We covered why line counter reels are essential for mooching salmon in our last blog post and wanted to follow up with 6 reasons for mooching with a line counter (LC) reel:

1) Virtual Sight Fishing
No it’s not exactly like spotting a bonefish on a flat and putting a fly two feet from its nose, but you can spot a mark on a screen at 85 feet and put a herring right there. And, it works – you’ll get a bite.

2) Look out, not down
Yes, you can count crosses of your levelwind and multiply the feet per cross and come up with a number. But you’ll be looking down all day and miss the spectacular scenery, breaching whales, eagles strafing the surface, and bait showering from the surface. Why not look down occasionally at the LC and enjoy the day?

3) Quieting the mind
If you count levelwind crosses or pulls from the reel to your stripping guide all day, you might find yourself counting at night when you hit the pillow. Relax, take in the sights and sounds, get lost in your thoughts, then look down at the trusty LC.

4) Share
You get a bite and instantly you can tell your mates how much line was out. This leads to multiple hook ups and it helps establish the pattern of the day.

5) Play by play
That big king salmon took off like a freight train and you can do the color commentary along the way – “50 feet, 100 feet, 150 feet, holy hell he’s gone 200 feet on this run.”

6) You know when you’re close
How far is the big king from the boat and an attempt with the net? Just look at LC and you’ll know.

For more on the effectiveness of mooching and why it’s our favorite way to fish for salmon, visit our mooching page.