Van Staal VM -150

The VM150 isVan Staals way of giving you all the original features of the Van Staal but in a more modern package. Still built to handle anything you can throw at them, the VM150 features stainless steel main and pinion gears, handle arm and bail holder. The stainless gears give you immense strength but as with all stainless on stainless gears there is a bit of noise that comes with that.

The exterior of the VM150 is machined aluminium. This goes from the body, side cover, spool, arm lever, handle knob and even up to the drag know – there is not much that isnt built out of the light and tough machined aluminium.

A noticeable feature of this reel is that it now has, wait for it, interchangeable handles. No longer are you just stuck with a left or right hand wind reel. If for nothing else this increases Van Staals customer base and the re-sale value of such a high end reel.

They have kept it short and sweet internally. 5 ball bearings in all the right places, a 4.9:1 ration with a one way anti reverse bearing. The drag pulls an impressive 15kg plus of pressure through its carbon fibre drag washers.

If your after all the toughness of the original VS, with the added practicality of modern design, then its hard to look past the VM150 for all of your heavy duty spinning, popping and jigging needs.

For more information, check out http://www.vanstaal.com/VM150_reels.htm

Ryobi Carnelian blends in well

The Ryobi Carnelian seems to have all the traits of a heavy duty spinner. Sealed side plates, all metal body, carbon fiber drag capable of 15kg+,one piece bail and much more. And coming in at around $250-300AUD the Carnelian is priced into the entry level heavy duty spinning reel market.

Time will tell whether these budget priced reels stand up to the toughness they appear to have. This could be a serious contender to compete against the current heavy duty reels in that range such as the Finnor offshores and Shimano Spheros. Stay tuned.

The Ryobi Carnelian has an all-metal body featuring a rubber-sealed side plate, waterproofing it from saltwater intrusion. The all-metal rotor has a stainless steel cover plate and a unique one-piece bail arm. The bail mechanism grips securely when the thick bail wire is opened, thanks to clever design using a rubber ring underneath the rotor.

The aluminium spool is secured with an aluminium drag knob—yes, even this minor part is built tough—and it has another rubber seal to stop saltwater reaching the washers. Further attention to detail is evident in the two line clips on the spool—both are spring-loaded so you can secure heavy leader.

The machined handle’s screw fitting and shaft are thick stainless steel. The oval rubber handle knob is comfortable for jigging, offering good grip, and when you pull back you can feel the solid instant anti-reverse design that features two (yes, two) heavy-duty one-way clutches, for extra strength and security when fighting big fish with a heavy drag.

Inside, the robust stainless steel main shaft runs right through the reel to a support at the rear. This added strength combines with a patented Ryobi block-and-shaft design for ultimate gear meshing security when the reel is winding under extreme loads.

The two-part drag comprises a multi-stack stainless steel and carbon fibre set-up, both above and below the spool. This double drag system delivers an easy 15kg of power, with plenty more in reserve if you can handle it.

The 4.4:1 gear ratio offers torque for the tough fights and the ample spool diameter will deliver speed when needed.

The top shelf waterproof-, strength- and power-orientated design features of the Carnelian—plus the premium parts used throughout the reel, the big line capacity and quality double drag system—all combine to make this big Ryobi an absolute bucket-load of reel for the money. www.jarviswalker.com.au

Daiwa Certate 2010 review

For years now Daiwa has led the rest of the market in clever innovation and design. It is this reinvention of their product, year after year that has reinforced their standpoint as one of the worlds leading fishing tackle providers. The 2010-2011 season is no exception, with the introduction of the new 2010 Certate.

 

 

From the ground up the new Certate has a completely different feel mainly to do with two headlining technologies MAG SEAL and AIR ROTOR.

The MAG SEAL in the Certate is utilised under the rotor, where the pinion exits the body of the reel. In previous attempts to form a seal, gaskets were used but this creates friction between the pinion gear and the gasket and consequently winding inertia.

The new MAG SEAL aims to essentially to make the reel impenetrable to saltwater corrosion, a fisherman’s worst enemy, that and sunburn. Daiwa have done this by very cleverly combining A) grease with B) microscopic metal filings which together don’t make anything special, just a grease with metal filings in it. But as the name suggests add magnets to the equation and suddenly the compound becomes magnetized sticking to the surrounding metals thus forming a barrier against saltwater.

AIR ROTOR is a super light rotor design, made to cut down on the overall weight of the reel and increase sensitivity. No new technologies have been used here, the rotor is constructed of Daiwa’s trademark ZAION material. A material they claim to be just as light as magnesium but 30% stronger and of course being a blend of plastics and graphite’s the material is 100% saltwater friendly. They have also lightened the feel of the rotor by cutting out the excess weight. A simple but very effective concept that lightens the package considerably.

Along with the sleek new looking features of the 2010 Certate the internal gearing of the reel has also received an upgrade. It now boasts DIGIGEAR II which is constructed of super lightweight aluminium main gear and and a brass pinion gear for sustained ultra smooth meshing of the gears. Also worth noting compared to the original DIGIGEAR system the main gear is now considerably larger which under load will increase the low down torque and cranking power of the reel.

The 2010 Certate is available in 7 sizes in the standard gearing and 3 sizes in the all new released Hi-Gear Custom Models. Which one you buy will weigh heavily weigh on the type of fishing you intend to do. The 1003, 2004 and 2506 models are fitted with Ultra Finesse spools which pull 2-3kg of super smooth drag ideal for lighter lines of 4-8lbs. Where as the standard models are capable of pulling up to 7kg of drag much more suited to harder faster running fish.

Whatever your choice the Certate 2010 is a long term investment with the well implemented technologies, this reel has been engineered to meet all your fishing demands.

Daiwa Saltiga 3500 and 4000 available now

Think of all the things you love about your 2010 model Saltiga, and shrink it. Thats what Daiwa Japan has done in releasing the increasingly popular 3500H and 4000 size models.

These two pint sized packages pack quite a punch(that was a mouthful!). Daiwa has been struggling to keep up with demand for these two new sizes and its no wonder with more and people anglers chasing smaller reels to target large species. The 3500H is only available in Japan, but some 4000′s have just landed in Australia. They can be had for around 1000 of your finest dollars.

I won’t go into too much detail for now but hopefully I will be able to have a hands on or on-the-water test with one of these bad boys soon. Stay tuned..

New 2011 Daiwa Freams hitting aussies shores this winter

Daiwa is due to release the new 2011 Freams range this winter. Not too much info out yet, but they have designed around the successful Magseal feature that has been introduced into the current Saltiga and Certates. However this new, budget version of the Magseal is going to be sold under the new “Oil Seal” tag. While I’m sure its not going to perform quite as well as the increasingly popular Magseal, it is a welcome addition to a relatively low price point reel.

Oil Shield not only prevents water intrusion it also provides smoother revolution to the rotor system and increases sensitivity. Anglers will feel more connected to lures, detect more bites and fight fish with ease. Real design and real technological development for ‘reel sensitivity’.

The new Freams also features an Air rotor, Zaion body, ABSII and an ultimate tournament drag. Available in 3 sizes 2000,2500 & 3000 its due for release mid winter 2011 in Australia.

Canyon Reels tackling the big game market

Canyon reels have been working with fisherman to create custom upgrade parts for some time now. They have now gone into the reel market themselves, manufacturing heavy duty overheads for jigging, bottom fishing and trolling purposes.

The HS-15 and HS-30 are both jigging reels built with some impressive features including a CNC machined one piece aluminum frame, shielded stainless bearings and marine grade anti-corrosive components. There Canyon EX trolling reels the EX-16 and EX-30 also feature similar features.

The entire range is available in a wide variety of colours and combinations and are very moderatly priced for what you get. While I’m yet to water test one, on paper at least these reels seem to add up to a great combination of performance features and value.

Morethan Branzino 2508SH LBD ready for a march debut

Daiwa is kicking off a new Japanese trend in lever drag spinning reels. Designed for Seabass the latest Branzino addition features this unique “Lever Break Drag” . Details are sketchy at the moment but lets hope they have done it right, as there has been plenty of “attempts” at lever drag/braked spinning reels that have risen only to end up collecting dust at tacklestores.

The 2508SH is due for a march release in Japan and its bound to be followed by plenty other similar designed competitors reels in the very near future. RRP around 64,000JPY

Model – 2508SH LBD
Gear ratio – 6.2
Drag - 6.0kg
Weight – 265g
Line capacity 8lb-150m, 12lb-100m PE 1.0-200m, PE 1.5-150m
Bearings – 12CRBB

Accurate Boss Extreme Reels: BX-600N

Accurate USA has sent Tackle Tester a BX-600N reel to review with the Synit DeepShot Seriola this Sambo season!

Accurate BX-600N reel

The BX-600N is a designed, manufactured and assembled in USA overhead, with an estimated capacity of 300m of PE8. It features a patended TwinDrag system, 7 Class 5 ABEC stainless steel bearings, Titanium friction washers and Stainless Steel gears.

Specification
Gear Ratio; 4:1
Gear Inches; 82.5cm
Weight; quoted: 680g, actual: 665g

We hope to do a little dry benchmarking over the next few weeks before taking it out to the barges for some some Sambo action. Those not familiar, Seriola hippos are a fantastic target when they’re really firing and best targeted by jigging on PE8. These fish reach sizes of up to 55kg and anyone with Seriola experience will know that these guys can really pull some string!

New Daiwa Saltiga due out Autumn 2010

Due out in Autumn 2010, the new 2010 Daiwa Saltiga 4500-5000 sizes are sure to turn heads. The larger brothers the 6000-6500 sizes are due for release early 2011. Daiwa has decided to keep anglers on the edge of their seats, by releasing the official product information, once a week over a 7 week period.

Part 1 (August 9) Rod & Reel: Item Information Release

Part 2 (August 16)
Technology developer speaks (① Part Reel): Magushirudo

3rd (August 23)
Technology developer speaks (② Part Lille): Zaionearota

4th (August 30)
Technology developer speaks (③ Reel Guide): UTD (Arutimettotonamentodoragu)

5th (6 September)
Technology developer speaks (Part rod): X & 3D Torque Carbon Cross (3DX)

6th (Wednesday September 15, ※ This week only)
Specifications and pricing announced

Shimano Trinidad A Series Preview

After over a decade on the market, the world famous Shimano Trinidad series has received an overhaul and out comes the new Trinidad A Series.

While the reels were virtually flawless the main issue with the original Trinidad was the lack of drag pressure. The whole drag system has been updated along with modern gearing. Aesthetically they look almost identical except for the obvious transition from gold to the every popular gunsmoke grey theme.

For me one of the most exciting changes to the Trinidad series is the addition of the Tini-Trini…A Trinidad 10A. The original 12 Trinidad was a bit of a well kept secret amongst angling crowds but because of this the sales were not as expected and Shimano Australia dropped the 12 from the original range. No doubt the 12A and the new 10A will quickly come cult favorites, complimenting the rest of the range 14A, 16NA, 16A, 20A and 30A.

• High Efficiency Gearing (HEG)
• X-Ship Gear Support System for enhanced Efficiency,Power and Smoothness
• Dartainium II Drag for High Pressures and Durability
• Super Free (SF) for incredible freespool and castability
• E.I. Surface Treatment for extreme corrosion protection
• Ultra-Lightweight Cold Forged Aluminum Magnumlite Spool with E.I.
• Compact, One-Piece Cold Forged AL Frame and Left Sideplate Deign with E.I.
• One-Piece Cold Forged and Machined AL Right Sideplate with E.I.
• Super Stopper® with Silent Twin Pawl Assist Stopper
• Manual Metal Clutch Lever with Corrosion Prevention Pad

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