VS 275 might not be the best choice but it's fine. You just need to be more disciplined with it. I've been eeling with a Saltiga 4500 which has literally no resistance on the retrieve but I'm liking it alot. I don't mind giving up the slowness of a vs for the improvement in casting.
Eventually I need to pick up contentional. I can only imagine how many bass have passed up my eel as I fumble to pull the line off my spinning spool while the eel is moving around unnaturally in the current.