Real World Tests: I first fished the Vanford FA at Lake Champlain last July with Bob Mahoney, Freshwater Marketing Manager at Shimano. From that first experience I noted how the reel felt lighter on startup, and more refined overall. That initial experience left me eager to see how the Vanford would perform over extended use, especially on my home waters of the California Delta and surrounding fisheries.

Time to cast the Vanford on our home water

Since then, I’ve spent six months fishing the new Vanford from the deck of my own boat, targeting both largemouth and spotted bass. I paired the reel with a variety of rods, including the new GLX series, as well as models from Megabass and Trika. All testing in this review was conducted using 10lb PowerPro Spectra braided line, paired with 6lb and 8lb Shimano Mastiff or Seaguar Tatsu fluorocarbon leaders.

Like other Shimano spinning reels the Vanford casts well. In fact it casts very similarly to last season's model

Casting: Like most spinning reels, the Vanford FA casts well, with overall casting distance and handling largely influenced by the type of line used. I found it easy to cast with braided lines and both long and short fluorocarbon leaders. Designed for precision, this reel excels in vertical techniques and targeted casts, making it especially effective when fishing with live sonar.

A long stroke winds line all the way to the base of the spool evenly

The only casting issue I encountered is something common among spinning reels with a long-stroke spool design. The Vanford is engineered to optimize both feel and line lay, ensuring an even distribution from the bottom to the very top of the spool. However, when the spool reaches its maximum extension, the top can occasionally make contact with the bail when flipping it over to cast. While this doesn’t happen often, it can occur in a small percentage of casts, requiring a quick reel adjustment before proceeding.

At full extension the bail can impact the lip of the spool

Overall, the new Vanford FA casts exceptionally well, and in all of our tests, casting distance and handling were virtually identical to the previous Vanford (VF3000XGF) model.

Smooth loops on the cast

Retrieving: While the Vanford isn’t designed to be as rock-solid or powerful as reels like the Stella, it still holds its own in the retrieve department. It feels very smooth with finesse baits and remains surprisingly capable under load. The CI4+ composite body gives anglers a highly connected feel -almost as if the reel is an extension of the rod itself. Vibrations are transmitted clearly through the reel, making techniques like drop shotting or fishing a Ned rig feel ultra-responsive and fluid.

When working baits I found the new Vanford more precise feeling than the last version

The Vanford’s limitations become more noticeable when fishing baits with high water resistance, such as oversized bladed jigs or crankbaits. In these scenarios, the reel lacks the power and fluidity of Shimano’s higher-end, aluminum-based CoreSolid reels.

Think of the Vanford like a lightweight, carbon-tub sports car - its responsiveness is exceptional, allowing you to feel every nuance, but it’s not built for brute-force applications. For techniques that demand instant reaction and precision, it excels. It quickly became one of my go-to reels for drop shotting, moping, and finesse jigs.

The Vanford’s ultra-light rotor start-up and stopping power help keep anglers engaged the moment the bait enters the strike zone. This is particularly beneficial when using live sonar, such as Livescope. With the Vanford, I could precisely position baits, observe fish reactions in real-time, and make immediate adjustments to trigger strikes. If you're looking for a top-tier "scope and rope" reel, the Vanford FA feels purpose-built for this modern approach.

The new reel's drag has been improved as well. We inspected the reel's drag after six months of use

Drag: The Vanford FA utilizes Shimano’s DuraCross drag system, which blends multiple materials to create a smoother, more reliable drag. Instead of relying on a traditional steel-and-carbon or steel-and-felt setup, DuraCross integrates woven felt, composites, and steel, combining the smooth performance of felt with the adjustability and durability of carbon. In our lab tests, the system delivered 19.4 lbs of max drag pressure, just shy of the rated 20 lbs. Out on the water, I found it easy to adjust, and it provided consistently smooth performance, even under the strain of aggressive fish runs.

The Vanford makes use of a lot of felt woven in patterns that increase pressure while remaining smooth. This new system feels as refined as previous generation reels but is also significantly more powerful

Historically, Shimano’s spinning reel drags haven’t always matched the sheer stopping power of some competitors with 20+ lb max ratings. However, the DuraCross system not only protects light lines exceptionally well under pressure but now also competes in max drag output. The near 20 lbs of drag observed in our tests is a significant jump from the 15.2 lbs measured in the original Vanford.

While this increase in stopping power is a welcome improvement, smooth and reliable performance is ultimately more important on a 500 to 3000-sized spinning reel. For anglers targeting bass and smaller inshore species, the Vanford’s drag system is more than sufficient. The only scenarios where additional drag pressure might be desirable are when fighting steelhead or striped bass. Even then, with the Vanford’s drag properly set, combined with the rod’s flex - will keep fish pinned, even during prolonged, drag-heating runs.

The MGL rotor is key to the light feeling rotation and is an asymmetrical design which relocates the bail arm mechanism to the opposite side of the rotor to improve overall balance. The result is a significant reduction in rotational inertia and because the rotor is stronger and more rigid even the drag benefits from the design 

Next Section: Optimized for finesse?