout within couple feet and drags felt real close to each other. One thing I noticed was the Diawa got warmer than Okuma so the Diawa went back to store and now I own 4 30dx and will be putting them to the test this year for both salmon and eyes. Still not decided what line to run I may go with a 20lbs braid with mono backing. These things will eat up 400yrds of line which can get kinda spendy if all braid.

[Eyez]

I own 2 Okuma 20DX's. They are not the worst reels I've ever owned, and I catch lots of fish on them, but if I had it to do over, I'd buy the Diawas. Honestly, I think the drags on the Okumas suck. Even with 8 foot rods, I need to use a mono shock leader with my fireline, and not because the drag isn't loose enough, it just doesn't react quick enough. They seem to stick regularly, so I am constantly pulling a little line off to make sure the drag is not stuck. When I do get the drag set properly to allow the fish to run, its way too loose to actually reel, so you have to constanly mess with the drag while you're reeling in a fish. The drags have been like that since they day I bought them, so it's not an issue of dirt or anything in them.

The Diawas cost more, but I would definitely go that route, especially if you're going to use them more than a couple times a year.


Eyez

[TBO/MN]

I agree with ETT. I have owned Mitchell Riptide, Shakespeare Tidewater, Okuma Magda, Cabelas, Shimano Bantam, Vangaurd, and now Daiwa 27lc linecounters. The Daiwa and Okuma were very close in comparison for drag, weight,and fishability. The only thing I didn't like about the Okumas was the counter sits on top of the reel and every time I would grab it out of the rod holder, the counter button got tripped and I lost the line count. This deal is a real pain, so I went with the Daiwas and really like them. I use 10 lb. mono on the board rods, and 8/12 Spiderwire on the 3 way/bottom bouncer rods. The line weights change depending on how and what I am fishing for. I use the ten pound mono on boards because Pricision Trolling calculates with ten pound, and the boards stay on better with mono. All of this is my opinion only..Please no fights, no product wars.............

Good Fishin'
TBO/MN

PS......Okuma makes an upgrade linecounter called the Contendor, you may want to check those out.

[Dave S]

Go with the Diawa's if you are serious about trolling and plan on using the reels allot. I have several Okumas and the drags can not be adjusted nearly as finely as the Diawas. A case of "You get what you pay for".

[ruffedgrouse1]

Buy the Diawa reels. I have some of the Okuma reels and some of the Diawas. I like the Diawa reels better. As for rods, try the Cabela's
Depthmaster rods, nice rods.

[docIN]

Daiwa all the way.
I hear that Abu is in the works for a line counter. Might be out next year.

[Reels]

I use the Okuma's and my friend uses the Diawa's. He uses them just for walleye, I use mine for steelhead also. The Diawa has a nicer finnish.

To be honest, they are both good reels, as you can tell from this post. I have no complaints about mine, and my friend loves his.

So, now if your not totally confused....

<{{}}><

[CarpetBagger]

I currently own 4 Sg47's and 4 Okuma Madga DX reels and i am very happy with both. Now grant it the Daiwa is alot better quality of a reel, but the okuma's hold their ground too. Primarily i use the Daiwa's for Big dipsy's and the okuma's for small dipsy's off the boards. The okumas gear ratio is faster than the SG's so i like that. but really if you want some good reels id go daiwa.

CB

[Robertp]

I use the Daiwa's but have been out on YKnot's charter at least three times with Capt. Frank Kittrich. Frank switched over to the Okuma's and said he likes them better. He definitely gives them a workout for both salmon and walleye and says they have held up well.

[ruffedgrouse1]

>I have 10 or 12 of the okumas (30DX). Been running them for
>3 or 4 years now with no problems. I plan on getting
>another 6 for wire line set-ups. Haven't regretted the
>purchases yet.

Tom I have six Okuma 30DX reels. Would you consider buying used? Like new, I even have the boxes.

ruffedgrouse1

[Eyez]

Hey Reels,

How old are your Okumas? I'm wondering if people are happier with the newer ones than what I am with mine? Mine are 3 years old, for the record.

Eyez

[caseyd]

Daiwa 27lcw are better hands down in my opinion..I currently own 3 Diawa's and 3 Okumas and i have had to send two of the Okumas back to get the gear replaced because they had worn out or broke. Granted they took care of the reels and fixed them for nothing but it is a real big hassle to be without reels when you have a tournament coming up.


cased

[SUPERTROLLER]

I bought one Okuma as an experiment to run along side my Diawa's. After two years of use something started chattering and rattling in the Okuma last Sept. I took it apart and cleaned everything and put it back together. Haven't had a chance to test it on the water since to see if it's okay now or not. Never had a problem with the Diawa's in 5 plus yrs. of usage. As stated in some of the above postings, the reset button on the linecounter for the Okuma is the biggest hassle for me, too. Seem to always reset them at the worst times. Seems to get partially reset and hangs up some times too. The Diawa's are more expensive but in the long run you'll probably want to upgrade to them anyway so you'll be money ahead and better spent to buy them the first time. Also, don't spend a lot of money on trolling rods. I've got an old Eagle Claw that is just perfect for boards. Those Heartlands you mentioned are an awful lot like it so they should be fine. If you want to pull leadcore you might want something a little stiffer since that gets pretty heavy with a lot of colors out.

[Gilligan]

Do yourself a favor and buy the Diawas. I bought Okumas and am now doing it all over again. As stated, the Diawa drags are superior but the biggest knock I have on Okumas is how easy it is to bump and accidentaly reset the counter. What a royal pain to have line half way out and have to start over. My Okumas have all been designated for leadcore.

I run fireline in 20#. If you will run dipsies off these set ups 30# would do you better. I have heard many good reports on the Power Pro also.

[TK_551]

I have never used the Okuma's. I do have the Diawa's and these are what I recommend. As far as line, I prefer 10lb Stren Extra Stregth. It holds up well and is quite strong. I use both the Gander GS Planer Board rods and the BPS P/K rods both in 8'6". The P/K Rod is telescopic while the Gander is a 2 piece. The Gander Rods does seem a bit light, however, I am very happy with them and I have not had any problems to speak of.

Tom
#551

[Jerry]

I have four Okuma 30D reels and have been using them for two years. I used them for walleye and salmon in the past. I found the drags very stiff for walleye. I should have gotten the smaller reels as was recommended in the first place. So, I found someone who sugested I get some drags from smoothdrag.com. I did and just recently put them in. I now feel that I have as good a drag and reel as any out there for walleye or salmon. They are as smooth as silk.
GBUSA,
Jerry

[Reels]

This will be the third season. Used the heck out of them last year.

<{{}}><

[vetspet(ind)]

i have older and larger daiwa 47H reels...some are over 18 yrs old and i fish all the time on lake mich for salmon...other than pawls and the gizmo the pawls run on i have not had any problems with any of my 6 reels...drags work really well....the pawls just wear out via going back and forth so much and the screw type base they run in eventually wears out...easy to replace....that has been the only repairs since i got the reels in 1982...bought a bunch of repair parts because i love these reels so much...when a 20lb plus king rips these reels take a beating but keep on clickin...steve

[Kevin S]

Comparing the two linecounter reels, has anyone put the new BPS line-counter to the test.

[SUPERTROLLER]

I also ran 20 lb. Fireline for a couple years and then upped that to 30 lb. test. It still runs deeper than mono and holds in the releases better. It should also be noted though that Gilligan and I are usually open water trolling in the not snag infested Great Lakes. If you fish snaggy areas you might like mono better. It is easier to break without cutting you fingers on the Fireline or having to wrap the line around something to pull with.

[punch1]

Jerry,

I checked the website www.smoothdrag.com/price.html and could not find anything for the Okumas. Did you just call them to get the Okuma washers or am I missing something?

Thanks for the tip!

Pat

[CarpetBagger]

LoL i have some of those older 47H's too i think i have like 4 of em. Excellent reels for my riggers and like you stated they are far from new.

CB

[d_rigger]

roemertrain, read mmost of replys, this is toward your purchase.
Depending on your location- try Dicks Sporting Goods. I purchased my
Diawa combos 47lc reels with a diawa Jupiter rods for $69.99 and they filled the spools with 25# triline-free!I use mine for dipsys and in-line boards. Rods have good back bone and fairly soft tip.Use them on Lake Mich. starting Michigan City,IN up to Manistee. Good luck on your purchase. I am located in N.Ind.

ron

[REELMAN]

I think the daiwa's are the finest line counters on the market. A lot of people buy some of the other brands and seem like they often tank them and then buy the daiwa's.
I like the P&K trolling rods. They work well for planer boards and are retractable. They make a great combo with the 27lc's........

[219guy]

The Okumas have an all new drag for 2002. The top of the line is the Convector, same as the Cabelas new line counter. If anyone wants to look at the new reels or could use a catalog, I'll have a selection in Spring Valley.
219 guy