F.J, no I'm not saying that you can't do serious fishing with a spinning reel. I started with a closed faced spincaster, don't laugh, I could'nt afford anything better, the guys in the boat stopped laughing after my 7 salmon to their 2, on my first boat trip. I'm just saying a levelwind has a much superior drag system than any reel other than a single action/fly, and when that big fish heads back to the bay I want a smooth, consistant drag to stop him. I own every type of reel, but take my levelwinds on big fish trips.