I have used these reels for some time in salt water, I am very pleased with there profromance. I also like the Pflueger Supream reel. It is a lot lighter than the Garcia. I use the Supream when I am needing to do a lot of power casting for many hours. The supream has been upgraded recently to meet the demands of salt water. the 802 cardinal has also been upgraded to the SORON This is a work horse of a reel with changes I realy like. I use fireline on my reels and this reel has added “O” rings to the spool so I no longer have to add tape or mono backing. I put them on the new COBALT FIRE rod by Berkley. This combo is realy fun to catch fish on and to cast Berkley Gulp, my go to bait of choice. Good Fishing Earle Waters, captain