Watch
the video >>
 |
NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE! See the complete collection of Van Staal apparel |
 Gary "Toad" Stevens with 54.8# striped bass caught in the surf on July 4th, 2008, Montauk, NY. |
Gary “The Toad” Stephens is one of Montuak, NY’s preeminent surf casters. Toad is an icon on the beaches of Montauk and if there’s fish on the beach “Toad” won’t be far behind. Known as one of the most colorful characters in Montauk and possibly the loudest, “Toad” is always happy to help out his fellow surfcaster. “Toad” is a proponent of catch and release and releases 99% of the fish he catches to help insure a healthy fishery for years to come.
Gary “The Toad” became a field tester for Van Staal in 2003 and helps Van Staal exhaustively test all of the new Van Staal products and any upgrades that may become part of your next VS Reel. We appreciate all of Gary “The Toad’s” efforts in Van Staal’s pursuit to make the best products available. About this monster catch, Stephens says, "it was 1989 since I landed my last 53 lb. bass in Montauk and had no idea how long it would be until I caught my second. For 19 years I just kept saying to my self that every cast could be that one fish that everybody dreams about. I kept saying that to myself and hoped that one of those casts would pay off. Well, persistence and non stop efforts finally paid off. . .this time with 54.8 lbs!" "I would like to tell every body that with persistence and “non-stop” efforts a trophy fish like this can come your way. Keep Plugging and may one day a trophy find it’s way to your plug." |
NO CHALLENGE TOO EXTREME
You won't find weak die-cast aluminum or plastic in these parts. Van Staal premium spinning reels are expertly crafted from high-grade titanium and steel, the same materials used to build today's advanced aircraft. And this means unyielding strength and consistent peak performance each and every time you tackle the mighty ocean. Read More >>
TACKLING ANY FISH ON THE FLY
Van Staal's breakthrough C-VEX series - named for the convex engineering that makes these reels among the strongest on the market – are brilliantly simple, with a large arbor design that is ultra-smooth and ultra-powerful. Read More >>