Hmmmm.........I will only sheepishly admit my extravagance and will justify my excessive and over the top expenditure by doing what every man has done since the beggining of time.......I will rationalize :D

Yes the reel did make throwing the big stuff all day long a breeze, actually enjoyable. But more importantly the reel will see quite a bit of duty as my "go to" rod and reel for grouper and tuna jigging.

The reel I speak of is called a shimano Tranx. And at close to 5 bills it is a pricey reel indeed. The rod is a st croix muskie mojo which will fit the bill nicely as a grouper stick. The tranx handled 100 lb braid perfectly with zero problems (except my first anxious cast where I lived up to my moniker of Mastertangler)

And it's heavy...at least compared to what most paddlers fish with....not a reel for typical canoe country. Garcia makes another reel which is smaller, less expensive but still a low profile baitcaster with a solid reputation on the Muskie forums.....it is called a Revo. I will probably get one sooner or later to handle fishing my bigger lures in canoe country. I believe a big fish will move a considerable distance to eat a big meal where the same fish might not move at all to eat a "snack". But that's just my opinion based on limited experience and a good dose of conjecture.