I didn't vote as I have not fished all these reels, but I am a Shimano guy through and through... Got me curious about others though!

dragon1 wrote:To clarify, I would prefer round reels for overall durability/strength of the body, usually lower gear ratio for more torque, and higher line capacity in general.

Calcutta is best!

Man I wish I could afford an impulse buy like that. That's a steal!

Several companies sell after markets on EBay.

Shimano Saros has same guts as stradic just less fancy outer casing. I would do a 3000 for trout and flounder not sure what a tautog is?

Shimano Calcutta or Curado is hard to beat.

Shakespeare's are pretty bad, but had some quantums that stink too! Wasn't much on the first Lews Lasers.

Shimano has never let me down and I fish many of my reels in fresh and salt. I have a 25 year old Calcutta that has caught 40 inch reds, a 47 inch cobia, 20 pound stripers and many many other fish. Cool thing is I bought it damaged from a spooling machine and it has never seen a reel repair man. I h...

I feel my right hand is stronger for fighting fish and more accurate for flipping. I also think it feels bites better. I don't like swapping hands, it doesn't make sense to me. I have been on fish that hit right when a lure hit the water and miss because of swapping. Fortunately, I can switch reel. ...