I know a lot of you think the old Shimano 600LC is the nuts, but I switched from it to the 700LC and have never looked back.

The 600 is just a wide spool version of the smaller 300-500 series Shimano reels, and I found that the drag system did not hold up that well to long term HD muskie trolling. Although some may argue that they're bulky and you don't need that kind of line capacity ect., they also haven't experienced the extra power that such a large spool will provide.

The only downside I've found is that not as many of the 700 rod/reel combinations will fit in my rod locker, but this is a small price to pay for a superior muskie trolling reel.

You can still get them no problem... used/new old stock on Ebay.

Wow that's a super cheap price… I sold my beat up 600LCs on Ebay for almost that amount.

I've also done a ton of research on trolling reels… mostly on the water. Years ago I tried some different brands like the old Penn/Shimano but ended up using the Daiwa Sealine SG 47 LC for many years until I fished with a friend who was using the Shimano 600LC Tekotas.  I was sold…

What really impressed me was the superior cranking power that it had for bringing in boards when compared to the Sealine. I used the 600s for my board rods for about 10 years, but still preferred the Sealines for my down rods with carbon drags... really like the loud drag clickers.

The problem that developed with the 600 Shimano was with the drag, they simply didn't hold up well for my boat, and after replacing the drag washers a couple times they developed a narrow drag range. Out of frustration I decided to try a couple of the Shimano 700LCs for my outside board rods... it didn't take long to determine that these reels were superior in about every category for HD muskie trolling.

If you look at the size difference between the 600 vs 700 gears and drag washers there’s no doubt which reel is going perform better longer. I think a friend of mine summed it up best when he was cranking in a big board with one of the 700s. “They just laugh at the boards... it's like; come here".  

He ended up buying 4 new 700s…

That's great, at least Shimano listens because those clickers were a problem for us when it was windy and we had our hoods up. I think the right guy is testing the new 600s and I'll be interested to hear what you have to say. 

Other than the drag clickers I couldn't have been more impressed with the old model 600s for the first couple years, it was only after about seven or eight years that the narrow drag developed to the point of it becoming a real issue. If you don't troll every day and need something that fits in your boat or rod lockers I’d think that these low profiles are going to work just fine.

Where I decided to try the 700s was after fishing with a friend for salmon because the size concerned me. I found out just how much better they performed over-all and the larger size was actually a nonissue while in use... it's not like you're casting with them.

I realize that the 700s are not mainstream muskie, but if you troll with large lures, or especially with large in line boards they are worth consideration.  

Nice 1 Ryan, I was only replacing the Carbontex drag washers so you hit the nail on the head... bet those washers were flat as pancakes. I've already sold all of my 600s, but still think this is a good discussion to have with someone of similar experience. 

What contributed to my reels developing that narrow drag range so quickly was our standard procedure of almost locking down the drag every time to retrieve the in-line boards. We generally scrub the edges, and at times it's a continual process of going from one rod to the next. When you multiply how many times we would smash those drag washers down everyday, it's a wonder the drags worked at all after a few months.

When I stepped up in class to the Shimano 700, a very unexpected thing happened... we didn't have to tighten the drag to retrieve the boards much, and even when we did (rough water), all that was needed was just a slight increase in drag pressure to get the job done.

I can't express how much of a revelation this was because constantly resetting the drags was not only a big PIA, forgetting to set the drag back to the correct setting cost us more fish than I care to think about. For people that don't troll much this might not mean much, but setting the drags once in the morning and then focusing on other things is sooo awesome.

Prior to using the 700s, I didn't really consider drag washer size as being that important… not so fast Kowalski. When you look at the much larger size of the drag washers of the 700s it was easy to understand why there was no need to tighten the drag every time like we had to do with the 600s and Sealines.

I don't want people to think that I'm bashing the 600s, not at all... they are still really good reels. However, Shimano uses the same size gears and drag washers for the 300/500/600 series reels, and in my humble opinion the drag system is on the light side for long term HD trolling. I think Ryan's solution is a great fix for any reel that get over worked and if I still had my 600s I would be all over it. 

Re Penn:

Although I have literally logged thousands of hours trolling with the Sealine and Tekota, it's been about 20 years since I touched a Penn so I'm definitely not in a position to comment on those reels, perhaps somebody else currently using them can chime in. 

Here's a couple of 600s that look like they were only used for light duty... only some minor rod locker rash. 

 2-Shimano Tekota 600LC Excellent Condition As Seen In Pictures W 30 Lb Powerpro | eBay