[Brad S]

I've been wrestling with that problem for several years now and didn't like the clip on type of counter like mentioned as they only will fit certain size rod blanks.

What worked pretty well for me was to fill my reels with white Power Pro (I like to fish with braid) and mark it every 30 feet or so with black permanent marker (sharpie etc). The white/black contrast makes it easier to see the markings and I believe that the white line is less visible to fish than other colors of braid.

Sure it's more visible from our perspective (looking down on the line), but notice that fish have evolved to avoid being eaten and almost all fish have a white belly so that when a predator is looking up (most predators I'm familiar with in salt water feed looking up) the white belly blends with the lighter colored surface of the water.

I tried the add-on line counter for my ABU 6500 and it was a piece of junk.

I now use some factory color coded braided line (on some spinning reels) which I like better than my self marked line but I believe it's more visible to fish and it costs quite a bit more than most braided lines which, IMO are already pretty espensive. It's easier to keep track of amt of line out than my self marked line.

Best of all I've found to solve the problem with my casting/conventional reels was to buy a couple of Daiwa Sealine line counter reels. They're smooth, have excellent drags and from what I've seen and read they're excellent quality. With these reels you can use any type of line and glance down and see exactly how much line you have out at any time.

Brad