noobpro, you sound as though you cast the same way that I do. I personally don't like setting up my reels to the point that I need a lot of thumb to have a successful cast. For some rod/reel/lure combos, it may be 2 brakes on and 4 off or 3 on and 3 off. The cast control knobs on my reels are set with less tension than Mr. Glenn recommends but that works for me. I feel that I get great distance the way that my reels are set up. The last thing I want to worry about when I fish is backlashing. I have played around with my reels with no brakes on and a lot of thumb and end the end, the distance was no better that normal settings because I had to use so much thumb pressure that it negated the no brake settings. I would rather cast with just a little thumb pressure and know that I am good to go than cast for the moon and hope that I don't get a backlash.