Say it ain't so. :(

EDIT:

Wait a sec, I just spoke to a shop this morning that placed several orders yesterday. My sense was that VS has stopped taking some orders b/c it can't keep up with demand. Also, I heard that "one-#^&#^&#^&#^& orders of reels are being discouraged - retailers are/were being encouraged to order five or more reels at a time.

Then again, who knows.

-WW

OK, I say we put an investment group together and put JohnR in charge. He needs a job right? Of course we wait until after the fall bash as I have a feeling he might be "busy" this summer

hmm looks like those Nautils are gonna get popular fast if this is true.

Bummer....there goes my dream....:(

Ben where You hear this??
I been calling them and know of chit going down???

Guys,

Through MSBa I have mad friends with Craig, one of the owners group. I can't call him until; Monday but usually get him pretty quick. I 'll see what I can find out and report back then.

lots of rumors at the moment......


I heard that they stopped taking orders at the moment

Rick Hersom, where are you?

I dunno, I wader thru threads on 3 different sites and sumpin' still don't sound right.

I'll say this, they'd be better off in the long run if they set up a network of dealers that were trained and authorized to do the servicing. They can't physically service every reel they've ever sold AND keep up production to meet that increased demand I read about ;)

I just drive by the old factory the other day. You think the sign would be worth anything on E-Bay?:D

Krispy-

Did you already move?

-WW

Its not krispy its krissy size 11 :smash: :D

With all due respect for fellow bassnuts who own VS reels:

Over here on Nantucket we get a lot of wannabe's with lots of dough. They see the VS reels and plop down $500 and within a day it is not working for them.
I am just past the wannabe stage with a lot less money. When I buy a reel it had better work.

I hope VS isn't taking orders while they redesign there reels. They owe that to the people that buy them who aren't qualified to use them.

My Mom always told me that if I have nothing good to say to not say anything. Sorry Mom.

They should go out of business.VS has some big kahunas charging what they do for their reels when half of them don't even work properly coming out of the box.
Nice reels just way overpriced.

half of them? Me no think so

Originally posted by BM
half of them? Me no think so

I'll stick with my original statement.In my experience half would certainly be accurate.Everything from grinding to sticky drag.
Almost everyone I know has to send their reel back to VS for
"regular maintenance" every year and wait endlessly for its not so iminate return.Hmmm.
Listen I understand you have to somehow justify spending that kind of money on a reel,but in my opinion you're paying too much for what you get.

Errrr...Buzz-erd...I don't agree with that 50% defect rate on the new generation reels. I'm not sure it even reflected on the first generation reels. It doesn't jive with my own firsthand experience.

-VS Wee Wee

Buzz,

You said what I tried to dance around.

The truth causes offense.

I use the Penn slammer 360,460 & 560. Cost was less than ONE VS. I have used them all incessantly (aren't we nuts !) since last season. NOT ONE PROBLEM. A few years ago Penn had serious anti-release malfunctions on their 3500 + series. They fixed it. Designed a new reel.

Yes, Shimano and others have nice reels.

Bottom Line ? Do they work ?

Here's to faith in ones gear !

Originally posted by fishweewee
Errrr...Buzz-erd...I don't agree with that 50% defect rate on the new generation reels. I'm not sure it even reflected on the first generation reels. It doesn't jive with my own firsthand experience.

-VS Wee Wee

Like I said in MY personal experience.Again one has to justify spending that kind of money, somehow.To me spending that kind of money for what you get is unjustifiable.
I'll say no more on this.As long you're having fun and catching fish
my opinion doesn't mean squat anyways.

Of course, if we run outta parts b/c (heaven forbid) VS goes out of business, then your 50% rate will become 100%. :laughs:

Wait, why am I laughing? :crying:

[QUOTE]Originally posted by beachwalker
[B]Buzz,



I use the Penn slammer 360,460 & 560. Cost was less than ONE VS. I have used them all incessantly (aren't we nuts !) since last season. NOT ONE PROBLEM. A few years ago Penn had serious anti-release malfunctions on their 3500 + series. They fixed it. Designed a new reel.

Beachwalker,
I had my 5500 replaced for nothing for the same prob.Not for nothing had to pay to ship the old one.
Haven't tried one of the new Slammers yet.I like to use the smallest tackle possible for the biggest fish.My lightest setup I use for this time of year is a 7' 1pc M action Ugly Stik(replaced the factory guides with bigger ones)with the aforementioned 5500 w/17lb test.My largest fish on that setup so far is a 26lber.That was pretty tough to land,almost got spooled.I would've liked to have put a little more pressure on the fish.The 460 or 560 seems to be the answer I've been looking for,just can't decide which to
get.Both weigh more than my 5500 by several oz and I don't wish
to ruin the balance of my current setup.The 360 "seems" to small
in the line capacity catagory,but is just about right in the weight catagory.
Since you use all 3 any insight into how you use them and on what kind of setups you use would be very helpful.I hate having to go into Walmart with my pole and ask the pimply faced kid if can try the reels out on my pole,especially when I'm not going to buy it there.

Just one guys opinion and please take no offense if you own one, I think to pay $500.00 for any fishing reel in pure insanity. How many people does Van Stahl think are out there with that kind of dough?:hs: :doh: Its no wonder they have problems staying in business. You can keep your high end, yuppified, rediculously expensive Van Stahl reels. I will stick with the Penn Slammer line for spinning. The most I have ever paid for a reel was $250.00 and I can't ever imagine myself spending any more than that. I look at it this way, I don't need to spend $60,000.00 for a Hummer 4 when my $3,500.00 1985 CJ does as good a job getting me on the sand.:fishslap:

BigFish - some people do and I know a few regualr Joes that fish harder than 90% of people and use VS reels because they can handle serious fishing. Would I consider one? Dunno -- maybe if there was a conventional (speaking of VS rumors :rollem: ) and it wasn't 800 bucks I might do it.

But I know a few people that have tried all different types of reels for chasing large fish and they keep using that VS. Most others user other stuff - PennZs, SS, Daiwas, Nautils, etc.

Is it a good reel? Yeh. Is ist worth the money? That's a relative value and is up to the people buying it...

As I said JohnR, don't get offended, it is simply my opinion. I am not here to anger anyone or hurt their feelings. I have no problem landing big fish with the reels I have, it is just a matter of personal preference. I prefer to keep the extra $250.00 in my pocket for bait, plugs, etc.:kewl:

BigFish - no offense taken... So if you're sayomg that you'd rather save $250 - what $250 reel are you fishing :D

Your still sounding defensive JohnR but if you must know I have a Calcutta 400, an Abu Garcia 7000 CL Big Game, a Penn Live Liner,
a Penn Slammer 460, and a squadron of Penn Powergraph reels. The Calcutta, if I recall was about $250.00 and the Abu was $190.00, throw in the Slammer for $160.00. That sounds more like getting my moneys worth. I just cannot justify $500.00 for one reel. I guess if some people have that kind of money to spend and thats what they want, then more power to them. Lets just agree to disagree and have a beer.:gu:

Buzz-erd--is "YOUR personal experience" based on your owning and fishing a Van Staal? Is it based on seeing people having problems with it while they were fishing with you? Or, is it based on, "I was talking to this guy who said his buddy bought a Van Staal and he said it crapped the bed on his first fish ever"?

Based on my personal experience, they work flawlessly for 5 years without ever seeing the Van Staal service department. But maybe I just got lucky :D

Com'on guys not this debate again.Is it worth the money?YES if you need it to do the kind of fishing that gets the reel soaked,you need a water proof reel,period.Would I spend that on a reel?not now but ya never know.Go stand in waist deep water with2-3 foot waves,unless you hold the reel over your head you're in trouble:smash: ,and yes some people must fish this way in certain areas...THATS WHY THEY MAKE THESE REELS:o

Big Fish - I'm not defensive - just continuing this discussion.... I really don't care about the VS one way or the other as I don't fish much spinning. However, if I found a model used at a great price I would consider it. Probably wouldn't buy it but I would certainly consider it...

I also fish the Calcutta 400 - I have 2 and in my opinion it's the best conventional bass reel period. But @ 86 bucks each, the ABU 6500 TCST might be the best bang for ther buck reel out there. So you can buy a Nautil and have a waterproof spinner and have what overall is considered a good reel for what it gives you at a reasonable price or you can get a VS for a lot more money and have the same functionality for a bit more dough (OK - a lot more :D )...

I used to think for years that I would never buy a VS because of the cost - just too damn much. Then I saw some of the abuse they can take. These days while I might not buy a VS because of the cost, if I were going to do the surfcasting I like and needed a spinner, I would certrainly consider it.

By the way - anyone make a sealed, waterproof. reliable conventional? I got some weeds pressed into my levelwind on the Calcutta and it was just enough to cause a little professional overrun at the end of the eel cast :eek5: :D

Sorry to hear about your Calcutta JohnR. Thanks for the tip on the Abu 6500 TCST, I will have to give that a look.:kewl:

Big Fish - that 6500 TCST is a C4 with the 5.3-1 instead of 6.3-1 gear ratio (better for bass IMO) and it comes stock with the power handle for less money than the 6500C4 out of the box. All you need to do with this reel is add a set of Extreme Smoothie drag washers - roughly 8 bucks - and you have a pretty schweet plug / eeling reel for a bit less than $100... It's not a Calcutta 400 but it's probably 88% as good for less than half the dough... It does need to be stripped and cleaned a little more frequently than the Calcutta

Buzz,

I agree the Penn slammer series are heavier reels. All it took was me to accept the weight change and get used to fishing with it. I have taken fish up to 30lbs on the 360 and up to 43lbs on the 460. I have yet to land anything over 35lbs with the 560 but I fugure it will do the job.
I run the 360 on a Loomis 7' mid, the 460 on a 8' mid and the 560 on a 9'6" mid -fast. They handle a lot of fishing. I live in a place where no spot is more than a 30 minute drive (and that is Great Point). I fish April (except this year) to November/December and probably have put a 500 hours on these reels with no issues.

I have never owned a VS but have seen numerous rookies screw themselves bad with numerous faults. But, firsthand, that is all I have seen. Rookies. That should probably say it all. Experienced fisherman seem to have few problems.
Since I entered the four leg and only landed 30" fish and smaller this weekend maybe I should work on my fishing as opposed to some one elses.

Did any of you folks on the mainland get 70mph gusts today ?
I am sure hoping that these guys are hungry tomorrow.

Tight lines