Originally Posted by
scottar
One of the funniest things I ever saw offshore was a mate get absolutely steamrolled by a big fish - unfortunately for him when it hit he had his finger wrapped around the front edge of his reel and the level wind jammed onto it. He was hopping around and being fairly vocal but couldn't quite get the words out to tell me to cut the line (apparently it was painful) and as such had to put up with it until such time the fish busted him off - I was in stitches once he could actually explain to me what had just occurred - sympathy is not one of my strong points.
Personally I am not a huge fan of level winds but they have their place. Small volume reels are a bit painful without them as it doesn't take long if your not paying attention for line build up to jamb against the frame. For beginners they are useful so long as it is made absolutely clear of the inherent dangers but for heavier line classes (anything over about 30lb IMO) or experienced fisho's most of the time they just get in the way - especially when you are trying to bust off a snag. You shouldn't need anything to protect your thumb while guiding the line on the reel under normal fishing conditions - if you do, your doing it wrong.