thinking about buying a couple okuma strata master line counters sm-20d or sm-30d anybody use these for stripers? are they any good? gonna do the trade in used reel deal at bass pro today.thanks for your input.

I own a few, they are alright, but not great. Keep in mind that these are basically the bottom of the Okuma line. I have bought them broken brand new in the box, if a reel does not work the first time you turned the handle, you have to question what kind of quality goes into them.

I am far from a reel snob, but i will not be buying anymore of these models again.

I think the upper end Okuma reels are great, but the lower end reels are for one thing, to sell cheep and I will tell you BIG STRIPERS love cheep reels !!!!

I went fishing a few weeks ago with a friend who has several of the okuma strata master reels. I hung into a nice Striper on one of them and before I got it to the boat the drag had backed completely off 3 times. I had to thumb the spool and retighten each time. the fish was a 21 pounder, glad it wasn't the one I'm looking for.

thanks i might try the daiwa. any comments on the daiwa accudepth?

If you are looking for a cheap reel, you will find quite a few of them. Just remember that you get what you pay for, and when you are first starting out you don't see the benefit of spending loads of money on nice stuff.

If you end up not taking the advice of these seasoned veterans, you will eventually see what they are talking about. You may not have the money to splurge on a $150.00 reel, but talk to John or Larry @ Oakwood and I'm sure they can help you find something in the middle range.

The Okuma Stratamaster is only available at BPS, and I've heard more than once that it isn't as good as the Diawa ADP (even though the SM has 2 ball bearings and the ADP has 0). I recently purchased another linecounter reel, and chose the Okuma Convector. I'm convinced it's better than both. For one thing, the Convector has anti-reverse, whereas the others don't. More metal on the Convector, too. The Fishing Pharmacy (link up top) has the Convector, and at a great price. The guys at OB&T are great, too.

Here's a recent topic about lineconter reels:
http://www.lakelanierguide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/11134/linecounter_reels.html#Post11134

Godamighty, we are back on this subject. I tell you what I would buy, I would buy the Daiwa Accudepths.