To me personally the high end reels really only matter when it comes to baitcasters, spinning reels are more of what I call line holders, low end spinning reels will cast as well as a high end reel, the difference will be spool size and drags Usually when I am using a spinning reel I am picking up line with the rod then cranking up the slack.
Or come on down here and finesse a big snook or redfish without a quality drag and see hor far ya get.
deathb4disco LIKED above post
Or mess with a musky, a 30" pike, a 20#+ carp or a 20"+ largemouth on 4# line. I tangle with some of each of these oversize fish nearly every year during my crappie fishing, which is 4# on 5' UL tackle, and I land many of those oversized fish with out even a net. It is the drag, live on it or you die by it. Not all cheap reels have bad drags either. When I look at my checkbook there aint no way I put out even a hundred bucks on a fishing reel, generally not even over 30, and some of my cheapies are half a dozen years old and still go fishing with me as many as three or four times a week in open water season. BTW the line I use exclusively is GAMMA from Black Knight, and I have no financial interest in them either. That has some stretch which augments the drag when fighting a large fish. IMO most line twist comes from either not manually closing the bail on a cast, reeling against an outgoing drag run, or improperly rigged baits and lures. And some lines just plain naturally twist no matter what you do.
I have never been convinced high end reel's are really worth the money. Highest end reel I've ever had is an ABU 6500, it was well under $100. Of course I don't get to fish near as much as most n here seem to fish. Recently got a new Kastking Rover 40, little over $40. If it last five years that means, assuming prices don't change $120 at $40 every 5 years is 15 years of life. Even if a high end reel last's 15yrs, you still gonna be using it? The urge to get new equipment is much to strong in most of us. Anybody still using a $200+ reel they got 15 years ago? This is almost like the fisherman that has only one rod and reel. Really one is all you need! But we have not several but a bunch! Shoot, I've got 18 rod's and reels and some haven't been used in years! I know because I just went and counted them!
Like others here have said there is no right or wrong. If you like it it is the right reel for you.
Alphahawk LIKED above post
When I was a kid we'd fish quite a bit and when we put new line om a reel we were normally out in a boat. Ran the end of the line through the eyelet's and threw the spool overboard. Then drug the line through the water a bit and reeled it in. I'd pretty much forgot about that till yesterday. Got reel that I haven't used much that had line on it for years, and then a few more. So decided to change it. Stuff just wouldn't lay down on the reel right and I though about putting it on after running it in the water but, boat is in the barn and nearest lake to run it in is about 40 mi off. So I had this mess on the reel and held it under a water faucet. Then reeled it in and cast out as far as I could and did it again. Then walked away from the faucet a way and did it again. Surprisingly the line then laid down pretty well. If I can remember and ever get it out in the boat I'm gonna snap on a bobber and let all the line out and do it again. Take's the kink's right out of the line.
Basically that is what they are now if you want to talk about baitcasters then we are in a different world as I have several higher end baitcasters, one of the biggest reasons for high end is lighter weight. When using baitcaster and lobbing larger baits all day long that extra weight makes a huge difference at the end of the day.
OK, but as you said:
Nobody here is lobbing big baits with baitcasters for crappie and bluegill. The JDM reels people are using are light, state-of-the-art reels made to handle very light baits and lines.
Most (freshwater) fly reels are line holders. High-end JDM spinning reels are anything but.
slowhand LIKED above post