Me thinks those “little mistakes” are… more realistically figments of imagination! Or possibly they are more apt to be produced when one doesn’t have complete control of the rotor? An AR doesn’t let one reel back to gather those loose loops. I can’t imagine not even being allowed to do that, due to an “anti-reverse”. “Hey it doesn’t reel backwards, it must be broke!”
Regardless, either way, spinning is about controlling tension on the line and “back-reeling” is a very good, and complete, way to do it.
I think the term back-reeling brings to mind… frantically reeling backwards, and conjures up fears of losing control of the handle when the line is under tension. The focus though is not just the handle, it’s the rotor. The rotor is controlled with a trained rod hand, and it’s instantaneous. I must say, in over 4 decades of back-reeling I’ve never had/allowed a “backlash”. Can’t see how it could even happen, unless I suppose one only tried to control the rotor via the handle. That could get ugly if the line is under heavy strain and one lost a white-knuckle grip on the handle. That is indeed a scary thought! But again, it’s the rotor we are controlling with the fingers of the rod hand.
Back to controlling fish, letting them take any line due to a safe preset simply prolongs a fight. Fish are neutrally buoyant hydrofoils. We fight fins and body depth. Allowing a good sized fish to shoulder against our pressure, or face away from us results in a prolonged stalemate. The trick is to control, turn, the head, and every chirp of drag from a mindless set of washers is… maddening. I want to decide when to give line. The rod, arm and body movement, line stretch and strength provide plenty of forewarning. And reels are plenty fast to keep up with most fish actions. And if a bolt from a fish does surprise me, I simply leggo the handle, but always have that rotor in check with my rod/rotor hand.
In the end, don’t let my passion on this subject be mis-taken. I’m not telling anyone what they should be doing. Just suggesting that turning off the AR and drag and manually controlling the rotor makes handling spinning gear and fighting fish a much more efficient, and richer, experience. It might surprise people how different it is to fish and fight fish with complete control.
Ron, yes! This past year and a half has been essentially a complete life altering disruption. Oddly, I didn’t even feel rusty. Or maybe I was so rusty I didn’t notice! Anyway, it feels so good to be getting some of the best parts of life back in place. Although this pond may not pan out for quality bass fishing, there is another larger one on the property. And lots of other waters nearby. That was part of the plan. Feels darn good.
I can't even imagine trying to fish with a spinning reel that doesn't have an operable anti-reverse option. 
If I had to fish that way I might as well be using an old dragless single action fly reel. 