Reel for Slide Diver Lite Bite?

[troutcrazy]

I finally got a lite bite, and fished with it for a few days before catching anything on it. Yesterday I hooked into my first fish with it! I also found that my reel was not up to the task of dragging the lite bite, and I had to pull the fish in by hand (just a small laker). The reel is toast. It was just a cheap crappy thing, anyway, and I knew it would happen-- just not so soon.

What reels do folks use for the slide divers?
Can I stick with spinning reels, or do I need to use a baitcaster-type reel?

[Nysrx01]

You need a good levelwind trolling reel with line Counter for sure. You have to know how far out your Diver is. A nice 9-10 ft Diver rod doesn't hurt either.

[nhjim]

tekota 600lc works good

[Reelax]

Cheap ol cabelas depth masters will do it... any medium to good quality line counter level wind will do... the tecota is a Cadillac and very smooth but you don’t have to spend 300

[dry net]

Last reel you will ever buy

[keithm87]

I run them on okuma Magda pro 30 series reels. Relatively cheap and work well. Going on 3 years with that setup and it works. They are on daiwa wilderness rods, but any cheap medium action rod will work.

[Captain Paul]

9 foot Ugly stik Downrigger rod light action Tekota 500 or 600 will last for ever

[Nysrx01]

The Diawa SG sealine LC are decent reels too.

[raz]

I like the Diawa Saltist levelwind.

[troutcrazy]

Thanks! "Levelwind" wasn't even a word in my dictionary

Holy cow, these are much bigger reels than I'm used to. I wonder if I'll find them cumbersome in my kayak. It's difficult to get an idea of the size of the reel online. I noticed that some of these reels come in smaller 20 size. Do you think a smaller size would be insufficient?

I'm thinking I'll start off with an inexpensive one.

[JDK]

I have a Okuma Magda Pro 20DX as my slide diver reel. While the reel is OK, it works fine for the amount I use the slide diver.

[Nysrx01]

If you don't use a line counter reel and want to use a smaller lighter level wind you can by mono that has different colors for measuring how much line you have out.

[Reelax]

A sixe 20 or 30 should work just fine... Remeber to use 30-50lb braid line... NOT MONO. Mono has too luch stretch to get good releases with long setbacks... Braid is key! and you can put plenty of 50lb braid on a 20size reel...

[troutcrazy]

Thanks again! I stopped by Rack N Reel, and they had a few models in stock. I bought an Okuma Magda and some 40 lb braid. I'm already craving a better reel. I mean, it works fine ("ok" like JDK said), but boy does it make an annoying sound

I put my hands on some pricier reels at the store, and they sure are nice objects. I'll wait a while until I'm more familiar before I make the investment, though.

[JDK]

Like most, I came to the conclusion that it is far easier to find an inexpensive decent rod than an inexpensive decent reel. I've had the Magda for 5 to 6 years now and used it with the slide diver for 2. I can see the clicker wearing out but so far it has held up. The line counter works, the drag is OK, and I haven't really had any issues with it as of today.

Will I climb the tallest tree to sing it's praises? No, but so far it has held up.