Digital Line Counter Fishing Reel - Left or Right Hand

Stop guessing how much line is off the spool.

You mark a school on the sounder sitting at eighteen metres, drop a bait down and hope. No idea whether you are sitting on top of them, ten metres over the top, or dragging through the mud. So you wind up, drop again, and guess a second time while the school moves off down the reef.

Trolling is the same story. You let line out until it feels about right, the bloke on the other rod lets out something different, and when one of you finally hooks up nobody can repeat it. A wasted afternoon is not a disaster, but it is still the afternoon you had.

This is a low-profile baitcaster with a counter built into the top plate. It reads the line coming off the spool in metres, to a tenth of a metre. When something works, you write the number down and go back to it.

What It Does

• Sound them, then hit them: find the school on the sounder and drop to the number on the counter instead of guessing at it from the surface.
• Repeat what worked: a fish comes off at 22.4 metres and now you have a number to go back to, not a feeling about how long you let it run.
• Keep a trolling spread honest: every rod runs a measured length back, so the lures sit where you put them instead of crossing over behind the boat.
• Stop short of the snags: watch the count against the depth on your sounder and pull the bait up before it finds the bommie.
• Fish it as a plain baitcaster: the counter is an extra, not the reel. Switch it off and it still casts and cranks the same.

Key Features

• Counts in metres: the display reads line off the spool in metres to one decimal place. Nothing to convert and nothing in feet.
• 6.3:1 gear ratio: quick enough to wind slack out of a trolled line, slow enough to crank a fish up from depth. Printed on the reel frame.
• 13 + 1 ball bearings: the count moulded into the sideplate and stated on the supplier’s own artwork.
• Anodised aluminium spool: a metal spool rather than a moulded one, so it holds its shape under tight braid.
• Aluminium handle arm: one-piece arm with a moulded EVA knob big enough to hold onto with wet, slimy hands.
• Star drag: the traditional wheel behind the handle, so you can wind the drag up or back off mid-fight with your cranking hand.
• Sideplate brake dial: a micro adjustment knob on the sideplate to set the spool brake for the lure weight you are throwing.
• Two buttons, no menus: one sets the counter, one turns it on. No app, no pairing and no screen to learn.
• Capacity marked on the frame: 230 m of 0.165 mm down to 120 m of 0.28 mm, printed where you can check it against your spool.
• Left or right hand: two separate reels. You pick the side you wind with when you order.

Limits

Here is what this reel does not do, and what STACO does not tell us about it.

• No drag figure: STACO publishes no maximum drag for this reel — not in kilograms, not anywhere — and we are not going to invent one. The star drag is fitted and it adjusts. If you choose reels on a drag number, you do not have one here.
• No corrosion or seal rating: nothing states this reel is sealed and there is no IP figure. It has an electronics housing with two buttons in the top of it. Rinse it in fresh water and dry it after every trip, and keep it out of the drink.
• The battery is an unknown: there is a power button, so the counter runs on stored power. The supplier does not state what battery it takes, whether one comes with it, or whether you can change it. If the counter dies you may be left with an ordinary baitcaster.
• It counts line, not depth: the number is how much line has left the spool. In a run of current, or with any speed on, the line lies at an angle and your bait is shallower than the count. Read it as line out and let the sounder tell you the depth.
• Your hand choice is final: left and right are two separate reels and there is nothing from the supplier saying the handle moves across. Pick the side you actually wind with.
• It does not wind in for you: this is a manual reel. The electronics count line and that is all they do.
• Several specs are simply not published: weight, body material, retrieve per crank and level wind are all blank. They are marked that way in the Specs tab rather than filled in with a guess.

Q & A

Does the counter read in metres or feet?

Metres. The supplier’s photos show the display reading 2.4 and 120.0 with an m alongside the figure, and the line capacity is moulded into the frame in metres as well. There is nothing imperial on this reel.

Is the display lit up for night fishing?

Nothing from the supplier says it is, and it looks like a reflective segment display rather than a lit one — the same sort of screen as an old calculator. Plan on needing a head torch after dark.

Can I move the handle to the other side later?

Treat that as a no. Left hand and right hand are sold as two separate reels and you choose one when you order. The supplier does not say the handle can be swapped across, so pick the side you wind with rather than hoping to change it later.

What battery does the counter use?

Not specified by the supplier. There is an on/off button so it clearly runs on stored power, but there is no battery type given, no word on whether one is included, and nothing saying whether it can be replaced. That is a genuine gap and we would rather flag it than paper over it.

Will it survive salt water?

There is no corrosion rating and no seal rating published for it, so we cannot tell you it is saltwater rated. Gear like this gets fished in the salt every weekend; the trick is a fresh water rinse and a proper dry-out after every session, and never letting it go under.

How long does delivery take?

Ten to fourteen days from the day you place the order, and allow up to three weeks. Delivery is free to Australia and New Zealand.

Specs