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

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...

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.

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

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:

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.

right hand retrieve ?
 

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".

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 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.

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

vs bailed
 

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.

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.

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

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