[Glen cortez]

After much deliberation,reading ,searching.
I have decided on either a stella 500sw or the stella 4000fd.
i cant decide for the life of me which, both have pro's and cons but i was wondering if any of you have used or have any expierience of either.
I'm still open for suggestion on other makes ie, saltiga and maybe even VS.
Just i don't want to make the wrong choice and end up with something that just looks good in the shed :rollineyes:

 

[Keith White]

Now the VS is down in price, get one.

Brilliant, no frill's, bullet proof reel. Will outlast anything I've seen in It's price range.

 

[Simon L]

Now the VS is down in price, get one.

Brilliant, no frill's, bullet proof reel. Will outlast anything I've seen in It's price range.

Down in price to what ??

 

[Keith White]

Not 100% on the whole details but I believe a European/CI deal has been swung to compete
nicely with the hassle, importation duty and exchange rate issues.

Getting one stateside made sense before as the VS was around the same in £ as $. Crazy but true.

You'll need to ask Mick for details.

 

[Mike Kennard]

What are you going to use it for? on what rod?
Both very good reels either way.

 

[Glen cortez]

hoping to use it for general plugging for bass with the occasional soft plastic outing, for bass pollack ,bream and wrasse, it will be used mainly on my red dragon as i think it will be a bit on the large side for my super mix 210

 

[Mark Sleep]

Hmmm. I am buying a VS100 (SILVER, NOT GOLD!) next month. Was intending on buying it from a US site, average prices I have seen have been around the $650 mark, not including international shipping

 

[Glen cortez]

what is the options with the stella's,.........................buy a van stall then yeah :clap:

So which one is the best for uk plugging there is the 100 or the 150 i looked into tbe vsb150 but the reviews aren't great on the us sites.
will the vs 100 hold enough 20 braid, or will i have to suffer the extra weight of the 150 for piece of mind.
Can see a call to Mr Ward coming in the not so distant future. :rollineyes:

 

[Mark Sleep]

Apparently the 100 will hold 220 of 20lb braid (more than enough for domestic stuff), and weighs 11.2oz. Not the lightest, but I have my light and sexy Fireblood. I am getting a VS so I can use it when wading in the surf, basically when I am roughing it up etc. Fireblood will be reserved for on the boat and easy shore stuff.

Have a look here for comparisons between the 100 and 150, the 100 seems more than ample for what I am to be using it for. http://www.tackledirect.com/vanstaalspin.html

Keith and Kev use them I believe. And whats this about Mick getting them?? Could save me some postage!

 

[Glen cortez]

I didn't mean i was getting one from Mick i just meant i need to now what keith is on about with the price going down . i can get a stella at £420 brand new locally. but i think the van staal is going to be £500 plus shipping :shock:
it will be a struggle getting that one past her without her trying to put my nutts in my throat with her foot.
i lure fish alot, but can i justify it... for four month quality plugging in the year. i probably do at least 20 hrs a week plugging.I know its pretty much indestructable, but still :rollineyes:

 

[Mike Kennard]

If you want to look at something else heavy duty to go on a Dragon, look at a Daiwa Saltiga Game 3000 or 3500. Daiwa France do them but no idea on price. They will take plenty of 20lb braid. Stupidly strong, not the lightest out there but very nice.

 

[kevin white]

vs 100, built like a tractor, no bling, no thrills, just does the job it's ment to. also go bailless, takes less that an hour to get to grips with it.

kev

 

[Mick Ward]

Posh reels all of them. My thoughts as an angler are this; The SW 5000 Stella is a beautiful reel but I personally think its a bit big and fast for general uk lure fishing. Great if you are verticle jigging a bit and having a tropical holiday once or twice a year. In saying that though I have sold one or two 5000's for uk use. The 4000FD is really truely one of the nicest reels I have ever held. I have a few friends that swear by them, including my guru Stan from Ultimate Fishing. They are very very nice for all our lure fishing we do. There is of course the Branzino, which is in the same ilk as the Stella 4000FD. The Branzino is beautiful, light, smooth, yes a little TLC is needed but is is also required on the 4000FD. I would say the Branzino has THE smoothest clutch that I have ever felt. The new Twin Power C14 is also a contender, very very nice, sold a couple already and had emails from both customers saying how happy they are with the reel. Now, the VS, yes after a lot of haggling I have managed to get the prices down a bit. They were wanting me to sell them for £700+ but it wasnt going to happen as you can get them from the states for around £500. The VS prices go like like this;

Bail less versions
100 £550
150 £565
200 £595

Bail Arm versions
100B £565
150B £575
200B £650
250B £665

Only have them in gold but I do have them all in stock.

I think the 100 or 150 is sound for general lure use, I personally dont see the point in having a bailarm unless you were going tropical fishing.

 

[bob jameson]

sausage..

I bought the VS 150 through mick its the bailless version , have to say weight wise its not as bad as what people make out..

Line lay aint Diawa or shimano , but i got no complaints .. no coils causing wind knots .

Its got a drag system like no other ,life time guarentee (spelling) so im told by the agent Not mick

Am i happy with it hell yes , would i part with it not on your nelly......... :jump:

Oh by the way i use it on my supermix 240 & the red dragon :aarrg:

 

[Glen cortez]

cheers for that bob, you might have just sold me (like i wasn't heading that way ) good to know we share roughly the same rods, so its good to know for comparisson.

Many thanks one and all for your help.
Mr fish i'll be in touch
She said she'd like to see some gold for xmas, shame its gonna be mine :jump: :jump: :jump: :jump:

 

[Vidar Thomassen]

As I said before I purchased a Van Staal VS 250 (or at least I seem to remember it was that size) 5-6 years ago and for various reasons I could never get on with it and sold it on

However, because I had been so used to ultra smooth Daiwa’s and Shimano’s I’m now thinking I maybe didn’t give it enough time. Considering that I’ve placed an order earlier this evening for a Van Staal VS100 in silver finish, and if I still can’t get on with it there will probably be a bargain to be had in a few months time :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Simon Clapham]

what is the options with the stella's,.........................buy a van stall then yeah :clap:

So which one is the best for uk plugging there is the 100 or the 150 i looked into tbe vsb150 but the reviews aren't great on the us sites.
will the vs 100 hold enough 20 braid, or will i have to suffer the extra weight of the 150 for piece of mind.
Can see a call to Mr Ward coming in the not so distant future. :rollineyes:

My VS100 is exactly the same weight as my stradic 4000fb mate, you will suffer without any extra weight :jump: Yup, the line lay looks shocking, but I've never suffered with coil/wind knots, it'll hold more braid than you'll ever need for the UK I reckon, unless of course you hit a BFT from your shores :rofl: .......its tight to turn, but then, its waterproof so needs to be watertight :muttley:

One thing, I find that the foot is ever so slightly larger than that on my stradics and is a little tight fitting into the tenryu's, but it still fits :badlol: Shame Mick can't get anything other than Gold.....but then apparently, if the black scratches.....you can see the marks quite badly and you wouldn't be wanting this after paying mucho mula for it would you :rollineyes: :rollineyes:

 

[Keith White]

However, because I had been so used to ultra smooth Daiwa’s and Shimano’s I’m now thinking I maybe didn’t give it enough time.

I'm not targeting Vidar in this reply personally but...

Can someone explain to me, why we need reels that are ultra silky smooth, cost £500 but last 6 months, and that
is if you are lucky ? Shimano fit rust resistant bearing's and yet state, their reels aren't salt proof, etc etc

I've seen, hundred's of times, people assemble reels in shop, turn the handle violently and then watch the reel spin ?
Is this some sort of ritual ? why, what possible purpose does this serve. We never use reels in this way. No one can spin a
reel handle that fast in actual, practical use.

People say the VS is tight. Maybe, I don't notice it mainly because I choose reels based upon spool size and retrieve rate
If one reel pulls 27" and another 35" then 1 handle turn does exactly that. If i count to 1 per 2 handle turns, that is quite a quick
retrieve. In the case of my VS100B, 4 1/2 ft per second. Yes, they are rugged, no frill's, water sealed etc, they are NOT totally
immune to a bit of corrosion if you were to blatantly ignore their well being but, they stand a much higher chance of surviving
the abuse that usually follows when a reel loses it's newness, and you purchase another nice new bit of kit. The VS, or any reel
then, starts to get skipped when it comes to routine maintenance. This is when things start to go wrong.

It's like bail arms, you don't NEED one unless you are fishing for huge fast running fish that could hit immediately on the lure
hitting the water. Takes 1/2 hour to convert, seriously, easy to pick up the line after casting, it becomes so natural an action
you will forget you are doing it. If you have a bailed reel and yet, fold the bail back manually (all VS's are manual btw) then you
don't need it. Bail-less will actually be faster, lighter, and less to break should you drop the reel.

 

[Mike Kennard]

[quote="myfish
Can someone explain to me, why we need reels that are ultra silky smooth, cost £500 but last 6 months, and that
is if you are lucky ? Shimano fit rust resistant bearing's and yet state, their reels aren't salt proof, etc etc

[/quote]

Keith,
I have a number of reels that are Japanese and cost a lot of money. They are well looked after and have lasted years. I think there is a big distinction between those that are dunked/skished etc and 'normal' use. If I fished the way you do and on the venues you do then I doubt I would use Branzinos or Saltigas but I don't and have never had any issues with corrosion at all. As it is I would definitely see no advantage in a VS for my fishing. Quite the oppostite in fact. Horses for courses. :horsesword:

Mike

 

[Nick Phillips]

[quote="myfish
Can someone explain to me, why we need reels that are ultra silky smooth, cost £500 but last 6 months, and that
is if you are lucky ? Shimano fit rust resistant bearing's and yet state, their reels aren't salt proof, etc etc

Keith,
I have a number of reels that are Japanese and cost a lot of money. They are well looked after and have lasted years. I think there is a big distinction between those that are dunked/skished etc and 'normal' use. If I fished the way you do and on the venues you do then I doubt I would use Branzinos or Saltigas but I don't and have never had any issues with corrosion at all. As it is I would definitely see no advantage in a VS for my fishing. Quite the oppostite in fact. Horses for courses. :horsesword:

Mike[/quote]
Very good post there.
If you are going to get a guarenteed 'dunking then it has to be the VS full stop.
If not then you dont need the VS at all.
I think its all about using the correct tool for the job