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I’ve fished the Stella FA’s for 2 seasons now. This past season I also fished a Saltiga 4000 and a Saltiga 4500 (same reel different size spools). In 2002 and 2003 I fished a Van Staal 150 and a 200. I sold the VS’s last year to buy the Saltiga’s this year. Here is my limited comparison.
First, like Sandman, I don’t skish or reel underwater, but my reels get dunked & splashed a lot. I try to take good care of my equipment and rinse the reels in fresh water immediately after every use.
I echo everything Sandman said about the Stella’s. They are great reels and I’ve had mine dunked and splashed occasionally in the surf. Never a problem, and my experience with Shimano warranty service in the past with other reels has been top notch. The Stella reels are super smooth and the drags, especially the double disc drag on the 6000FA & up reels, are awesome. With respect to “waterproofing”, as I said earlier on this thread if you look at the Stella diagrams on the website you’ll see a number of “seals” placed throughout the reel body. Shimano calls this the “S-Shield” and it claims it keeps water and debris out of the reels.
However, I will admit I somewhat babied the Stella’s compared to fishing the Saltiga’s this year and VS’s last year. The Saltiga’s held up great this year with many dunkings and getting splashed all the time. I think the Saltiga’s are a bit more “heavy-duty” reels. I tried to avoid using the Stella’s in heavier surf. I’ll use the Saltiga’s for this.
In my opinion both the Stella and Saltiga are better reels than the VS’s, for different reasons (drags and drag settings are better, handle braid better, cast better, seem more durable, better ergonomics, much better and more comfortable handles, reel much smoother). The Stella's may not be "skishable", but that doesn't affect me.
The following told me a lot about these 3 reels: this is the first year I’ve ever had without reel problems. My VS150 seeped oil all season and my VS200 had issues with the drag setting tolerance and the drag knob loosening while fighting fish, small problems compared to the Fin-Nor Ahabs I fished for the 4 seasons before (seized up every fall after getting dunked all season), but still problems. It doesn’t even seem like the Stella’s or Saltiga’s need servicing now except for normal lubrication.
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