I'm still partial to the old USA made Pflueger Medalist reels. There used to be a company called One Pfoot that sold upgrades for these reels but they don't seem to be too active anymore. Too bad as I never finished fixing up the set I have. To me, the reel is the least of my concerns. In order of importance I say first comes good line, then comes a good rod, and then after those two items have been satisfied comes the reel (which really only is a reservoir for your line).
Well put.
I still regularly use several of the old Medalists, including a fave 1498 on a nine ft for 10wt for bass bugging here in the south. The heavyweight setup learned from Homer Circle's writings years ago - still applicable.
