Heard someone once say "anything over 100 yards is just backing." Has rung true for me. Seriously...if you have more than 100 yards of line out on a fish, it ain't coming in anyway.

I keep a spool of fresh line in the car or in my bag if I am hiking in a ways...that way if I lose some line and I worry it may impact my reel performance or I don't have enough to play a fish, I can re-spool right then. It only takes a few minutes and the benefits of not having to lug around a big old reel are much greater.

I fish a Curado 200 size for both Steelies and Kings. 8 lb Maxima UG for Steelies and 12 -15 for Kings. Never felt undergunned in terms of drag on the newer Curados (D and e series). On the old school "greenie" Curados I used to have to add drag pressure with my thumb at times, but not these days.