I am sure many of you guys have already gotten your VS reels back from the company for this season ... I've been a little slow in getting mine reel off to the company for servicing - and just spoke to them about the time frame in getting it taken care of, they said six weeks - which means right into the season.

It's a year old, fished pretty aggressively for one season - not as aggressive as some of you guys ...

... but what are your thoughts on skipping a season, I'd hate to be without it, and they seem like they can hold up.

Look forward your thoughts. Thanks

is it leaking?
is it smoother then when you first got it?
no sticking spots?
drag feels ok?

all checks ok turn it in in November/December... :)

There is no need to send it back every year, If you think the reel is working fine then skip a year. I didn't fish very hard last year and I skipped having it serviced this year.

Sell it and get a Zee, I did, and am a much happier person.

I may be mistaken but there's a shop in CT that is a service center.I believe the shop is a sponsor here but again don't quote me on that.

I may be mistaken but there's a shop in CT that is a service center.I believe the shop is a sponsor here but again don't quote me on that.


I'm not sure they are yet but they will be if they aren't already. River's End will be the shop.

Also the SWE will be creating a self-ervice video sanctioned by Van Staal on You Tube in the coming months.

Also Finaddict, if it feels fine, I'd fish it. Save the $50+.

I know a few anglers who fish them hard (catching a lot of big fish on a regular basis) who have gone many years without service without issue.

It's more the constant submersion guys that run into trouble going more then a season without servicing.

I feel,,no, I know I'm getting ripped off. why does it have ta be so much money?49.95 + 12.50 + my shipping + insurance...W T F

You buy the reel because you'll be dunking it, then they bump up the price because your dunking it.
I guess they figure you don't have boat to fuel..so you got plenty of money to fuel theirs....BULL

It is my understanding they( VS) have been losing money for years on service. Hard to believe, but it comes from a reliable source. I sent in 0 reels for service this off season only because the reels performed as expected without any signifigant loss of fluids.

I feel,,no, I know I'm getting ripped off. why does it have ta be so much money?49.95 + 12.50 + my shipping + insurance...W T F

You buy the reel because you'll be dunking it, then they bump up the price because your dunking it.
I guess they figure you don't have boat to fuel..so you got plenty of money to fuel theirs....BULL

I guess I'm curious, but what does it cost to have other reels, say Shimano or Penn serviced at a shop like Bucko's or any other? Have not done it for a few years, but wonder if $49.95 is all that far out of line. It's my understanding that the VS charge includes most parts at no charge as needed.

Anyway, I look forward to that video and it will be good to have a local New England VS service location.

I guess I'm curious, but what does it cost to have other reels, say Shimano or Penn serviced at a shop like Bucko's or any other? Have not done it for a few years, but wonder if $49.95 is all that far out of line. It's my understanding that the VS charge includes most parts at no charge as needed.

Anyway, I look forward to that video and it will be good to have a local New England VS service location.

Last season I dropped off 12 penn 113hsp's at Bucko's and they charged between $24 - $30 per reel depending on what parts they needed. Considering those are only $100 reels - that's pretty expensive. Normally we just do the work ourselves, but last year we were behind schedule and just payed up.

We send our lever drag reels down to J&B in Ct - they charge $30 per reel for service + whatever parts they have to replace -- that's pretty standard for Lever Drags.

The Lever Drags cost about the same as the big VS - so while their service is expensive, it doesn't seem unreasonable to me. If you look at upkeep cost compared to % of purchase price, it's alot better than the penns.

I feel,,no, I know I'm getting ripped off. why does it have ta be so much money?49.95 + 12.50 + my shipping + insurance...W T F

You buy the reel because you'll be dunking it, then they bump up the price because your dunking it.
I guess they figure you don't have boat to fuel..so you got plenty of money to fuel theirs....BULL

They don't want your reel in for service in any shape or form. All it does is result in upset owners in online forums talking about how much it costs, how long it took, etc. Needless to say, not good. They aren't taking the time to set up service centers or develop a self-service kit because they want to keep that lucrative service market for themselves.

One of the issues is WC Bradley is a union company so it's not inexpensive hour or so of service. Plus parts if necessary. And then shipping costs sky rocketed which obviously isn't their fault. The problem is sending a reel back for yearly service was a flawed idea 15 years ago never mind now.

Dunking and constant submersion are very different. Most surfcasters wouldn't fall under the constant submersion category, even those who spend a lot of time deep wading. There's no bump in price, yearly service if not more often has always been in the manual and suggested if your reel spends more time below then above the water's surface. Not surprisingly guys who skish or otherwise use the reel underwater regularly are the most likely to know how to crack the reel open for service or at least to throw some more oil in. I think VS finally wants to change that and have more people know how to service the reels, severe service conditons or not.

I bought my first VS 250 in 1998. It has never been back to any of the 3 factories VS has had since then. Anything that had to be done, I did. I figure if I sent it in every year, I would have spent between $250 and $350 on srvice alone (even without parts), just to keep a lifetime warranty in effect. Which is useless to me now because they probably don't have many of the parts for my first generation reel. The reel only cost me $439. Almost buying it again over 10 years by having it faithfully serviced, when it obviously doesn't need it? Not for me.

Reel still works fine. It has Penn fiber washers in the drag, which are better than the original ones. The drag can be serviced as easily as a Penn, too. Pop off the retaining spring--the washers even go back in the same order as a Penn. Inside, the reel is no more complex than a Luxor 300. Don't be afraid to service it yourself. Just go slow and careful when you're seating the gear in the crosswind or traverse block--that's the only land mine to watch out for. You're better off removing the main gear from the plate, seating it in the block, and then carefully threading the side plate on, rather than trying to seat the gear while it's still in the plate.

Just need a wrench for mine that won't scratch it.

Just need a wrench for mine that won't scratch it.

Scratches add character. ;)

mikecc had some wrenches as of a couple of weeks ago. Sort of like a hard plastic. Not sure whether he sells them online..