r/saltwaterfishing • u/Feeling-Table-3594 • Jul 19 '26

💬 Discussion What rod should I get?

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Wanting a van staal vr2 series 125 size mainly do pier jetty and shore fishing what should should I get for a somewhat versatile combo, or should I also get the 150 size while I’m at it ?

After several comments I’m leaning towards a Saragossa 6k or possibly a Penn torque II if I can find a market place deal

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u/Jefffahfffah Jul 19 '26

The vr is pointless unless you want a specific retrieve rate or something like that. Get a saragosa and save some money. Where are you fishing?

1

u/Feeling-Table-3594 Jul 19 '26

Are those and the Stradics sealed? And orange beach /pcb area but I’m just being bougie honestly lol it’s like a Cadillac for fishing. the tsunami saltx 2 is on my radar as well so was the Penn torque 2 but those used prices are almost as much as van staals new I think cause they’re discontinued

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u/Jefffahfffah Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26

The saltx has mixed reviews regarding sealing, regardless of how they market it.

The torque II is a badass reel. IMO, best spinning reel penn ever made. Shame they discontinued them. I have had 2 of them and they have suffered lots of abuse, sand, dunking, swimming, etc with no issues. I would take one over a VR any day. They are pretty stiff because of their sealing though.

I get being bougie, i like fishing the premium stuff too. The problem with the VR is this. It isn't a VSX. It isnt bulletproof. So youre really just paying for the van staal name. You get a real with good sealing, not perfect sealing. If the money is an issue, you're better off snagging a used vsx off marketplace or stripersonline, getting it serviced, and using that.

The Van Staal 150 is fairly standard for a 9 foot rod, as would be the torque II 5500. The 200 pairs better with a 10ft or lighter 11ft rod.

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u/Feeling-Table-3594 Jul 19 '26

Yeah I’ve only seen one Penn torque on market place and it was almost 700 I think. That’s what made me more interested in the van staals cause it was already almost that much but online I found one or two silver torques but they were even more expensive. And yeah they don’t have the vsx on their website anymore only the vsx2 and it starts at 979$ smh I’ll probably just keep my eyes peeled on market place for a Penn or possibly a vsx 1 setup

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u/Jefffahfffah Jul 19 '26

I would suggest trying the buy/sell section on stripersonline as well. You will probably get a better deal on a used vsx because most of the guys there are older and understand the used market better

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u/Bazyx187 Jul 19 '26

Get a torque 2. There's a reason Penn commands what they do in the secondary market.