When trolling crankbaits, a line counter reel makes everything more precise. Say if you want to run one foot or two feet right off the bottom, you can get really specific with a line counter reel, and obviously the precision trolling app aids in that immensely.
Now using a line counter reel will give you a baseline or a starting point, but there is something else to consider: the rod tip angle. Even with the same lure and same amount of line, two rods will run completely different with 2 different angles.
That’s why it’s important to consider how much line there is from the rod tip to the water. The more line you have out of the water the more that shortens up your dive curve.
Therefore while pulling right behind the boat and not running planar boards, it’s beneficial to keep the rod tips low and down and close to the water. That enables the line counter to be more precise and can also let out less line to reach the desired depth.
Not to mention, the less amount of line to reel in fish the better.
One tip to angle the rod more effectively, is to use a washer. You can take the nut off and add a washer to any rod holder. This eliminates the incremental adjustment, and allows you to really fine tune the presentation.
The washer allows better precision. By just nudging it, it’s just barely moves it up or down, that way keeping everything the same. Therefore by keeping the rods down at the same angle, allowing out the same amount of line from the rod tip to the water, everything becomes way more precise.
