van stall vr150 bail or bailless conversion

[ct_fisher]

Question for the forum.

I have been using my vanstaal vr150 with the bail and wondering
besides not being a real surf rat are there any reasons to
go ahead and convert the reel to bailess. I dont do wet suit
wading or rock hopping in the surf.

Just want some input with pros and the cons


Thanks in advance


Rob

[chefchris401]

I only converted mine cause it’s what I’m use to.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[Nebe]

Bailess is the way to go.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[piemma]

What do you need a bail for?

[wdmso]

It won't help you catch a fish with or with out a bail.

but no bail equals no one wants to use your reel...

[puppet]

The utility of bailless has little to do with rock hoping or wetsuiting.

It simplifies plug fishing. I see it a a more fluid set of actions when i fish.

A bailess reel also reduces the care necessary in a sandy environment. In general folks like it because its one less mechanical point of failure.

I see a bail to be more designed for an unattended rod. It is a mechanism to put and keep the line on the roller.

If you like bailed reels..skip the bailess conversion. If the bail mechanism ever fails you....try converting then. If it never does then eve4ything is good.

I think my motivation for going bailess was my 704z bail was just a nightmare in terms of maintenance.....but there is a big difference between that mechanism and a modern bailed reel.

[scottw]

I had to replace the bail spring mechanism on a VR for someone recently...the little sleeve at the bottom of the spring lever had snapped off...during disassemble/reassemble I noticed sand had found it's way up into the housing..it's open at the bottom and the spring is greased so any sand that gets in there can collect...I think that's what caused the spring to bind and the part to snap...anyway......the bail is fine if you are in a boat but any surf fishing/plugging is definitely made easier and trouble free by removing the bail....watch the video a few times...I've also had to fix a couple of bailess conversions gone wrong

[pbadad]

Bob I used mine in the spring river fishing with the bail. Once I hit the salt I when manual. Along with the less problematic feature the manual pickup allows me to control the line during the cast. i.e. bucktails, sinking needles, tins in structure. Coming tight quickly will controll your initial sink depth and help to keep hanging up to a minimum.
If I do fish in winter , I may reinstall the bail to avoid a frozen finger picking up line.