For years salmon moochers have either counted "pulls" or passes of the levelwind to determine the depth of their bait. If a fish appears on the Lowrance display at 80 feet it meant counting out 8 passes across the levelwind to get you in the general neighborhood of the feeding salmon below. That's all find and dandy until you're marking fish in say, 150 to 250 feet of water and counting passes on the levelwind suddenly becomes a mental challenge. Anything past 10 and I've got to pull my boots off to go any deeper!

This is where a line counter reel can make things a lot easier. In areas like Southeast Alaska, where salmon are constantly feeding at various depths the line counter becomes an important tool for targeting deep feeding salmon. Virtually all the guesswork is eliminated and the baits can be dropped precisely into the feeding area of salmon marked on the fish finder. A second, and not as obvious advantage, is that the counter gives you the ability to know exactly how far a hooked fish is away from the boat. This is critical during multiple hookups when two large kings, or three or four, are going in opposite directions. In addition, it's just downright awesome to see how many feet of line is burning off the reel on a long run!


We use the Shimano Tekota 600LC exclusively in our saltwater charter operation based in Craig, Alaska. with it's durable, one piece aluminum frame it held up extremely well in the rugged saltwater environment of the North Pacific. The Tekota has an ergonomic grip that is easy to hold onto, a high speed gear ratio which means less cranks for our customers over the course of a day, and a spool capable of handling 240 yards of 25 pound mono. The extra line capacity is a plus when kings are holding in water 250 to 280 feet deep and when halibut are incidentally hooked while fishing for salmon.


The Tekota sports the same Dartainium drag that made the Calcutta a huge success for Shimano. We put the Tekota's drag to the test on trophy king salmon, silvers, lingcod, and halibut in Alaska and couldn't have been more pleased with its performance. Though just a touch on the heavy side, the reel still balances well with the Lamiglas Salmon Moocher series rods that we use and the design of the line counter allows for a comfortable grip when palming the side of the reel. With the Tekota's durable construction all that was needed was to wash the reel in fresh water daily and place a drop of oil in the line counter every few days. With very little maintenance we were able to keep the reels fully operational throughout the entire charter season.



Because of the depths we often fish in Southeast Alaska we chose the Tekota 600LC for it's added line capacity. In fisheries where depth isn't as much a concern the Tekota 500LC would also be a great choice, as it holds roughly 200 yards of 20 lb mono. At a suggested retail price of $179 the Shimano Tekota 600LC is clearly priced for the serious angler or guide who's job depends on equipment functioning flawlessly on a daily basis. From my experience using this reel in the toughest and most demanding of environments Shimano has definitely designed a winner with the Tekota.

TEK-600LC Breakdown and parts diagram