Questions for Canalers that own VS

[ripitsik]

I am in the process in looking into buying a VS275 and I pretty much spend all my fishing nights in the canal and rarely venture out farther south. My questions is for those that fish the canal on a constant basis, do you guys get good distances with van staal's? I mostly jig with large lead 5-6 oz, plug 2.5-3 oz and frequently use the stormies both the 6 inch and the 9 inch.

Another question that I have in mind is what would be a proper rod to pair up a VS275 that can handle far casting distances and handle the heavy weight of artificals? I would like to find something reasonable in price.The reel is an arm and a leg as is, but I also dont want a piece of junk either( its like dressing up in a suit with sneakers with holes in them haha). Any opinions would be much appreciated

[Striperhound]

I have a 250 that I had set up on a 10 footer for bucktailing the inlets on the south shore of LI. Same type of current situation as the canal. Most of the time I was throwing 4-5 oz bucks. I had 50 lb PP on it and could throw those bucks a mile with great sensitivity. My only problem was had to use some tape on the fingers to avoid line cuts from the braid. I think it will be a good match and the reel is tough as nails with a great drag.

[Pete F.]

http://www.striped-bass.com/Stripert...ad.php?t=14919

[ripitsik]

is there anyone that owns a recent vs275 model having any issues with jigging in the canal? parts breaking? not holding up to the pressure? I am just very curious since ive heard about the whole china move and having the 275 being the newest model out of all the series

[BasicPatrick]

Look at the ZZipplex Sea Raider 2 10'3" as a nice rod witht the VS 275

[Raider Ronnie]

Originally Posted by BasicPatrick

Look at the ZZipplex Sea Raider 2 10'3" as a nice rod witht the VS 275

I like that,
"Sea Raider"

[zimmy]

There is a guy that I have fished next to several times at one canal local over the last 6 years or so who casts lead heads with sluggos cut in the 6" range about as far as anybody I have seen conventional or spinning. Alot is technique of course, but in the spirit of your question, he does not seem limited in any way by the vs.

[rizzo]

I have a vs 250 and vs 300. I tried jiggin the canal with both. The anti reverse broke on the 300 after about a dozen outings with primarily 5-6oz jigs. The 250 held up okay, but wasnt really cutting it. Distance was fine on both if set up with a 50# braid.

After reallly looking into options i went with a saltiga dog fight and the reel completely owns. It effortlessly cranks in 6 oz jigs against a moon tide and with each crank takes in a rediculous amount of line. I free spool quite a distance down current and wear mechanic gloves to manage line in between drifts. This system worked best for me, and I would never go back to jigging in the canal with a VS. Wetsuiting the surf, the VS is all I use - have to use the right tool for the job.

[GunnySniper]

If you have not seen or had an opportunity to try the Zee, you will have hampered yourself. I am still amazed by the capability of the 2.5. Without even trying I am getting 30% more distance. The best thing about it, I can break it down and lube the S.O.B. myself, no annual or Bi-annual fee of $70.00 with shipping to get a piece of junk Chinese reel serviced. I love the dual manual pick-up, as easy to use as the bailed model. The drag is absolutley the best thing I have ever seen, thumb adjustment with almost no effort. took a beating selling the VS's, I will never look back.

[ripitsik]

well if I had the money to afford a zeebass I would look into but when its almost double the price of a van staal and close to the price of a continental for marlin fishing, I couldn't think of any reasoning in paying that much for a reel

[Nebe]

why would you want a VS for the canal?? VS reels were designed for deep wading and getting wet. Correct me if I am wrong, but most of the fishing people do in the canal requires no waders at all...
Id go with a nice conventional reel.

[Back Beach]

Originally Posted by Nebe

why would you want a VS for the canal?? VS reels were designed for deep wading and getting wet. Correct me if I am wrong, but most of the fishing people do in the canal requires no waders at all...
Id go with a nice conventional reel.

I know some canal regulars jig w/spinning gear, but they're strange dudes

Can't see any reason to abandon conventional gear for the canal. A nice 229 newell or the like with a ZZiplex, 1209 or 1205 is all I've ever used for 20 plus years.
The added bonus if $$ is an issue= You can purchase the conventional reel and two of the needed rods for the same price as a VS reel and no rods.
More to the point, you will not be hampered distance wise if you choose the VS. They cast as well as anything. The problem for me is when you need to start wearing gloves and using releases to keep your finger tips from being sawed off, its time to re-evaluate your approach and go conventional.

[The Dad Fisherman]

Originally Posted by Nebe

why would you want a VS for the canal?? VS reels were designed for deep wading and getting wet. Correct me if I am wrong, but most of the fishing people do in the canal requires no waders at all...
Id go with a nice conventional reel.

I was wondering when somebody was going to ask that....I was thinking the same thing.

[Mike P]

A spinning reel with 50# braid will actually outcast a conventional, when using most plugs. Unless your conventional is tuned to within an inch of its life, you can't go balls to the wall on a cast with braid--unless you like cutting 10 cent a yard line. If you run less than 25# mono, you take a real chance on a big fish in the Canal, and a spinning reel/50# braid combo will throw a lure farther than a conventional/ 25# or 30# mono combo. For most fishermen, anyway. YMMV if your name is Ron Arra or Big Dave.

[ripitsik]

Originally Posted by Nebe

why would you want a VS for the canal?? VS reels were designed for deep wading and getting wet. Correct me if I am wrong, but most of the fishing people do in the canal requires no waders at all...
Id go with a nice conventional reel.

Hey Nebe,
I understand that they are designed for wading but when you have a so called "work horse" shimano spheros that goes through 4 spools due to saltwater corrosion you can't really say that its a "bad egg". I also took the proper precautions of cleaning my gear after every trip, so I have came to the conclusion that I need something that will withstand all these external factors that I went through in just one season. That is why I find it appropriate to buy a van staal and I also dont just fish the canal but the maority of the times I do.

[seadevil]

Waz up guys? Just because a reel is dunkable does'nt mean that is all it is capable of. I have been using a 275 on the Canal for the last 2 seasons and a 250 for 5 seasons before that and I don't feel limited at all, actually I was happy to find out that I could have one setup to do what I like to do on the beaches with large plugs 3-5 oz and be able to jig a 3-6 oz with ease .The reason I don't care for conventional on the Canal is they usually have girly drags and when it is dark out I would rather catch fish than mess with backlashes. Even though the VS reels were'nt labeled on the box made for the Canal does'nt mean it is not a good choice cause as far as spinning reels go it is one of few that has made it to a next season.

[seadevil]

The lowdown on spinning reels in the canal top 5 with ratings 0-10.

Saltiga 6000 gt and Dogfight.

Pros . retrieve and line pickup is extra thick bail wire for those special spills on the Canal also
Cons. If you loose some line on your spool to the bottom of the Canal the spool causes you to loose distance and fall short of the zone you are casting to also line roller makes alot of noise after a season of abuse but is a easy fix all in all I would rate these as an 9

VS-275
Pros. It is an army tank, so if you do take a special Canal spill more than likely your reel will be okay even if you are not. Line capacity allows you to still hit the zone even if you are a little short due to losing some string to the bottom of the canal. No bail (self explanitory)makes dropping into the hole really easy once you get the hang of it . Torn down these reels have minimal amt of parts wich makes it a reel that for me is easy to deal with and yes ofcourse IT'S Dunkable so if it gets wet who cares consider it an extra feature.
Cons. the design of the handle is no good the factory shoulder bolts are lame and if they are not properly lubricated they are gonna snap .Easy fix but just effin annoyingThe only other con to this reel is that the lubrication that comes in the reel from the factory can make usage a little uncomfortable.Resolve for 1 you can just break it in but will still feel tight on a cold night, or you can switch the lubrication. I used to use Hot Sauce from Quantum but the Ardant Reel Butter is even better both are synthetic makes them reel like silk use both oil and grease. overall this reel is a 9 as well and when I get the new handle made from the machinist it may hit 10 we will see.

Accurate twin spin

Pros. Fastest retrieve speed out of all the high end spinning reels and had the looks to kill .Design of this reel was well thought out but only when it came to cosmetics and the drag was deff bad a$$.
Cons. watched a buddy snap a main gear post 3 times he out of all people wanted this reel to be the one but the customer service contact from the owner and the rep really pissed him off, so he bought a 275 and is very happy with his choice leaving the overall rating of this reel as a 5 nice product if you are using it on a boat no good for cast and retrieve heavy tackle. And for $1000 bucks it should.

ZEEBAAS
never heard of one making it thru a full season at the Ditch. I don't think anyone has tried but I am very curious to see what happens so I will leave this one as is for now till further notice

soooooooo who wants to test the ZEEBAAS in the canal specs seem right

hope this helps CS

[ripitsik]

Seadevil,

great information, I am 100% that Im going to pull the trigger on the 275s for the canal. I have just had way too many issues with inferior reels so I would rather just spend the money on something that will last for seasons to come. Thanks for your experiences, much appreciated, spoke to aaron at CMS, most likely going to pair the 275 with the 10.5 ft Ron Arra 2-6 oz. Anything that I sould be aware of when I have the rod made?

Originally Posted by seadevil

The lowdown on spinning reels in the canal top 5 with ratings 0-10.

Saltiga 6000 gt and Dogfight.

Pros . retrieve and line pickup is extra thick bail wire for those special spills on the Canal also
Cons. If you loose some line on your spool to the bottom of the Canal the spool causes you to loose distance and fall short of the zone you are casting to also line rolloer makes alot of noise after a season of abuse but is a easy fix all in all I would rate these as an 9

VS-275
Pros. It is an army tank, so if you do take a special Canal spill more than likely your reel will be okay even if you are not. Line capacity allows you to still hit the zone even if you are a little short due to losing some string to the bottom of the canal. No bail (self explanitory)makes dropping into the hole really easy once you get the hang of it . Torn down these reels have minimal amt of parts wich makes it a reel that for me is easy to deal with and yes ofcourse IT'S Dunkable so if it gets wet who cares consider it an extra feature.
Cons. the design of the handle is no good the factory shoulder bolts are lame and if they are not properly lubricated they are gonna snap .Easy fix but just effin annoyingThe only other con to this reel is that the lubrication that comes in the reel from the factory can make usage a little uncomfortable.Resolve for 1 you can just break it in but will still feel tight on a cold night, or you can switch the lubrication. I used to use Hot Sauce from Quantum but the Ardant Reel Butter is even better both are synthetic makes them reel like silk use both oil and grease. overall this reel is a 9 as well and when I get the new handle made from the machinist it may hit 10 we will see.

Accurate twin spin

Pros. Fastest retrieve speed out of all the high end spinning reels and had the looks to kill .Design of this reel was well thought out but only when it came to cosmetics and the drag was deff bad a$$.
Cons. watched a buddy snap a main gear post 3 times he out of all people wanted this reel to be the one but the customer service contact from the owner and the rep really pissed him off, so he bought a 275 and is very happy with his choice leaving the overall rating of this reel as a 5 nice product if you are using it on a boat no good for cast and retrieve heavy tackle. And for $1000 bucks it should.

ZEEBAAS
never heard of one making it thru a full season at the Ditch. I don't think anyone has tried but I am very curious to see what happens so I will leave this one as is for now till further notice

soooooooo who wants to test the ZEEBAAS in the canal specs seem right

hope this helps CS

[seadevil]

Not very familiar with the Ron arra line of rods. I would go with the Rainshadow 1209 or 1208 if you want lighter the experiences I have had with lamiglas rods and the canal have not been good in the past if you were fishing the rod with a conventional reel I would have to say go for it but I think with that reel for what you are gonna do with it you should go with the 1209 plus it is cheaper $267 @ cms

[Mike P]

Hey Chris--you'll like it here

GQ Powers came by to say hello when I was volunteering at the Special Olympics in Hyannis.

[seadevil]

Hey Mike !How was the special olympics? I do like this site. way more better smileys this is me! Well the good news and you can tell GQ is there are some fishies starting to filter thru the H.I.C on there way to you know where. JP tell you about the new jig collection?
if you speak to him tell him not to forget to let me borrow a 3 oz to complete the mold

[JPowers]

SeaDevil

I've been carrying the 3oz jig with me since I saw you. We'll run into each other soon.

[Mike P]

It was %$%$%$%$ing cold, Chris

[seadevil]

I bet it was cold Mike. I bet the meet me in the middle crew was also cold .
Did anybody actually tangle?

Jim I will be at Andy's either wed or thurs dunno if you saw the other thread but he told me to tell you that your rod will be ready at some point this week maybee I will see you over there .

You know what I almost feel bad for the fish this year

[Mike P]

Looking at the write up, seems like a couple of guys crossed but couldn't hook the other guy's line.

At least they could cast to stay warm. Most of what I was doing was standing and waiting. Some of those kids don't understand much more than "follow the man in the orange T-shirt" so I couldn't wear a rain jacket when I was escorting them to the starting line. Then, I had to wait until they finished their race, and then take them over to get their medals. Plus, they wanted the volunteers there by 8:45 and the games didn't get going till 11, so by the time the whole thing started we were standing in the cold and wind over 2 hours, doing basically nothing.

It still was a fun and rewarding thing to do.