Daiwa Lexa-CC 5.5:1 Bait Clicker Left Hand Baitcast Fishing Reel w/Power Handle - LEXA-CC400PWR-P

I use for slow top water lures and for chunking bait and fly lining. Good reel. The handle does have minor play in it.

I purchased this real for musky fishing, in the left hand model, ordered from a non-Amazon major US sporting good retailer that has a type of fish in it's professional SHOP name.Upon receipt, I unpackaged it and had 80 pound braid test line installed for a musky fishing trip I was leaving for the following day. Got to my destination, put reel on rod, put lure on real (a medium bulldog, about 5-6 ounces), made my preliminary reel adjustments, casted.Went to begin my retrieve (reeling in), but the thumb bar didn't engage upon turning the reel handle. So, I clicked up the thumb bar manually, thinking I must have done something wrong. Next cast, same thing . . . in the end, about 65% of the time the thumb bar did not engage after casting.Spent the following day fishing with a guide (who also owns a fishing shop in northern wisconsin) and using his equipment. I told him about my brand new Daiwa Lexa 400 - he said flat out "return it".Ironically, all the reels in his boat were Daiwa's, so I used different ones all day long. I made several casts on various Daiwa reels throughout the day and experience several times in mid cast (with the lure flying through the air), that the thumb wheel clutch would simply sometimes just engage in mid cast. Of course, at first I assumed it was operator error, but by the 3rd time it happened, I questioned him about it. He said it was a flaw in the Daiwa design and that this portion (thumb bar, clutch, spool release) were common flaws and failures with the Daiwa reels.So, I have lost faith in this size range of the Daiwa reels (suitable for musky fishing), sent back the Lexa 400 WN version and replaced it with ANOTHER Shimano Tranx. I own 3 Shimano Tranx reals (301HG, 401A, 401AHG - fyi when the shimano model number ends in a 1, it means it is left hand retrieve) and have never had any problems with them.My advice? I think the Shimano is a better made, better engineered and more reliable reel for roughly the same amount of money. I am only fortunate enough to do limited musky fishing during any given year - in that limited time, the last thing I want to worry about is a reel failure . . . and for that reason, I would avoid the Daiwa reel.I know other's have had good results with them, but in the course of 3 days on one brand new reel and a few guide owned reels - I simply experienced too many related flaws that does not provide the confidence I want to know my equipment will work for me in the limited times I have available to use it.