[Deep_Sea_Gull]

Ragman will be along shortly and tell you about the drag limitations of this reel. I have watched him use the reel. And use the reel... And.... He caught the yft.

Throwing ain't the problem. It does that well. I think that your rod would be good for that too. Putting the brakes on the fish is the problem. It ain't fun knowing that the bite could end at any moment and everybody on the boat is watching the seesaw between one angler and his fish.

 

[Deep_Sea_Gull]

The 50W and 30W were single speeds from the factory.
The 50S and 30S are factory 2 speeds with narrow frames. The 50SW and 30SW are factory 2 speed, wide frames.
Key words in searching for these type reels are Cal Sheets and Cofe. They both upgrade/blueprint reels. Cal Sheets preforms 2 speed and left hand conversions.

 

[Deep_Sea_Gull]

LOL, you can PALM a baitcaster to get more drag too! If you can't retrieve line then what are you gaining?

What did Txseadog do to his 8500? I want to say that he changed a plastic washer for a drag washer. Unfortunately, I can not search the board where that was posted.