I would love to have a lever drag reel but there are no lightweight leverdrags that I believe are suitable for 1kg line which you can also cast a light bait with. For 3 and 4 kg line I use shimano charter special TR1000LD's but I do not think they are suitable for 1 or 2 kg line as the gap by the spool is wide enough to allow the line to go down the side of the spool which is a no no for this line weight plus they are not that good for casting a light bait, ok for bigger baits though.

 

One thing that I think is important is to use reels with level winds which move with the line in free spool so that when the reel is in gear the line is always lined up with the centre of level wind.

 

I had some friends several years ago who were chasing them on 2 kg and were able to hook fish at the side of the boat with the swivel a couple of feet off the rod tip and the fish would sit still for a second or two after hook up and they were able to grab the trace and lift the fish straight into the boat these were skippies all around the 5 kg mark (potential NZ records at the time), all totally within the rules, however they never weighed any of these fish in as they said it was not within the spirit of fishing. Sometimes wish some of the ultra light tackle people up north were so ethical I am sure some of the record chasers up there would have claimed these fish for records, all that matters is that it is a record not how they were caught.  If they were too slow they got popped off every time by the fish just going too fast and too far with water pressure popping the line.

he makes some lovely gear and could make you something to suit your needs really easily.

plenty of others out there doing it aswell but i have only used leons gear and wouldn't go past it for the light stuff - better than getting off the shelf products imho.