This is a test reel but it's real close to final production now. I'm a big fan of the new handle and the manual bail is VERY solid. New line roller too, it should last longer then the old titanium one. The drag has a slightly different tone to it. Other then that it feels like a Van Staal. The anti-reverse has been relocated so the reel has a much more solid engagement then the bailess reel. The bailed reels drivetrain flexes a bit when the anti-reverse engages.

We haven't had it long so it has been submerged or dragged across the rocks too brutally yet, but there's still time... :devil2:

one more pic

Pete, they look sweet! :drool:
Are the internal parts the same? Any idea on a release date?

I'm getting one...

I fooled around with one this past september out on Long Island, I liked the feel of them right of the bat, just wish I could of abused it a little more, to see what it is really like..... :devil2:

Nice looking reel. Any idea if they are going to make anything bigger than the 100 and 150? Square handle knob is nice too.

why add a bail?

i'am with lurch dont like the bail.

How much more is that going to add to the cost? ;)

Does the bail go over automatic as you turn the handle or do you have to manually snap it over on your own?

why add a bail?
yeah - ?

To me the bail is another point of failure.

I guess they are making a new toy for the fisherman.

i saw it at the shop on sunday. very very nice!!! i think i'll be finding a rod to put one on over the winter. stay tuned pete.

Think about it this way, if your bail actually worked everytime without closing on the cast would you still want to go without?

Wouldn't you rather have a skirted spool so your freaking braided line doesn't get caught under when you're on a high perch in the dark?

Wouldn't you want a longer cast spool that doesn't have to be at least 90% full and fully extended to cast at it's best?

Don't you have even more excess money stuffed under your matress just waiting for a new toy you don't really need :devil:

At least I'm sure that's what VS is thinking...Be interested to see how much a larger reel would weigh.

-spence

yes, no probs, like a full spool, and no.

Just get a Saltiga :bl:

Will that handle, or just the knob, fit the bailless reels?

I'm getting one...

Hey Joe,where ya goin wit that reel in ur hand??
hey Joe, why don't u have ss darters??

I'll try and answer all the questions in one post:

Internal parts are very similar. The one way roller bearing has been moved to a different spot to make the reel stronger. Ya know how the bailess reel's rotor has some "give" to it when you twist it backwards? That's your drivetrain flexing. This reel doesn't do that.

Bigger reels are on the horizon, no dates though. Just the 100 and 150 for now.

Why add a bail? I kind of had the same reaction, but it's more of a "different strokes for different folks sort of thing." Some people have refused to buy a VS over the years due to the lack of a bail. Same thing with the skirted spool. Anyone can work a bailed reel, but you just can't hand someone a bailess reel and expect them to be good with it. Ever fish for tuna bailess? You gotta be fast, you instantly have to get that lure moving and hopefully they won't grab it while the line is still on your finger. I know someone who got a good look at the bone in his finger this year fishing for tuna with a VS.

I wouldn't worry about the bail, it's all titanium and extremely rugged. Could it fail? Time will tell, but they didn't take making a bailed reel lightly. When you feel the bail flip over in your hands you'll understand just how heavily it's built. It's a manual bail like the Saltiga, it doesn't flip when you turn the handle. The rotor is all machined, there is no cast metal. I don't see it popping over accidently for any reason; it opens very positively yet closes easily. It feels exactly like you'd want it to.

I'm not sure about prices, but I think they are coming in around the Saltiga, $650 or so.

The handle won't be available right away for the bailess reel, but they do retro-fit and they intend to release them for that reason.

The bailed reel is close, there are a few tweaks to be made but they are aiming to have them out before X-mas. Basically it's in final testing now.

It looks like it's going to be warm and windy tomorrow, the reel better be ready to get REAL wet. I'm going swimming...

I don't have SS darters because I don't have a line of credit. I'll add them as soon as I can afford to - certainly within two months.
I's likes the look of that VS......I've been wanting to go VS for a while now....I just hope Pete does not raise the price when he see's me come in.

wELL IT'S CLEAR TO ME UR SPENDIN ALL UR MONEY ON REELS.
OOPS.cAPS LOCK
No smiley faces so i do this, ;-)

Unless they changed the spool design, it sounds like a $200 ripoff for the Orvis crowd to coo over.
Instead of pointless exercises in adding doo-dads to the line up, they should have the engineering crew working on fixing the few design flaws of the original.

I don't have SS darters because I don't have a line of credit. I'll add them as soon as I can afford to - certainly within two months.
I's likes the look of that VS......I've been wanting to go VS for a while now....I just hope Pete does not raise the price when he see's me come in.

Right now I'm just hoping I ordered enough.... I may have under-estimated demand.

The reel, if it costs $650, costs the same as a VS250 or approx. $50 more then a 150. Not too bad for all that additional titatnium.

I could never go back to using a spinning reel with an automatic bail. Years ago I converted all my Penn reels to manual bail but then realized these reels (Penn 6500 and 7500) were too heavy for the graphite rods I was using. Switched to Van Staal and never looked back. Also, I needed a reel that will recover when allowed to fall over in the sand. I tag and release what I catch and sometimes to do that I need three hands. My Van Staal reels (certainly not perfect) instantly recover by simply dunking them in the surf.

I took my wife surf fishing for the first time about 6 years ago. Handed her a Van Staal 100VS reel and a 7 foot graphite rod and told her how to manually set the bail after each cast. She had no problem, probably because she had never used a reel with an automatic bail.

I'm all for progress and I'd like to invest in a better made, stronger, and more durabe reel but please, no automatic bails or even manual bail wires. Keep it simple. It works.

why bailed? - i have to agree w/ pete that some people have asked for a bailed reel and vs listened. kudos to vs. also, to stay in competion w/ the diawa's and shimano's, they really needed to make this. i personally have no use for a bailed reel, but that's my choice. people asked and vs listened.

judging by a couple of the changes/upgrades made to this model, it sounds like vs is also listening to their service dept and customers complaints and/or suggestions on issues w/ the current models. hopefully these improvements will be available to current models in the future. so far, i like what i'm seeing.

ok... How do you free spool with your VS? How do you put the line back on the roller once the fish takes your eel? I always come VERY close to mangling my finger.

Having no need for a bail myself, others do. They should still lower the profile of the drag nob though for possible line wraps.

Yeah - Guess I'm part of the Orvis crowd - hey, at least their teeth are white.
I've used a 706 off and on over the years - but I've never really had any bail problems with my 704 - even though a lot people complain that they close on the cast....
I just find having the bail makes life easier - I don't like to look down, I don't want to think about the line. I throw a lot of Super Strike stuff that sinks like a rock.

Personally I think it would be foolish for them to NOT offer a bailed reel. If you think about it, they are targeting a SMALL market with a bailess reel. So basically you just excluded a bunch of potential customers in a very small market. Not smart. This is a very logical option to offer, if you ask me. Joe is a perfect example, he just doesn't like bailess.

Personally I think it would be foolish for them to NOT offer a bailed reel. If you think about it, they are targeting a SMALL market with a bailess reel. So basically you just excluded a bunch of potential customers in a very small market. Not smart. This is a very logical option to offer, if you ask me. Joe is a perfect example, he just doesn't like bailess.

I think Pete is right. One of the main reasons I sold my VS's and switched to Saltigas was the bail-less design. Like Joe said above, too much looking down & effort into the casting/starting to reel motion with bail-less.

If the new manual bail on the VS is like the Saltiga's bail it is a big plus IMO.

honestly, the only time i ever look down at my vs (or when i used a 706) was when ever once in a great while i'd catch the line twice w/ the roller. it becomes second nature putting the line on the roller after doing it so many times.

my reasons for liking a manual bail, it's one less piece to worry about or fail. of course, you cannot compare a 704 bail system to new ones found on stellas or saltigas. if i'm eeling, i drop the rod and take the line off the roller, just the same as someone opening a bail. it becomes second nature.

as pete said, there are times when you need to put line on the roller quick, like w/ tuna. my experience is usually when i'm fishing in a gale and the longer i take catching the line after the lure hits the water, the bigger the bow in my line and possibly missed strikes. you learn to feel the lure hit the water, start reeling right away and maybe "feather" the line as it comes off to control distance.

now, when ohh when will that sealed drag and gearcase, non levelwind vs casting reel ever come out! that's what i want to see!

If you want a bail, go with technology that matches. Id get a Saltiga, Nautil, Shimano, etc. or wait for the Accurate.
A bail on a VS is like airbags on a horse n' buggy.
VS is jumping the shark
What they should do is build a new bailed spinner from scratch with updated internals and spool design instead of slapping a bail on reel designed to be a bare bones workhorse

honestly, the only time i ever look down at my vs (or when i used a 706) was when ever once in a great while i'd catch the line twice w/ the roller. it becomes second nature putting the line on the roller after doing it so many times.

my reasons for liking a manual bail, it's one less piece to worry about or fail. of course, you cannot compare a 704 bail system to new ones found on stellas or saltigas. if i'm eeling, i drop the rod and take the line off the roller, just the same as someone opening a bail. it becomes second nature.

as pete said, there are times when you need to put line on the roller quick, like w/ tuna. my experience is usually when i'm fishing in a gale and the longer i take catching the line after the lure hits the water, the bigger the bow in my line and possibly missed strikes. you learn to feel the lure hit the water, start reeling right away and maybe "feather" the line as it comes off to control distance.

now, when ohh when will that sealed drag and gearcase, non levelwind vs casting reel ever come out! that's what i want to see!


Wait till you see the picture of the casting reels. You think pics of Accurates and high end Shimanos get you excited. The VS casting reel is possibly the most beautiful reel I've ever seen...

If you want a bail, go with technology that matches. Id get a Saltiga, Nautil, Shimano, etc. or wait for the Accurate.
A bail on a VS is like airbags on a horse n' buggy.
VS is jumping the shark
What they should do is build a new bailed spinner from scratch with updated internals and spool design instead of slapping a bail on reel designed to be a bare bones workhorse


This was actually a pretty big redesign. The roller bearing was moved from the handle up into the rotor cup on the main shaft. Same place as the Saltiga's probably is. The bail was anything but just slapped on there. If no one here is using it the reel is in the shop for people to take a look at.

The Accurate is not going to be a surf reel as far as I know. They may say it is, but that thing is built for tuna. A sealed drag doesn't make a surf reel.

There is a site online that is taking orders for the 150 and 100. With prices of 689 for the 150 and 669 for the 100. I do agree that this will open a whole new market for VS. A lot of fishers hate bail less reels. I fish a 250 jigging the Canal and a lot of times a bail would come in handy when letting it roll.

ok... How do you free spool with your VS? How do you put the line back on the roller once the fish takes your eel? I always come VERY close to mangling my finger.
I cast my eel and reel it in slowly with the rod held at almost 12o'clock.When I feel the tap,I lower the rod to 9o'clock.This gives the beast enough time to do what she wants and when the line tightens;BANG.Less gut hooks and better hookup ratio since the Iron Man showed me this technique.

I like the idea and I am going to wait now for the larger size like the 250
although now that I am thinking of it I need both

I cast my eel and reel it in slowly with the rod held at almost 12o'clock.When I feel the tap,I lower the rod to 9o'clock.This gives the beast enough time to do what she wants and when the line tightens;BANG.Less gut hooks and better hookup ratio since the Iron Man showed me this technique.

If you're fishing from a place where you can take 2-3 steps forward without falling off a rock or stepping into deeper water on the beach, you can drop the tip, step and give it a few extra seconds before it comes tight.

Another way to feed line on a manual pickup reel when drifting a live bait is to hold the line on your finger while drifiting, release the line when you feel a pick up, drop the rod to 9 and raise it quickly to 12 to throw some slack, and get the line back on the roller before it comes tight and your fingertip goes flying :eek5:

I'm surprised at the bad reviews before its even in the stores....

Fished the 150 on my 10ft Arra 1205 tonight. A 1204 might be perfect. It balances out surprisingly well and it looks at home on there due to the flyer making the reel look a bit bigger. Submersion testing began tonight; a lot of it intentional, some not so much. I'm not that tall so I don't have to go too far before the reel is underwater. :rolleyes:

Wait till you see the picture of the casting reels. You think pics of Accurates and high end Shimanos get you excited. The VS casting reel is possibly the most beautiful reel I've ever seen...

Any pictures of the casting reel...now I am excited!!

Can't wait to hit the lottery so I can get one!!!!

What Sea Danges said.

I just drop the rod tip from 12 O'clock to 9 o'clock and count to 5. Never had a problem hooking fish with live eels using this method. I use a 10 foot rod. I think that you need to wait a little longer with a shorter rod just because of the physics involved.

I fish a VS 250 but before I got it I used converted 704s. I agree that you do need to look down at the roller on the 704s as the geometry of the roller is slightly different. I never need to look down with the VS and I fish exclusivly in the dark. It just becomes second nature to put the line on the roller.

Does anyone know if or when they are going to make these with right hand retrieve, or, if they make any model with right hand retrieve ?

I have seen the VS250, Right hand retrieve, on Ebay so they must have made them.

"Have" is the proper tense. I don't think they're making them anymore. There was talk about doing away with the "lefty" right hand retrieve reels a ways back so I doubt they're going to offer the bailed reel in that configuration, but you never know.

Unless a shop somewhere is sitting on one from way back ebay is the only option for a bailess "lefty".

"Have" is the proper tense. I don't think they're making them anymore. There was talk about doing away with the "lefty" right hand retrieve reels a ways back so I doubt they're going to offer the bailed reel in that configuration, but you never know.

Unless a shop somewhere is sitting on one from way back ebay is the only option for a bailess "lefty".

I recently got a VS250B for my B-Day from the wife and when they sent it to her the first time they sent the "lefty" version so she had to return it so I know of at least one shop that probably has one in stock. PM me if you want the name of the shop (not a sponsor here).

i'v been fishing bail less for 5 yrs. and never had a problem w/ line twist or wind knots the little i do use a bail i always have to look down to make sure my line is fine. vs is doing what they have to so they can appeal to everyone (left handed,right handed,fly fisher,bail,nobail) i perfur bail less and never had a situation that made me want one.as for as drifting an ell at the breachways i'v never been hit on the drift.

The Van Staal web site still lists the left hand reels .

I cast my eel and reel it in slowly with the rod held at almost 12o'clock.When I feel the tap,I lower the rod to 9o'clock.This gives the beast enough time to do what she wants and when the line tightens;BANG.Less gut hooks and better hookup ratio since the Iron Man showed me this technique.


I was thinking more about freespooling in the current...

Held one of these today, very light, bail isn't automatic, you must close it manually, doesn't snap shut when you crank, nice skirt on the spool, knob and handle, is the biggest improvement, second would be the anti reverse feels tighter..
very smooth, and very light, think it weighed meybe 12 ounces tops, with a full spool of braid.
I think they will sell a ton of these... hope they put that knob and handle on the other ones, for you guys that buy 'em.

You'll get more "sand lock-up" on the skirted spool than on the internal spool because of the amount of surface between the spool & the rotor.IMO looks like a better boat reel than a surf reel.

You'll get more "sand lock-up" on the skirted spool than on the internal spool because of the amount of surface between the spool & the rotor.IMO looks like a better boat reel than a surf reel.

Unless you jam at least an 1/8" diameter rock in there I wouldn't worry about it. Sand won't phase it, there's plenty of room. It's designed to rinse down easily just like the original.

ok,hard to tell from the photos.A buddy was telling me about a guy testing the 150 on an Arra 1204,said it was nice match on the 10'er.What's your opinion?

What's the weight?

-spence

3/4 to 2 1/2 oz.

No, of the reel silly :usd:

-spence

I've been using a vs 300 bailess since 1995 or there about. Been thru all the problems and uprades and gave the 3 or 4 different owners of the company alot of input. I was apprenhensive about the bailess thing at first but quickly addapted to it. My personal feeling is if you need a bail you don't need to fish a vs. The vs is made to go in the water and the only thing a bail can do is get in the way ( especially when you're using the stick for a walking pole or a pushing pole as you're swimming). On the other hand if it increases sales and makes the company more stable more power to them. A bailed vesion will last it's owner a life time, they do take an awful lot of abuse. All three of my 300's look like they get exactly what they are built for. and I want to see vs around for a long time to come. Before that reel I was down to taking spare parts with me when I went out especially if I was a ways from my vehicle. I don't think I even rinsed them of more than twice this year and fished them very hard all season in the water every night at one point or anothor, including last night, burrrrrrrrrrrr it was cold out there.

ok,hard to tell from the photos.A buddy was telling me about a guy testing the 150 on an Arra 1204,said it was nice match on the 10'er.What's your opinion?


It might be a perfect match. I'm even using it on a 1205. The VSB150 weighs in at 16.9oz, and a bailess VS200 weighs 18oz so it makes sense that a bailed VS150 would feel "right" on a 10ft stick.

All three of my 300's look like they get exactly what they are built for.

Those are the best looking Van Staals. Scratched, scuffed, and missing some anodizing. Maybe even a little white corrosion on the aluminum. :btu:

No, of the reel silly :usd:

-spence

Oh sorry, the VSB100 15.5 OZ.
The VSB150 16.9 OZ.

I'll stick with the bailess, and await the alleged AVET spinning reels for 2006.

maybe someday ill be able to aford anything other than my 704z:)