Van Staal VM150 - anyone got anything bad to say about them?

[Marty75]

Thanks for confirming Mingle and Paul,

As for the free-play in the handle, when exactly do you feel the free-play?
I have my VM150 in front of me now and the only free-play in the handle is if I hold the rotor and then turn the handle (as if I was winding in),
then I feel about 1.5-2.0mm (at the handle-grip) of 'slack' as (I'm guessing) the main and pinion gears come together?

Yep, that's exactly the same as mine (and the same as my other cheaper reels). Not sure what I was expecting as I've never spent close to $300 on a reel (or any other piece of tackle) before but glad it's not just mine. From what the JW service centre tech said it is something to do with the meshing of the gears and something I can live with, just wanted to check it wasn't only mine with it.

I was amazed how quickly the spool stops when you let go of the handle and at the amount of free play in it.

Same here Paul but again something I can live with if it means the reel will be more water resistant and therefor should last longer. Having said that I don't think I will be using the reel for spinning with lures purely due to the stiffness of the retrieve but more for trolling with live bait and lures and possibly beach fishing down the track. Did you catch your tuna caasting and retrieving or on the troll? Also how did the drag perform and the rest of the reel tangling with larger fish? How would you compare it to say the Daiwa Catalina 4500 which I recall you also use (other than being heavier)?

I've got some 40lb Daiwa Samurai braid to go on the reel and plan on using it up at SWR which I get to a couple of times a year and during kingie season. I bought a second hand Nitro Godzilla for it but will probably end up matching it to one of my older Silstar Crystal Tip solid glass rods purely for trolling and bait fishing duties.

Thanks again for the feedback guys

Marty

[paulo]

Had mine on a Nitro Godzilla Marty and got most fish just drifting a 3" plastic out the back. Though I did get one casting a plastic from the same outfit. I also used it on an 11' beach rod and it casts very nicely on the longer rod as well.
As compared to the Catalina its difficult for me to compare. A combination of Aldi 20lb braid and the fact that I dropped the first four fish due to a variety of f&@#ups saw me not fish the VS outfit as hard as I do the Catalina with 50lb braid. That said the reel handled each fight flawlessly and I felt it always had more to offer.
Perhaps the only thing I noticed is the lower retrieve ratio when the tuna swim back at you after the initial run. At 4.9:1 I had to work a lot harder to take up the slack line than I would normally have to on the Catalina. On smaller pelagics like these its not much of an issue but on the larger beasts you're likely to encounter at SWR, the additional aerobic effort required to retrieve the line when they run all over the place, could be a contributing factor in the battle against fatigue and ultimately the fish.

[keza]

Sorry for the slight side step but seeing as 2 of you just mentioned the Nitro Godzilla, I have used one a couple of times and am finding that the butt is just too thick and heavy.
I love my vipers and thought I would love the godzilla but I think I would prefer a slightly thinner butt.
I may be spoilt with my saltiga 63, which I just love on the kayak.

[Marty75]

I haven't used mine yet Kerry and not sure as to when I'll be getting out next to target something with it so maybe I'll find the same thing. The butt length more than the thickness might be an issue and have noticed some people cut down their butts but don't think I'll be doing that. Will see. Hopefully get to tangle with something worthy up at SWR ar some stage.

[paulo]

Agreed Kerry but it seems to be less of an issue sitting down. I normally fight the fish with the butt under my arm. The Catalina is on a Saltiga 63 and I have to say I prefer the jigsticks for fighting the larger fish but the Godzilla gives you other options jigsticks cant like casting bigger poppers or slugs and the additional 7" gives you the varied trolling height on your two rods allowing two lures out without risk of tangles on the turns.

[keza]

I like the sensitive tip it has but I would need to change the knob on the butt to get it into my rod tubes.

[grant ashwell]

These weapons look the goods and at $300 I just wanted to put the cost into perspective.
I have just had my Stella back from its annual service-the drag system had taken a battering this year and the service people replaced the drag washers, 3 bearings and the line roller.
I have no problem with the excellent service or cost however, it did come to $210 with regular postage. That is just about a new reel a year so I think that you fellows are doing pretty good for what you are paying for a sexy looking tool. Happy fishing

Grant

[paulo]

These weapons look the goods and at $300 I just wanted to put the cost into perspective.
I have just had my Stella back from its annual service-the drag system had taken a battering this year and the service people replaced the drag washers, 3 bearings and the line roller.
I have no problem with the excellent service or cost however, it did come to $210 with regular postage. That is just about a new reel a year so I think that you fellows are doing pretty good for what you are paying for a sexy looking tool. Happy fishing

Grant

Yes Grant I came to that conclusion after last years service bill for 3 reels came to $700. . A $1k reel will actually cost you $2k over five years to keep it running. There seems little point when perfectly useable kit can be had for 200-300 dollars. Im sure the manufacturers are happy to sell us new kit each year and is possibly some of the motivation behind the hike in servicing costs in recent years. The only problem I have with it is the landfill created by buying a new reel each year.

[Marty75]

One of the appeals if the Van Staal was the (less) number of internal components compared to similar offerings from other brands and supposed ease of servicing and maintenance. Time (& patience) will tell.

[imnotoriginal]

I just got mine and the only problem I had was trying to get the bloody handle shifted over. It took a shifting spanner with a towel around the handle joint to get the handle cover and dust cover to move.
Joel

[mingle]

Glad to see you finally got it shifted!

The caps are a bit tight, but the trick of using a strip of inner-tube rubber to grip the cap worked well.

Cheers,

Mike.

[Marty75]

Let us know what you think of the reel Joel. I'm yet to test mine as yet.

Is your handle stiff to wind too?

Marty

[imnotoriginal]

Let us know what you think of the reel Joel. I'm yet to test mine as yet.

Is your handle stiff to wind too?

Marty

Like they previously said, it's stiffer than an equivalent sized shimano or daiwa. I still find it ok to use though, the reel test (boom boom) will be how it winds with a fish on. It's a little freaky having the holes in the top of the spool and being able to see your line through them.

Glad to see you finally got it shifted!

The caps are a bit tight, but the trick of using a strip of inner-tube rubber to grip the cap worked well.

Cheers,

Mike.

Yeah, finally got it last night. A few scratches in the finish but that won't worry me, it just makes it look like I've had more chances to use it

Joel

[din]

Hi all,
my VM 150 clicker doesnt emit any sound when the line is pulled out,
Anyone knows whats the problem and how to rectify it.
Thanks in advance



Din

[paulo]

Hi all,
my VM 150 clicker doesnt emit any sound when the line is pulled out,
Anyone knows whats the problem and how to rectify it.
Thanks in advance
Din

Yup, mine had exact same issue. I sent it back to Mos for warranty repair and rec'd it back inside 10 days.