Anybody have any experience with this series of levelwind reels? As always, the good, the bad and the ugly will be appreciated.

I bought 3 Tekotas last year and loved them. I previously fished the triton series and the Tekotas blow em out of the water. The drags are second to none and they got that nice big crank. The only bad experience I have with these reels is that two of them got stolen out of my boat @ Neah Bay.

I did notice they don't come in a left hand retrieve model. Shucks.

I ended up ordering the Abu Garcia Big Game 7001 HS reel. (gold) I think it's a new reel for 2004, paid $115 from a dealer off ebay.

I don't own any yet because I have a line-up of 700's but the guys at the Soldotna Trustworthy love them. I may pick up two for backtrolling. I do like the size of the handle for inexperienced anglers.