The drags and gearing ratio are your first consideration. I outfitted my first charter boat 1986 w Diawa 47s.three years ago I finally had someone clean and replace whatever. $15 to 20/ reel. That being said…you will destroy a cheaper reel quickly on salmon. Need bigger for core/copper. Walleyes on anything 30 series [spin] you like because you don’t need, 27h fine. Depth masters great for eyes.

Remember dive curves charts are not very accurate w leadcore. I live on the croix and never use core. Michigan maybe, leech seldom. Boat control most important. Better ways and its allot of frustration learning. Snap weights samo. Dipseys n rigors much better. Crank baits 12to 20 ft should be a safe start.

Line counters kinda waste of money. I count passes. LC tend to break. Lead core is a poor way to learn to control depth, to many variables. As soon as you start making any kind of turn , you LC rise n drop is big. Find a good depth dive chart, use at least 14# mono, boards won’t hold on braid. I troll leech w 10-12ft baits. Start simple. Meet trick… Flat live straight back, either very short just under prop wash or half way across the….really long.
You snag up one line and every sinking lure is going to snag
Good luck.

I’m a charter Capt. On Michigan my buddies have switched to $50 7 ft. ugly sticks #?. You want boat rods, not good grafites. A stiff rod will give you a jerky presentation especially in bigger wave, vs whippy which the rod will smooth it out. Length not to important…other than figuring you rod holders.

The difference between 1 n 3 colors is very little. Three ft maybe 4 per color. The fish won’t see the difference. Your leed of the board will have more affect?