I judge speed only by my cable. The most important thing is to get the right action on your gear. It takes some time to learn what the right speed is for what you are fishing. But if you pay attention you will learn. The key is not to get all hung up on technical details. The lures that are fished today are somewhat forgiving. Experiment a little by changing one variable at a time and make note when your catching increases.

I have heard of people taking giant protractors out on the water to get the "perfect" angle on there cable. I have even seen something like that in a few tackle stores. No thanks - that just isn't my style of fishing. I don't know exactly what the perfect angle is in degrees, I do know about what it looks like. It's somewhere around 35-45 degrees. With a few fish and some time you will begin to develop some confidence in what you are doing and what that magic speed is. Good luck - spend some time on the water with other successful anglers. It will greatly shorten the learning curve.

Steve