I imagine it depends on how hard you fish and how much maintenance you do? That is when your talking about non-sealed reels.........I would imagine that as long as you dont mind tearing down your reel after every dunking a Stradic or Spheros would probably do just as nicely as the high end stuff and you will still get the great Shimano customer service.
But I suppose if spending $500-$800 on a reel doesnt hurt your pocket then the sealed factor is probably the way to go.
From the sounds of it Toby. When it comes to equipment you are the fisherman from HELL!!
