Van Staal VR50 issues

[Portland Bill]

I originally posted this in the VR50 first impression thread but thought it might get a better response in it's own thread.

 

Hi all, newbie here.

 

I've been using the VR50 for a couple of months and its been doing great, with a couple of exceptions:-

 

1.  Line lay.  Very bad on my reel.  Even with copious hand laying of the backing, I get a "ridge" close to the top end of the spool.  This is created just by the line that's been cast out and retrieved (60 yards maybe?).  It looks like the spool does not sit far enough down on the main shaft.  On most other reels I would remove a washer or 2 but there aren't any to remove on the VR50.  I've also noticed that the spool doesn't sit well on the main shaft cross-piece.  Turn the spool by 180 degrees and it sits fine.  I always make sure that it sits well but still the "ridge" occurs.  See attached pic.

 

2.  Clicker.  The clicker is so quiet I can barely hear it in a quiet room let alone out on the rocks.

 

Anyone else having the same issues?  Any solutions?  Or do I have to live with them?

[Marty]

Is the slick braid- power pro 

[avet4life]

I have the vr50 , 

 

1. no line lay issue, but it can be adjust with washer from the mainshaft in the body.

2. I agree 100% the clicker is weak asss and not loud, i will be making my own clicker, just not have the time.

[Portland Bill]

Its Majorcraft Dangan x8 1.2PE 25lb.  The darker green braid underneath is the same stuff, just hasn't lost its colour yet.

[Portland Bill]

18 mins ago, avet4life said:

I have the vr50 , 

 

1. no line lay issue, but it can be adjust with washer from the mainshaft in the body.

2. I agree 100% the clicker is weak asss and not loud, i will be making my own clicker, just not have the time.

what washer?  i don't see any washers.  I would need to remove washer(s) to lower the spool on the shaft

[JoelJ]

 .

Edited September 20, 2018 by JoelJ

[Baitbucket]

Spinning reels line lay can be adjusted by the small washers (shims) under the spool. This is why many reels come with a small bag of various thicknesses. In your case you want to remove it and replace with a thinner one. If there is more than one on there allready, just remove one and see how it looks.

Edited September 20, 2018 by Baitbucket

[Portland Bill]

2 mins ago, Baitbucket said:

Spinning reels line lay can be adjusted by the small washers (shims) under the spool. This is why many reels come with a small bag of various thicknesses. In your case you want to remove it and replace with a thinner one. If there is more than one on there allready, just remove one and see how it looks.

But there are no washers on the VR50

[fishless]

No line lay issues on mine after several months of use.  Clicker I find to be just about right.  Fishing at night I prefer the more modest sound of this clicker than a very loud one that alarms the fleet off in the dark distance that a fish is on nearby.  Next thing you know it's like the walking dead and ppl come walking towards the sound. 

[jesgord]

Only issue I have had is with "wind knots".  I spooled it myself with multi-color 20lb J-Braid.  I am attributing the wind knots to a combination of not enough tension when spooling/over filling the spool, and/or user error when pencil popping.  Wish I had gone with 14Lb Fireline instead.  Line lay is good, though.  Live and learn.

Edited September 20, 2018 by jesgord

[Beachglass Guru]

Fishing mine over 6 months.. no line lay issues at all.. 

Drag clicker was almost silent and that bothered me.. so I fixed it and it took less than 1 minute to do so..

 

Under the spool you will see the clicker.. the volume is controlled by the tensioner (small metal clip) on the top.. 

Clip is held in place at the two ends that slide into the sides of the "clicker box"... slide the ends out.. you will see that the tensioner is curved (bent) down towards the center.. just make the bend a little deeper.. that's it.  Now put it back on (slide the two side ends into the slots they belong in)..

 

Done.  Now your clicker can be as loud as you want it to be ... 

 

[StripedBasstardz]

I'm using PP Maxcuatro 20lb on both of my VR50's. I think line lay is near perfect.

Edited September 20, 2018 by StripedBasstardz

[Portland Bill]

1 hour ago, Beachglass Guru said:

Fishing mine over 6 months.. no line lay issues at all.. 

Drag clicker was almost silent and that bothered me.. so I fixed it and it took less than 1 minute to do so..

 

Under the spool you will see the clicker.. the volume is controlled by the tensioner (small metal clip) on the top.. 

Clip is held in place at the two ends that slide into the sides of the "clicker box"... slide the ends out.. you will see that the tensioner is curved (bent) down towards the center.. just make the bend a little deeper.. that's it.  Now put it back on (slide the two side ends into the slots they belong in)..

 

Done.  Now your clicker can be as loud as you want it to be ... 

 

Great, thanks! I can hear it now! 

[Portland Bill]

2 mins ago, StripedBasstardz said:

I'm using PP Maxcuatro 20lb on both of my VR50's. I think line lay is near perfect.

That does look good

[bbfish]

A loud clicker on any reel is a huge negative to me. Who wants to call attention to the fact your catching fish?

 

mine has performed pretty flawlessly.  Bones, albies and skippies offshore, bass to 25 lbs on top of weakies/blues inshore...if they weren’t so expensive I’d order another!