Trolling rod and other stuff

So along with the new purchase of a boat comes the desire to do some trolling for eyes. I’m looking for an inexpensive set up and I know the Daiwa line counters are highly thought of for quality relative to cost. But what does IDO think of the Shimano TDR trolling rods? Looks like I can pick up an 8′ mod-fast medium for $30. I’d like to long line cranks and use it for bottom bouncing harnesses. Is that feasible with 1 rod?

Another question that I’ve been wondering and is probably a little dumb, but here goes….

When trolling, where is the distance of line out measured from? Where the line leaves the reel, at the end of the rod, or at the moment the line is hitting water? I know with regard to the line counters its where the line leaves the spool, but do you then have to adjust your numbers for the other factors, like length of rod and height of the rod off the surface of the water? Hope that makes sense.

Also, anyone use and have an opinion on the Okuma Magda Pro line counters?

I have used the Okuma LC reels without any issues for walleye for longline and lead core trolling and 3-way rigging. They seemed to hold up fine for me. I also have Diawa and a pair of Abu Garcia 6500 LC reels that are very nice.

I don’t have any experience with the Shimano TDR rods but it seems that I have seen them mentioned in more than a post or two and I can’t recall any negative comments. I have some Gary Roach trolling rods, Jason Mitchel Elite trolling rods and some of the Okuma trolling rods that have all worked for me for the various presentations.

The Magdas of OK at best. They work but the counters can fail. I have a few and just got a few more recently for trolling Superior. They would not be my first choice for LK Michigan but on superior where fish are smaller they get the job done for the handful of trips I make a year. For Walleye they will handle them no problem.

As mentioned the counters can fail so if you are using lead core it is not a huge deal as I just count colors anyways. I have experienced better reliability with accudepth personally and the cost is not too much more. If you do need reels and are on a budget the magda should be ok, as mentioned I still buy them every now and then. But if you can try to upgrade you will be better off in the long run.

When using the line counter feature you cave to keep in mind that the counter just counts spool revolutions. If your spool is completely full you reading in Feet “should be” pretty close to accurate. But if the spool is say half full then the reading will be very off. This reading is based on the circumference of the spool when full. Most I know start reading the counter and zero it with about 8′ of line out when trolling or at water line when bottom bouncing (sort of the point of entry for the line in the water).

Cool, thanks guys.

Reason I was wondering about the Okuma is because they are currently going for $40 on one of the online retailers compared to the same model being $54 at the big box store. I think I’ll pick one up as I’m thinking I’ll be using it for walleye on smaller SE WI lakes exclusively. My rig is not the kind to be out on the Great Lakes.