[true-king]

i'm thinking of getting a staal in a few months and was wondering about which type to get.i don't know much about manuals, is there any advantage in getting one? i havehad a full-bail on all my reels. any other advice is much appreciated.

 

[nb&twil]

what size are you looking at? because not all sizes have the bail option... and what type of fishing do you plan on doing most? that will help answer your question.

 

[true-king]

nb&twil (11/1/2007)what size are you looking at? because not all sizes have the bail option... and what type of fishing do you plan on doing most? that will help answer your question.

looking at either the 200 or 250. will be doing pier, kayak, boat, andsurf fishing; so i guess every type of fishing

 

[HammerTime25-06]

I have a 150 & a 250 both with manuals . If u are fishing from the Pier I would definately get a manual . It takes no time at all to get used to them . If you dont feel comfortable with a manual though you willfeel like you wasted a lot of money . It's all in what you like .

 

[JoshH]

Whats the advantages of a reel without a bail?

 

[Corpsman]

For those who know how to use one (not me) they are faster.

 

[true-king]

Corpsman (11/1/2007)For those who know how to use one (not me) they are faster.

is this in the way that the line can be put into the rollermore quicklyafter a cast?

 

[John B.]

my turn... hehe

the advantages to a manual are being able to freespool faster, cast and get the line on the roller faster, and are pretty much a must-have for pier fishing...

situation, you have a live bait out on the end of the pier, and a 30lb king comes out of nowhere and skys on your bait, instead of fumbling around with a bail, and having to use your left hand to flip it, you can use your right index finger to simply knock the line off the manual.... and then, after you're done freespooling, if the fish is hauling ass, you have a much better chance of getting a solid hookset, because you can get the line on the manual the first time, instead of attemting to flip a bail multimple times.

another situation, a ray comes in with about 6 cobia on it... you will be able to make quite a few more shots, accurate shots, because you can get the line on your finger faster, with only using your right index finger. and also, when in those high-adrenaline situations, it will be very damn frustrating to have a hungrey cobia right in front of you, and your bail close while in mid-cast, often times resulting in your jig popping off.:banghead

granted using a manual will take lots of practice to get used to, i believe it is definatly more efficient... and also, you won't have to worry about the bail spring breaking (usually the first thing to F up)... actually, you wouldn't have to worry about that, because a VSB doesn't even have a bail spring,... you have to flip the bail both ways by hand, before and after you cast:banghead

i think a manual will be your best bet, and it's cheaper too... hope this helps.

 

[John B.]

http://www.vanstaal.com/manual_bail.html

VIDEO ON HOW TO USE A MANUAL!!!

hope this helps.

 

[true-king]

VS200B (11/1/2007)my turn... hehe

the advantages to a manual are being able to freespool faster, cast and get the line on the roller faster, and are pretty much a must-have for pier fishing...

and your bail close while in mid-cast, often times resulting in your jig popping off.:banghead

i see how this is a definate advantage. and yes, i have had jigs pop off because of the bail closing. not fun.

 

[mpmorr]

VS200B (11/1/2007)my turn... hehe

the advantages to a manual are being able to freespool faster, cast and get the line on the roller faster, and are pretty much a must-have for pier fishing...

situation, you have a live bait out on the end of the pier, and a 30lb king comes out of nowhere and skys on your bait, instead of fumbling around with a bail, and having to use your left hand to flip it, you can use your right index finger to simply knock the line off the manual.... and then, after you're done freespooling, if the fish is hauling ass, you have a much better chance of getting a solid hookset, because you can get the line on the manual the first time, instead of attemting to flip a bail multimple times.

another situation, a ray comes in with about 6 cobia on it... you will be able to make quite a few more shots, accurate shots, because you can get the line on your finger faster, with only using your right index finger. and also, when in those high-adrenaline situations, it will be very damn frustrating to have a hungrey cobia right in front of you, and your bail close while in mid-cast, often times resulting in your jig popping off.:banghead

granted using a manual will take lots of practice to get used to, i believe it is definatly more efficient... and also, you won't have to worry about the bail spring breaking (usually the first thing to F up)... actually, you wouldn't have to worry about that, because a VSB doesn't even have a bail spring,... you have to flip the bail both ways by hand, before and after you cast:banghead

i think a manual will be your best bet, and it's cheaper too... hope this helps.

I dont know crud about manual and cant cast a baitcaster worth crap, but all I have used my whole life is bail spinning reels. I love them. But believe it or not, that may be the best post I have ever seen you make. It was eloquent and humble ish. Nice job VS. I am impressed, and that is not easy to do.:bowdown

 

[John B.]

haha... thanks Mike!... i liked the "humble ish" part

 

[JoshH]

I see how they can be better...but I can also see where some 30 pound Power Pro has a chance to cut your index finger when a 30 pound King hits your bait. I guess its in the technique

 

[John B.]

wishiniwasfishin07 (11/1/2007)I see how they can be better...but I can also see where some 30 pound Power Pro has a chance to cut your index finger when a 30 pound King hits your bait. I guess its in the technique

same chance with a bail... personally, i don't think there is a king out there that you can't catch on 15lb mono... i've caught 3 kings over 40lbs on 15lb mono... well, one was on 17lb sufix... rule of thumb (or lack there of) friends don't let friends use braid for mackerel fishing:doh

 

[nb&twil]

good point, but ive always had more success with mono (12-20lb) for kings.... seems like itwould be dangerous having a smoker screaming braided line off a reel whether it has a bail or not!

 

[John B.]

nb&twil (11/1/2007)good point, but ive always had more success with mono (12-20lb) for kings.... seems like itwould be dangerous having a smoker screaming braided line off a reel whether it has a bail or not!

it usually results in bad things, IE, broken reels, missing body parts... things like that.

 

[kingfish501]

I use Gorilla braid on my Luxor, and have had to knock it off the roller many times.Same with getting it back on the roller, never been cut by the braid.So long as you fingertip braid you are okay, but don't let it get in the crease of your finger(for that matter, mono either, bail or no bail)Had to dig 15 pound mono out of a dude's index crease on PC pier when a 50 pound king smoked his hardtail.

A manual is much faster than a bail for a snap-cast, and I have seen way too many bails flopping rapidly without closing on fast fish such as kings, sails, etc.My bait catching reels are the only bailed reels I own.

 

[seanspots]

I fish manuals and thats my choice.When live baiting,I keep the line on my finger,when the fish eats,I give it

line and raise my rod up at the same time( this gives the fish time to swallow the bait)as I am lowering the rod,the line is put back on the manual and setting the hook(or "jacking up").This all takes place very fast and smooth and requires a little practice but becomes instinct after a little while.I see bail fishers leaving the line on the roller and have a really loose drag.When the fish eats,they slowly tighten their drag and set the hook.You can also fish the bail the same way as I previously mentioned like the manual method but just more to get in the way or break.It is all personal preference.

 

[seminolewind]

Well put VS could'nt have said it better myself. Does anyone know if they make a manual conversion kit for a Penn 8500 I know they make them for the 704 but thought I saw one at one point for the 8500?

 

[konz]

I've been thinking of getting a old reel with a manual bail so I can try it out. I normally just loosen the drag and then tighten and set. This does seem like it would take too long when not useing circle hooks. I think I'll buy me an old mitchell to try this out on.