Shimano Ocea Jigger CT: The New JDM Counter Jigging Reel Explained

Shimano did something quiet but kind of a big deal for anyone who jigs off a boat: it bolted a line counter onto the Ocea Jigger (オシアジガー), its flagship offshore jigging reel. I fish light and medium jigging from a small boat here in Japan, and depth is half the game. So when a reel this serious finally shows a live depth and fall-speed readout on the side plate, that gets my attention fast.

The new model is called the Ocea Jigger CT. The “CT” stands for the built-in counter, and this is the first time an Ocea Jigger has ever carried one. Up to now, if you wanted a Shimano counter reel for jigging you dropped down to the Grappler CT or reached for the tairaba-leaning Ocea Conquest CT. The Ocea Jigger CT brings that convenience up to the top of the range, in a reel built for hard, all-day metal jigging.

This piece is a spoke off our light jigging guide, so start there if the technique is new to you. Below I’ll walk through what the counter actually does, how the 2000 and 2500 sizes split up by job, and where this reel sits against its CT siblings. Every spec here comes straight from Shimano’s official catalogue.

A note on pricing: the Ocea Jigger CT is a JDM (Japan Domestic Market) reel, so buy links point to Amazon Japan, which ships internationally (check availability and cost at checkout). Prices are shown as Japanese RRP, tax excluded, with an approximate USD conversion at roughly ¥155 = $1 at the time of writing. It releases in Japan from November 2026, so pre-release listings can be thin; always check live pricing before you buy.

A First for the Ocea Jigger Line

The Ocea Jigger has been a workhorse in Japanese jigging for years, but it always made you track depth the old way, by counting cranks or reading line marks. The CT drops a digital counter right on top of the frame. It reads out your exact depth, and it also shows fall speed (フォールスピード表示), which tells you how fast the jig is sinking on the drop. That’s a genuinely useful number when fish are keying on a slow flutter versus a hard, fast fall.

There’s more on the display than just a depth figure. You get a winding-distance alarm (巻上距離アラーム) that beeps once you’ve cranked the jig up a set height off the bottom, plus an LED backlight so you can read it at first light or after dark. Power comes from a small CR1632 coin battery that Shimano rates at around 10 trips, and yes, you can swap it yourself. Shimano also says a Bluetooth link with its next-generation Tankenmaru (探見丸) sounder is in development, which hints at where this platform is heading.

For Light and Medium Jigging: the 2000 Size

If most of your jigging happens in shallow to mid water with jigs up to roughly 150 g, the 2000 size is the one to look at. The 2000HG weighs 590 g, spins a 6.2 gear ratio that picks up 117 cm of line per crank, and holds PE 2.5 for 600 m. Max drag is a very healthy 12 kg. That’s plenty of reel for tai, small kingfish, amberjack, and the mixed bag most of us fish on light tackle, and the smaller body is the more comfortable choice for a full day of working the rod.

One thing to note on availability: the right-hand 2000HG lands first, in November 2026, with the left-hand 2001HG following in December. So if you’re a left-hand cranker, you may be waiting a few extra weeks.

For Slow Pitch and Deeper Water: the 2500 Size

Go deeper, throw heavier iron, or fight harder current, and the 2500 size makes more sense. It weighs 605 g and holds more line, PE 3 for 670 m, which matters a lot once you’re fishing past 100 m. Here you get a real choice of gearing, and it’s the most important decision in the whole range.

The 2500MG runs a lower 5.7 gear ratio (107 cm per crank) and bumps max drag up to 13 kg. That lower gear is a power-gear setup: it winds with more torque than speed, which is exactly what you want for slow pitch jigging and for cranking heavy jigs up from deep water without cooking your forearm. The 2500HG keeps the faster 6.2 gear and 117 cm pickup for anglers who’d rather move the jig quickly, at 12 kg of drag. The trade is simple: MG for grunt in the deep, HG for speed. If slow pitch is your main game, our roundup of the best slow pitch jigging reels is worth a read alongside this.

When the Counter Earns Its Keep

Here’s the situation a counter is built for. The sounder lights up a band of fish at, say, 60 to 70 meters over an 80-meter bottom. Without a counter you’re guessing, dropping, and hoping. With one, you free-spool to 70, start your jerks, and if a fish eats at 64, you can put the jig back in that exact window on the very next drop. When bites repeat at a depth, that repeatability is the difference between one fish and five.

The fall-speed number adds a second layer. A lot of jigging bites come on the drop, and being able to see whether your jig is fluttering down slowly or free-falling fast lets you match what the fish want that day. The winding-distance alarm does the same job on the way up: set it to your productive lift height and you can reproduce a good sequence without watching the display the whole time. I won’t pretend a counter replaces reading the water, but on days when depth control is the whole ballgame, it takes a lot of guesswork off your hands.

How It Sits Next to the Ocea Conquest CT and Grappler CT

Shimano now has three counter baitcasters that a jigger might cross-shop, and they don’t really overlap. The Ocea Jigger CT is the dedicated metal-jig tool: a rigid HAGANE body, a PE-only spool, big 12 to 13 kg drag numbers, and a heavier 590 to 605 g frame that’s built to take a beating in current. It has no fall lever, because that’s not how you fish it.

The Ocea Conquest CT is the refined all-rounder. It’s lighter, prettier, and leans toward tairaba and lighter jigging, with a fall lever and lower drag in the 8 kg range. If you’re weighing that one up, our Shimano Ocea Conquest series guide breaks the family down. The Grappler CT sits below both as the value counter jigger, around 240 g and 5 kg of drag, and it’s the one most people meet first. For the wider field of affordable options, see our best JDM light jigging reels roundup. The map below shows how the four reels line up on weight and build rigidity.

Shimano Ocea Jigger CT Specs and Technology

Under the counter, this is a proper Ocea Jigger. It carries Shimano’s flagship jigging tech, and the counter is layered on top rather than swapped in for something. The reel runs 7 ball bearings plus 1 roller, a 60 mm spool, and it’s PE-only across the board, so don’t try to load it with mono.

Key Technologies

These are the headline features, in plain English. The counter with fall-speed display is the new part; the rest is Shimano’s proven jigging hardware.

Key Specs

All six variants share the counter, the 7+1 bearings, and the same body per size. The choice really comes down to size, gear ratio, and which hand you crank with. Note the MG models wind slower but pull harder at 13 kg of drag.

Comparison Table: Where the Ocea Jigger CT Fits

Here’s the quick cross-shop against its two CT siblings, using a representative size of each. It shows why these reels don’t really compete: they’re built for different jobs and different budgets.

The Short Answer: Which Size to Buy

If you just want a straight call, here’s how I’d pick between the sizes for the way most people fish.

Wrap-Up

The Ocea Jigger CT is a simple idea done well: take Japan’s benchmark jigging reel and give it the depth readout that light and medium jigging almost demands. Pick the 2500MG if you fish deep or slow pitch, the 2000HG if you want the lightest all-day reel, and the 2500HG if you like the big line capacity with a faster wind. It’s a premium buy, but a counter this good on a body this tough is hard to find elsewhere.

If you’re still working out where this reel fits your style, the light jigging guide covers the technique end to end, and the Ocea Conquest series guide is the natural next stop if you want something lighter and more tairaba-friendly. Whichever you land on, rinse it with fresh water after every saltwater trip and it’ll serve you for years.

All specifications were taken from Shimano’s official catalogue (fish.shimano.com). The product image is from Shimano. Affiliate links point to Amazon Japan, which ships internationally; we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Check your local regulations and bag limits before fishing.

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マイボートで海に出るボートアングラー（釣り歴20年・ボート歴10年）。タイラバ・ひとつテンヤ・ライトジギングが主戦場で、エリアトラウトや堤防のライトゲームものんびり楽しむ雑食派。

実際に使った道具の「正直どうだったか」を、公式スペックと実釣の両面から書いています。

Boat angler based in Japan, sharing first-hand reviews of JDM tackle.