Noob question Reel related

[Ljs089]

So i went out on a charter for rock fishing yesterday, it was great i caught my limit however, i ended up using the rental tackle on board which was a Tiger Ugly Stick and an Avet MXL reel one speed. I have two Calstar WC series one is rated for 20-50lbs and the other 30-80lbs.

The reason i switched to the rental gear is because the 20-50lb Calstar rod i was using also had a Shimano TLD star 20/40s single speed reel and it SUCKED pulling up line with that reel in comparison to the Avet MXL. It felt like i had to use twice the energy even with the drag maxed out. We were using 12-16oz weights.

So i guess my question is, is that expected of that reel? is there any applications where this reel would be useful? or is this just what i get for buying an entry level conventional reel? I compared the stats of the Avet and Shimano and the only big difference i saw was the Shimano used 2 ball bearings while the Avet MXL has 8.

Kinda sad i didn't get to test my gear on the charter and had to use rental gear, any recommendations on reels or is it just user error? feel free to chime in i'm no whimp to constructive criticism.

-Lee Smithey

Caveat: https://www.rizoulis.gr/eshop/mixani...-20-40s-detail I'm using the older version with star drag, i've never used the newer TLD with lever drag or the TLD two speeds.