I have a few Charltons and a few Makos...also fish Seigler reels (for similar reasons as the Mako/Charltons). I disagree with the statement they are overkill for inshore fish. There are a lot of big inshore fish - tarpon, GT, spinner sharks, etc. I was a diehard Abel fan years ago and a long thread on Stripers Online years ago that challenged my thinking so I bought a Charlton to see for myself.
I have kept extensive records of my tarpon fishing (that was my first use case for Charlton reels) with my guides, from where they were caught to how long it took to land them. I used to put in 2-3 weeks of tarpon time for many years so the numbers I put in the boat were enough for me to do a pretty reliable comparison. On average I dropped my fight time with tarpon significantly (from ~21 minutes to ~14 minutes) by using the adjustable drag on the Charlton.
The ability to start with 2-3 lb drag for startup, being able to ramp it up to 8 lb (or more, at times I will crank it to 12) allowed me to break a tarpon's spirit a LOT faster than using a cork drag and the palm of my hand to apply additional drag. I know, a lot of folks will say they can do a great job with the palm of their hand but the reality is you can't consistently apply that amount of drag for a prolonged period of time - it will vary, and if you're smart it will vary on the low side to avoid a break off. I've never broken off a tarpon from the drag of my Mako.
Are the heavy? They are heavier than competitors reels but I'll take that weight any day for the drag. If 3-4 ounces bother you on an 11 or 12 or 13 wt rods I'd suggest working out a bit, no offense. I can tell you, pumping up a 350# hammerhead from the depths that I don't feel those extra 3 ounces on my Mako (true story). I've used my Makos for billfish, sharks, tunoids, etc. I've never thought to myself "damn this reel is too heavy."
A lot of guys will still say it's overkill, anglers have used Medalists to land tarpon. All very true but back in the Medalist days there were more tarpon and more tarpon who were easy to get to bite. These days, in the Keys at least, they are so pressured that 1-2 fish a day is considered very good (and I'm talking 80-120 lb fish, not baby poon). At 1-2 fish a day, I want the best chance of landing them. In the old days, if someone lost 15 tarpon on a Medalist but landed 3 out of 50 bites you never heard about the 15 lost fish...only how about how a Medalist is all you need to land a tarpon. If a Medalist was so good we'd save money buying them and wouldn't bother with Tibors, Abels, Makos, Nautilus, etc. But...if you won't change the drag multiple times during a fight, I would say don't bother with a Mako. Tibor, Able, Nautilus, Hatch, Hardy all make fine reels (actually the Hardy does the one turn trick too IIRC) at a lower price point.
These days I also used Seigler. Great reels and with a drag functionally similar to a Mako.
