I have an old Penn Squidder my father bought me when I was a kid, mint condition and a Penn 155 Beachmaster, mint, these reels must be at least 65 years old. To me the key to casting these reels are 2 things, 1st the spool can't be too loose, where it goes into free fall when you cast, 2nd, reeling in, you have to guide the line evenly back and forth with your finger so there is hardly any over lapping of the line where it can backlash. Me, I do not use braid on these reels, only mono, if I get a backlash with braid, I don't want to be chopping away at all the line trying to get out the knots. That's my 2 cents.