Most serious bass fisherman try hard to have continuity with their equipment. It is a often overlooked by weekend anglers, myself included for a long time, and is a little thing that can make a big difference in detecting strikes. Using similar rods and reels throughout your arsenal can help you feel subtle strikes and in turn catch more fish. A fairly new product that helps me with this is the Daiwa Zillion. It is a versatile product due to the wide range of gear ratios to fit any situation, from 4.9:1 to the anniversary edition 7.3:1. I have found the 6.3:1 and the 7.1:1 work best for typical everyday fishing. They are incredibly smooth reels and feel very well put together. Plus, all reels are the same size and shape, some with high efficiency gearing which is great for fast retrieval while flipping. I have tried some of the competition and over a short time, they tend to loosen up and feel loose....and I don’t mean loose as in free spinning! The Daiwa is free spinning and easy to set the spool tension. The Zillion weighs the same as some other comparably priced reels, but seems to outperform in casting distance and it feels smoother on the retrieve. Even with a chatterbait, the reel feels smooth and we all know those lures will shake your teeth out if you aren’t careful. Pick one up today and compare it to the competition. I think that you will find it is worth a little extra money for a great reel that requires very little maintenance. Once I get a crazy cranker and have a chance for DD22 action, I will share my experience on that reel also!