Re: line capacity magda 30D trolling reel?
RE: Line counters.
Line counters are "more" accurate with a full spool because they are designed to "read" at full spool. As line unwinds the diameter of the spool effectively decreases thereby changing the circumference of the spool. Therefore, as line is payed out each revolution has a little less length of line released per revolution compared to the previous revolution. Eventually 12" becomes 11" and so on.
That having been said, using a line counter reel is more about repeatability and are less about accurate number of feet out. That is why charter captains usually have all the same reels for each tactic even if they use different length rods, and they usually have the same line and/or segments on them.
If, say, I am trolling for landlocked salmon on Champlain and find that a rod at 120' is catching fish but the counter on other rods at 80 and 150 are not getting strikes we can adjust the other two rods. Further, if I am using a diver at "x" on the counter and I get a fish, I can again set the rod out at the same place and it will be at the same depth provided speed is the same. Even further, I have charts which show the behavior of my diver(s) at "x" speed and a given line length "down."
Line counters can also help me target fish marked at a depth. For example, a Slide Diver Lite Bite chart shows I am running 25' deep with a certain length of line out for the setting on the diver ring at a given trolling speed. I might set it 16 feet "back," engage the trip arm, and then let out 90' of my 30# (10# diameter) Power Pro braid, after looking at the chart for the speed I am running, and then know I am reasonably within the ballpark of the fish I marked at 28' deep. Then when a fish strikes I can reset to the same setting. Or, if I am not getting strikes, perhaps go a little shorter down or longer down, and experiment until the fish tell me where I need to be. Then I can duplicate that after releases or fish on.
I usually back the Power Pro with 14 or 20# mono until there is enough room to fill the spool with about twice the longest working length of braid I would ever anticipate using (which allows for cut-backs that still leave me enough working length). I use a shock leader af 20# mono and usually use about a rod length of 14# Seagar fluorocarbon working leader .
Granted I am not targeting 20# fish, but that setup has yielded a 13#+ lake trout and numerous landlocks up to 28" from Champlain. Big fish folks from offshore or the Great Lakes occasionally poo-pooh the extra knots and the swivel I put between the mono and fluorocarbon, but I lose of land plenty of fish on this without breaking them off either. For me, 10# fluorocarbon gets broken off on larger lake trout and some Champlain salmon and steelhead.
Hope these observations help you. Most important is the idea of repeatability and not exact line length in feet although it will most always be fairly close.
