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About atvanast

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  • Birthday 10/26/1999

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    Sarasota, FL
  1. Get in contact Vs and the shop you bought the reel from. They will mostly likely work something out like they did for me. My reel is still in use now and I haven’t had the issue happen again, but I’m going to send it in for warranty soon. Unfortunately it seems like a more common problem so not sure if getting a new reel will completely resolve the issue.
  2. Depends on if you mean portable as in can be used on the boat and on land or portable as in can be taken of the boat. The only difference would be whether the well is recirculating or pumping ocean water throughout the system. I have pictures of a recirc well I built if you would like to see them, recir wells can keep a surprising amount of bait alive as long as your well is above 25 gallons, preferably 50 (I've kept 300+ peanut size pogy/menhaden alive in mine for hours along with a ton of pilchards, a few dozen threadfin which are very fragile baits). I can also get pictures of my buddies live well he built with a 50 gallon drum that pumps water through for his boat. Either way buy a pump, a sprayhead, some tubing, hose clamps, marine glue, and try to secure a 50 gallon drum. There are multiple videos on youtube explaining the process of making one, but they are pretty simple to make. This is the pump I use you can also go with the 800 gallon per hour pump, but it will drain more battery life and I don't think it makes a huge difference in the life time of the baits.
  3. looks great! but i'm afraid that the shoelace will wear out very easily especially if you are laying the rod against rocks, boat rails, rod holders, bridges, ect. I would recommend tuna cord if your previous wrap wears out. I wrapped one of my rod butts with it and it has held up very well considering how much it is rubbed against boat rails and concrete bridge rails.
  4. lol, i've never felt one but always assumed they they are garbage, just seems like overhyped social media bs, plus I live in florida and none of the tackle shops (in my area at least) even carry them so I also doubt they live up to their price.
  5. Okay cool I’ll probably place a order sometime this week
  6. Hi dan, Are the mustad hooks you use 1x or 2x strong?
  7. Depends on what you classify as a good gear ratio, for a lot of saltwater applications a slow gear is superior, as a lower gear ratio equals more power. That's why 2-speed 2:1 lever drags are made, so you have more power to move a fish.
  8. Van staals have been really popular in the florida piers for the past 15-20 years, definitely an argument to be made that there are better suited reels for that application. First gen stella was made in 1993, but I don't think they had the popularity or the capabilities they have today, until the sw model in 2012. Van staals have remained largely the same since the 90's, they hold a **** ton of line and have ample drag. My theory is that van staals may have been the most capable reel at one time and have stuck around since then, also they are one of the only bailess options (not necessary many pier guys like the bailess reels). Plus they look cool so that probably plays into it, when the younger guys at the pier see the old pier rats catching more fish than them on a van staal they will probably buy one (my self included). There is definitely a elitist club of guys using custom rods and van staals. I have seen some more saltigas and a few stellas at the jetties and piers in the past few years, but van staals far outweigh them in popularity, despite the saltigas/stellas having better drag systems. The main reasons staals have retained their popularity is that they last forever and can get banged up, they hold a lot of line, and they look cool as hell.
  9. Hydro pencil is a great bait, very solid hardware out of the box and walks well. I've caught lots of snook, seatrout, and a few smaller tarpon on the bronze and mullet color.
  10. That reel is probably a little too light for that rod and your application, I would look into a daiwa BG 3k or 4k. Or for a slightly nicer reel the daiwa saltist back bay 4k. I think a BG 4k would be perfect (relatively cheap, but will last a lifetime).
  11. I am not criticizing, but I would like to open your eyes to spell check.
  12. Craig, thank you for reaching out I will send you a PM. Edit: I tried to send you a pm but it says you can not receive them. I am currently away from home and the reel is in use. It has held up past week, but I definitely want to get it looked at. I’ll shoot you an email next week to get this figured out .
  13. If you get bigger baits just hook in the anal fin and they will swim down, even if you free line out a nose hooked croaker it will go to the bottom without any weight. Those gamblers will probably work if the surf is up or the sun isn’t out yet. As far as tides on the beach I don’t think it matters as much unless you are near a inlet, but as long as the tide is moving you should be good. Incoming will Have clearer water and better conditions for sight fishing, but the outgoing can be just as good. Also don’t be afraid to try at night since it will be a full moon next week the fish will be feeding heavy at night.
  14. While you are probably right that vs can’t handle tuna, snook and tarpon are a completely different and don’t pull as hard or long as a tuna, (plus and snook can’t sustain a long run under heavy drag, and you can’t lock up drag on a tarpon and not break off). So I wouldn’t call my application big game, considering snook rarely get bigger than 35lbs and when you tuna fish you have the potential to hook a 200-300 fish at any time. And as far as rope goes, that is definitely the most effective way to apply pressure to a fish that why people use them when messing around with Goliaths, but you can’t cast a lure very far on a rope...
  15. UPDATE We’ll I went fishing last night at a jetty, the reel preformed flawlessly on 2 smaller snook, and handled this 36 inch fish with out any issues. Definitely a love hate relationship with the reel so far. IMG_8845.MOV