It's just a jigging stick. The purpose/advantage of the large inline reel is to reduce kinks and twists in the line. They have been around for a looooong time, before flashers even. The counter is so that you can return to depth for suspended fish. For panfish just use the rod to set the hook and then handline them in. No need to worry about the counter. Use a braided dacron line with a mono leader to the jig. There is not much by way of a drag system on those things.
