Well,
Recently purchased a number of reels from fleabay, cheap & cheerful Danica 69's and a couple of Scierra XDA 5/7's.
Some had line or backing attached, but I note that, although they were set up for left hand wind, the line exited the top of the reel, not the bottom as I was taught by an old angler many years ago.
I've always set my reels up with the line exiting the bottom and rising at roughly 45 degrees to the first eye of the rod.
"Right or wrong"?
While I'm at it, I know the Danica's don't have a drag, but the Scierra's do, I was taught, again many moons ago, to play fish by hand, not off the reel (talking specifically trout here, salmon is a different beast altogether) because the winding action jerks the rod tip and you stand a higher chance of pulling the hook out or breaking the leader due to uneven pressure.
Got to say I've had less than my fair share of breakages and pull outs using this method, even a lucky 11lb 3oz Rainbow played by hand
What are everyone's thoughts/preferences on these points?
G