Count Down Made Easy…
Okuma’s new Cold Water low-profile, line-counter reel is made for a lot of what Northwest fishermen do when they’re chasing steelhead or big trout in reservoirs or kokanee or trout in lakes—in fact, it’s perfect for nearly every application where you need to know the length of line you have out.
There are a lot of line-counter reels available from just about any company you choose. However, what makes this one stand out is the fact that it is the first low-profile version. All of the other line-counters I’ve run across are much larger, targeting as they do the Great Lakes salmon and steelhead markets.
That doesn’t mean that this Cold Water line-counter is just a jumped-up bass reel with the counter added. It is designed first as a solidly built reel that will work for steelhead (and salmon up to big-water chinook).
But with a spool capacity of 230 yards of 14-pound mono, even that last category may be within reason.
Here’s what I like about the reel: It’s a low-profile casting reel, and because of that, it fits neatly into the palm of my somewhat-big hand. If you chunk the rod into a holder while trolling, that doesn’t matter. However, if you do hold the rod, the hand-hugging shape relieves some of the stress and awkwardness of larger, round reels.
Another feature is that it’s available in both right- and left-hand configurations, and that also works well with guys who troll with a tiller outboard. You won’t be shifting the rod from hand to hand to make adjustments while trolling.
Since this reel is not intended to be used mainly as a casting reel (you could, but that’s not what it was designed to be used as) there is no external adjustment of magnets—a spot where water and dirt can enter the works. You can adjust spool tension, though, by turning the tension knob below the handle.
And speaking of handles, this reel comes with a large power handle, so there is no need to add one.
Two other things are worth noting. First, there is a clicker on the reel for those times when you hook a fish but are looking to see what kind of sandwich you grabbed out of the cooler.
Second, the spindle of the machined aluminum spool has a series of grooves cut into it. Since I tend to use odd bits of line as backing when a full spool of premium line isn’t needed, I picked up a short spool of 50-pound fused braid.
I’ve found that superlines tend to spin on a reel unless they in turn are backed by monofilament. But I thought I’d try the braid without mono to see if it would spin.
I used a seven-turn UNI-knot, and pulled it firmly into a groove, reeled a couple of layers of braid over the knot, cranked the drag down tight and pulled. There was no spinning or slip that I could see. Having said that, I’d probably still use a bit of mono for backing before the braid if I were to use the reel for chinook. However, since this reel is intended for lake-run trout, I’m fine with it the way it is.
The reel sports three stainless-steel ball (and one roller) bearings, oversize machine-cut brass and pinion gears and a 5.4:1 retrieve ratio. The line-counter is anti-fogging, a nice touch for those who fish in the rain.
For more information, go to: www.okumafishing.com.