Suprised no one mentioned the Abu Garcia Revo's, only way to go in my opinion, get the sx I think, the model down from the stx. Outcasts my curados I have hands down.

Im a big Daiwa fan, so Im biased. The Viento is a nice reel, but the twitchin bar feels cheap to me. Its made of plastic and feels like it can break off if you use it. Daiwa reels wont be as smooth as Shimanos (unless you upgrade bearings, etc.) but I like them for their break system. Magforce V, Magforce Z... you cant beat that in my opinion. External adjustment without taking the sideplate off. Like I said, I dont think Daiwas will be as smooth as the Shimanos, but they feel more comfortable.

The new Patriarch from Pflueger has caught my eye recently. WOW! That thing is like reeling in silk!

I have one of each. I bought my Viento 2 years ago and it's my go-to rig. I love the thing! If anyone is a skeptic on the Twitchin Bar they need to try the reel for a full day. It's pretty amazing how well it actually can work the bait.

I just bought the Megaforce last week and matched it up with a medium/fast 6'6". I'm looking forward to using them a lot more this summer (too much time spent casting for musky last year). I was on a budget when I bought the Megaforce otherwise the Revo SX if not the STX would have been a tough reel to pass up.