Daiwa Ryoga, Millionaire, Coastal, Lexa...?

[jrk]

I know this is primarily a FW Bass forum, at least I assume such, but wanted to get some opinion from those that know Daiwa, as I'm limited in their reels.

I'm after 1 or 2 new reels to use for my inshore/saltwater flats hunting. Primarily bull reds in fall, but every so often when conditions are good, I'll walk the beach and shoot for anything chasing bait through the troughs during low tide.
Rod lengths are usually in the 8-9 foot range (I like a longer rod), and I throw anything from 1/4 oz with soft jigs to maybe shy of an oz. Wind can sometimes be an issue where I fish (open water, Buxton NC Outerbanks), but not a concern growing up in and fishing this area.

Here is why I'm here posting this...

I was playing around with some new Century carbon fiber distance rods for the surf...around 12' or so, and we decided just for fun to swap out the spinning reels we were testing and put on Daiwa's newer Coastal TW reel to see what we could do. We were throwing anywhere from an oz to 2 oz's. Funny, as the reel looked like a mosquito bite on the rod at best. Holy S***! Quiet, smooth, easy and no splash down could be detected as touchdown was in the next county! And cast control...insanely easy to say the least! No fluff at start of cast, and no thumb at end of cast, no vibration from the excess spool speed...and this is saying something when putting the heat to a 1oz lead on a 12' fast action distance rod as usually it's the start of the cast with such high speed that blows a BC/Conventional up. Although conditions were ideal due to the type of lures we were throwing, still very impressive.

I've always been a Shimano BC guy for my fresh, and don't have much Daiwa experience. This session blew my mind. And since I'd always rather throw a BC over a spinner, I'm researching this Daiwa route.
I enjoy owning nice gear, so don't mind plopping down the money if it buys me performance, and in this case, a little bit more durability due to my typical environment. So...for those in the know, would the newer Ryoga, or this new Millionaire best this little Coastal we have been playing with? We are thinking this T-Wing thing has something to do with this performance we are seeing, as usually line guides are something to stay away from when looking for a little more distance, especially in the salt. I've heard good things about the Lexa HD's as well, specifically the 300 (for light surf), but again, would the T-Wing trump the non-T-Wing reels? And in general, what would be the main difference in their new Ryoga and this new Millionaire they seem to be coming out with?

Apologize for the ramble, but wanted to provide some context of what I'm interested in and why. This also has me thinking about trying out their Steez A, or other similar options for my frog and senko throwing.

Appreciate any one that has made it through all of the above and can provide comments/experience regarding.

[BARRAMANIAC]

I am a Daiwa baitcast man and primarily fish Bay and Estuaries out of small boats, I use a few Steez a's and a original Ryoga 1016H and I am very happy with my choices, I use a variety of lures from 4 to 6 inch soft plastics , vibes , minows, crankbaits, swimbaits etc with out issues. the above rerels hold up well to the salt but with any daiwa reel the maintenance has to be kept up to them with regular servicing.
For surfcasting there is still the millionaire 7HT getting around , It has been made with no line guide and a magnetic cast control on a 300 size body and would be the best choice for distance casting on surf rods.
The new millionaire is only a finesse orientated reel with a 30mm of spool , based on the 103 cvz body. definitely wont have enough line capacity for surf casting.
Ryoga 1016 is slightly larger body with much bigger gears and built tough , The Ryoga is able to handle some of the toughest fish on the planet, regularly used by people chasing Papuan Black Bass , ( A tropical Snapper that inhabits salt and fresh water in PNG and South East Asia) If you wanted to surf cast you would need the larger 2020 or 1520 for line capacity.

[jrk]

Thanks for the response Barramaniac. How would you compare casting distance between that ryoga and your steez a?