Thanks mickmcco, I appreciate your input. I've got the earlier Lamson 3.5 in matte black and a Florida Captain once assured me that reel is fine for use in the salt and that the drag is good. I've got two others in that series and big trout have made torpedo runs with no ill effects that I've ever noticed and I've been fishing those reels hard for over 10 years. The reason for my original question was to find a choice of reels for a friend that is giving one as a gift, but I've learned a lot on the way ! Thanks again.

Cheers,

MontanaMoose