Yet another Van Staal Question

[Bronko]

Originally Posted by Sluggoslinger

I went with a Saltiga for now, I couldn't say no to the price and now I have a GREAT reel with a bail.

Now in Feb I am going to make the decision between a ZeeBaas or the VS150...

Get the VS 200. We'll be the pride of the Sugar Bowl in Southie.

[Sluggoslinger]

Originally Posted by Bronko

Get the VS 200. We'll be the pride of the Sugar Bowl in Southie.

[Water Treater]

I fish from a boat all summer long and hit the surf in the fall (Montauk and outer Cape Cod). I suggest you buy a Van Staal Model 150-N for boat and sheltered water (i.e. bay) fishing and purchase a Van Staal Model 200-N for surf fishing. This past summer on Ebay I purchased a near-new Van Staal Model 200-N reel, with (brand new) spare spool, for $ 325.00 plus shipping. You don't need to pay
$ 700.00 for any fishing reel.

I took my wife surf fishing for the first time about 8 years ago (Cahoon Hollow in Wellfleet, Mass.) and gave her an 8 foot rod with a Van Staal Model 100-N reel to use. It took her fewer than four casts to learn to use the manual bail pickupand she had never before cast a lure.

Ten years ago I switched to Van Staal spinning reels because of (1)manual bail pick-up (no more lost plugs when the bail suddenly closes in the middle of a cast) (2) lighter weight (I converted all my Penn 6500 and 7500 reels to manual bail but then discovered the reels were still too heavy for 10 foot graphite surf rods) , and (3) Van Staal reels are goof-proof. They can be dropped in soft sand and, with a simple rinsing in the surf, fully recover.

Buy a Van Staal reel. Other spinning reels are either too heavy, have limited line capacity, are not available with manual bail pick-up, or cannot survive falling over in soft sand or being submerged for extended periods of time. If you want a goof-proof reel, buy a Van Staal.

[Finaddict]

I enjoy my Penn 704 for all these years, it's still working ... but, over the past season, I have come to fall in a lot ... not sure why but always seem to lose my balance and the 704 has to be broken down and rinsed off and then regreased ...

... so I myself have made the plunge into the world of VS, mainly because of durability, if I have to use the butt of my rod as a wading stick, and the reel goes under ... or I fall in like I have done several times this season, or seem to wade out too far in an effort to get extra distance, I don't want to worry about my reel.

AS for the manual bail, it's the preferred method of fishing, if I could convert all of my spinning reels to manual - whether they are Penn, Diawa, Shimano, etc. etc. I would. It take a little practice and then becomes second nature. The only way to go.

[piemma]

I own a VS 250. That being said I never use it on the boat. if you are on the boat 85% of the time. Buy 3 Shimano 400s and put the extra $100 in your pocket.