Great Reel. My son took this reel (7/9 reel on an 8wt rod) surf fishing for surf perch and ended up hooking a 5 foot shark. After a half-hour fight
and almost being brought to shore, the shark was able to "spit" the hook and swim away (makes you want to re-think barbless hooks). My son
was really impressed with the smoothness and strength of the drag and overall strength of the reel. His only complaint was that he almost accidentally
tripped the spool release, but admits that his thumb should not have been there anyway (too dangerous when line is being pulled out).