| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Gotta Catchem All
Horse Mullet
Joined: 10 Jun 2015
Posts: 142
Location: Corpus Christi
|
 Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2017 5:51 pm Post subject: Van Staal VR or Shimano Spheros? |
 |
|
I'm looking for a spinner with a sealed drag in about the 6000 size. Has anyone used these reels?
Besides the price, and the lb drag, is the only difference that the Van Staal is made with better materials (lighter)? I know a VS would last a lifetime, but wouldn't the Spheros also? |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
ironmanstan
Exalted Ruler of Flour Bluff
Joined: 04 Oct 2006
Posts: 12256
|
| Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2017 7:23 am Post subject: |
|
|
I use the shimano spheros. the drag is pretty well sealed. However I don't dunk my reels in the water to find out lol. I have a 4000 and a 5000 that are for the surf .........when I go. I would like a 6000.
_________________
I LIKE MINE FRIED. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
chapcat54
Horse Mullet
Joined: 15 Jun 2015
Posts: 185
|
| Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2017 10:22 am Post subject: |
|
|
If I wanted to know about the comparative quality between spinning reels, I would go here:
http://www.alanhawk.com/reviews/reviews.html
This guy tears each reel down, looks at every minute part for quality, and pulls no punches in his extremely in-depth reviews. I was amazed at the wealth of information. Great read, and you may find yourself looking at a reel you may not have thought about. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
IrishSharker
Horse Mullet
Joined: 23 Dec 2016
Posts: 218
Location: Da Island
|
| Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2017 12:15 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| I've used a spheros 6k for 2 seasons btb in my yak and right passed the breakers catching bait for shark fishing. I dunk it a lot lot lot and it hasn't had a flaw. I would highly recommend this reel. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Gotta Catchem All
Horse Mullet
Joined: 10 Jun 2015
Posts: 142
Location: Corpus Christi
|
| Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2017 3:42 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Thanks for all the info! I had read the Alan Hawk reviews which were really good. He was really down on the aesthetics of the Spheros (I don't much care) but I am still torn between the two!
The Van Staal cost 3x as much but I will be casting spoons and plugs over and over and over so the lightness is a big advantage :/ |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
ironmanstan
Exalted Ruler of Flour Bluff
Joined: 04 Oct 2006
Posts: 12256
|
| Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2017 6:24 pm Post subject: |
|
|
If ya got the money go for it. A van staal is one bad arse looking reel. I would like have one or a Stella but my experience has taught me that if and only if you were to lose it or it get stolen it won't hurt as bad and would be replaced easier. I will never have a yeti because I would have to keep an eye on it all the time . On the news tonight more auto break ins on the island. Take that extra money and get a good surveillance system. No application needed to be a thief.
_________________
I LIKE MINE FRIED. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
matagordamudskipper
Finger Mullet
Joined: 20 Jan 2008
Posts: 21
Location: bait camp
|
| Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2017 9:23 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Van staal..It'll be my next spinning reel and my last. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
landlocked beachbum
Full Grown Flour Bluffian
Joined: 09 Apr 2007
Posts: 5811
Location: Little Rock, Arkansas
|
| Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2017 12:59 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| chapcat54 wrote: | If I wanted to know about the comparative quality between spinning reels, I would go here:
http://www.alanhawk.com/reviews/reviews.html
This guy tears each reel down, looks at every minute part for quality, and pulls no punches in his extremely in-depth reviews. I was amazed at the wealth of information. Great read, and you may find yourself looking at a reel you may not have thought about. |
Everyone's different, but personally, I would rather have 3 very darn good reels for the price of one that is only a little better....... and might even have less of a drag. I have tried to get folks to take a serious look at the Quantum Cabos before on here. They are AWSOME reels for the money, and if you go to the link above and check out the 60/80, you'll find that they have they second best drag that the writer has ever tested...... with the best NOT being the Van Staal !!!! 
I have a 2010 60 and a 2016 80. Used the latter for the first time on three offshore trips in Destin last summer. On the middle trip, I fought a 50 ish pound AJ dead to rights and had it coming up to the boat with no more runs, until a BIG shark bit it off 3-4" behind the gills! The mate gaffed what was left and told me "THAT was a 50 pound AJ"... the head would have filled a 5 gallon bucket!
The reel performed flawlessly, with a zero surge, butter smooth drag that impressed all around, and with my homebuilt "Jaws" jigging rod, had the fish beaten on 50 pound mono inside of 5 minutes! 
As it states in the review, the line lay on the spool is a little funky, but what fixed it for me was tightening the spool knob to fighting tension, then reeling all the line back in after walking it out. The spool/drag doesn't compress much when tightened, but that did the trick.
The things that I was looking for were the absolute best drag in smoothness and lbs, line capacity, the lightest possible weight and overall toughness, in a very reasonably priced package. I got it! 
_________________
Dave
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has it's limits". Albert Einstein |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Gotta Catchem All
Horse Mullet
Joined: 10 Jun 2015
Posts: 142
Location: Corpus Christi
|
| Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2017 3:00 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I ordered the Spheros based on yalls advice. Would have bought it from Roys but they were missing the 6k size.
The Quantum Cabo is a SWEET looking reel actually. Beastmode on that AJ lol! If I was gonna use 50 pound line I would be sending the Spheros back in a heartbeat. Cabo may be the next one I get though. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
landlocked beachbum
Full Grown Flour Bluffian
Joined: 09 Apr 2007
Posts: 5811
Location: Little Rock, Arkansas
|
| Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2017 4:33 pm Post subject: |
|
|
The Party boats down there don't anchor, so they get lots of line wraps on the screws. No braid allowed!!!! That sucks for jigging, but what's a guy to do?
50 lb Jinkai mono is pretty freaking stong, and the same diameter as most other's 40 lb, or less. It's the best compromise (to me) between breaking strength, line capacity and limpness. I think that 60 and up would be a tangled mess trying to freeline a jig 200 plus feet down from a spinner......
_________________
Dave
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has it's limits". Albert Einstein |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Nematocyst
Horse Mullet
Joined: 14 Jun 2015
Posts: 135
|
| Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2017 8:14 pm Post subject: Re: Van Staal VR or Shimano Spheros? |
|
|
| Gotta Catchem All wrote: | I'm looking for a spinner with a sealed drag in about the 6000 size. Has anyone used these reels?
Besides the price, and the lb drag, is the only difference that the Van Staal is made with better materials (lighter)? I know a VS would last a lifetime, but wouldn't the Spheros also? |
For someone of your fishing level I would recommend a spincaster. Something like a zebco 33.  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Gotta Catchem All
Horse Mullet
Joined: 10 Jun 2015
Posts: 142
Location: Corpus Christi
|
| Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2017 12:57 am Post subject: |
|
|
Yeah I hate using mono so much now. I reeled in a 15 inch-ish smack on mono and I wasn't even sure if I had a fish on the line with all that stretch! Not fun at all.
Make spin casters great again, future of the sport |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
landlocked beachbum
Full Grown Flour Bluffian
Joined: 09 Apr 2007
Posts: 5811
Location: Little Rock, Arkansas
|
| Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2017 7:49 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I feel your pain on the mono! I made the switch to braid decades ago when the first UHMWPE stuff hit the market. The Kevlar crap sucked.....
The ONLY time that I fish with mono is when I go out on those head boats in Destin. Jigging is hard enough with Spectra braid, but what you put in to it is what's happening down below. The bungee chord mono means that to get a similar action, you REALLY have to get after it!!! I always catch fish using it, but my enjoyment and my right arm would be SOOOOOOOOOOOO
much happier if I could use the braid!
Heck man, the drag on my older Cabo 60 goes up to 26-28 pounds.... can't remember exactly. It also holds SCADS of 65 lb braid. The ONLY reason that I bought the new 80 was so that I could get a (hopefully) sufficient amount of 50 lb mono on there to be reasoable for fishing 30 miles out, in 200+ feet of water, with BIG fish around! The old Cabo 60 holds less 40 lb mono than the new Cabo 80 does 50!!!
_________________
Dave
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has it's limits". Albert Einstein |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
