Had been surf fishing since 1990. Started with Green Penn 700, which later evolved into a Penn 6500 on a 9' Tica Dolphin. Both are great but are heavy by today's standards. Decided to treat myself 2 springs ago with the lightest combo I could find! An 8'6" ODM and the VR75! With 300yrds of 20# pp it weighs in at 16.1ounces!!! Up until this late October that outfit took about 250 bass from both shore and boat from 10-25# I could not have been happier!!!! Then third weekend of October ran my boat down off Sea Bright NJ into an epic blitz of 35"-45"+ bass! Had 4 fish 35"-37" first, then half way through fish number 5, the fish ran and instead of the drag slipping and line going out, the handle spun backwards and made unpleasant noises!!! I landed the fish, it was 38" the boga said 22#! I had hoped it was a one off thing, but next cast I got hit hard and instead of hooking up, the handle spun uncontrollably out of my hand!!! It did so 2 more times before I had to switch to a different outfit! I have since put a Penn 5500 on my 8'6" ODM with zero issues and a much better drag. Only thing is the weight. Turns out the VRs are great for schoolies or fluke or something small but 38" 22 pound bass are game enders! I'm deeply saddened that a $500+ reel, with the name Van Staal on it, can't live up to its name!