Sorry to ask a possibly dumb question but I have only been fishing for 60 years and there is a lot to learn.
For many years I have been using a Penn 500 left hand wind Jigmaster for surfcasting but have never achieved any decent distance and have had heaps of birds nests. I realise that the Jigmaster was never designed as a casting reel(no brake) but its pretty rugged and good to use when winching in a decent eagle ray.
Thinking of buying a overhead reel for casting but need to know if lever drag reels cast ok ??
My avid surfcaster mate in the states told me in an email that "lever drag reels dont go fully into free spool, ie there is always some residual drag on the spool"
I asked him to explain further but unfortunately the next email I got was from his wife informing me that Denis had dropped dead!!!

Was thinking of a Shimano Torium 20G or 30G
A chap in our club casts awesome distances with one of these and they are available in left hand wind. (although I'm strongly right-handed I will only use left hand wind reels)
Penn make a few more affordable left hand lever drag reels of bigger size but in lever drag only.
I dont want a level wind reel.
Can anyone tell me the difference between lever and star drag reels regarding casting performance ??? TIA