I find it strange that johnson marketed this reel when they did. it's more like the 10 A and 20 models with it's direct drive minus a drag feature. it's crank handle like that on the humphreys reel.the 22 really is based on the same principle as the humphreys reel, but, it has johnson's greatly improved bail/ retrieve mechanism. i guess i don't see the comparison to a fly reel that works in a much different way. though this reel certainly could be used in that capacity. I have known some people who just don't like drag, they just want to hoss anything they catch out of the water. that is what i think the 22 is aimed at. i suspect you could use some pretty heavy test line on one of these. maybe i will try putting some 25 or 30 lbs test on just to see how well it can cast heavy line. that said not sure i would want to try to haul a 10 + pound cat out of the water with this thing. i'm certain it's capable mounted to the proper rod. however , it would be a long slow battle given these reels rate of retrieve ! we know they gave up on this design all together not long after these came out. I think that is a shame. I still believe that with proper engineering, a sidewinder spin cast could be developed that would be superior to any forward facing spin cast. I think Lloyd Johnson also suspected this. but, he had to follow the market forces, and those market forces wanted a forward facing spin casting reel. i'm not an engineer. but i have an idea in my head of how to build the sidewinder reel i want to see. maybe one of these days i will get to work on designing it..