[spinner1]

do any of you guys use alvey reels for their durability or are they just to impractical because of their size and limited drag etc. The reason I ask is that im sick of destroying reels when the happen to fall in the water or any number of stupid things that I do to my gear. I was just given an older alvey reel that is quite small and thought I would give it a go. Any info would be great. Cheers Pil

 

[yakfly]

gday pil
theres nothing wrong with using alveys mate.short of hitting them with a sledge hammer theyre pretty much unbreakable.i still have my 6 inch alvey i bought as a junior club fisho back in late 70s.parts are also relatively easy to get as i found out when i dropped the old bakelite spool on the concrete inside a week i had a new fibreglass one.Ive seen most species caught from whiting through to spanish mackeral on alveys.you can get them with a drag so you dont have worry about your knuckles getting belted around.As long as you use a swivel on your rig,the main bugbear of linetwist can cancelled out.I still use mine on a 9ft soft action rod coupled with 4lb fireline when chasing the usual estuary species in my tinnie.provided the outfit is balanced you shouldnt have too many problems.SPs will be a breeze as they can cast unweighted baits/lures with ease.

 

[fishtales]

I'm another Alvey user. I don't use it for yak fishing, but when bait fishing for bream it always comes along. And they are tough, I have had mine for about 13-15 years.

Chris

 

[Dodge]

Spinner no problem with an alvey mate, great reels and I own a bunch of them...bullet proof if you include the small swivel

If you find the older posts of Breambo he was using one from an espri in the surf zone with great success, you will have to go back a bit in Reports as he's moved from the coast now

 

[rawprawn]

I have one that I use on the beach and it's bullet proof. I have had it for years and I know that every year I pull it out it's going to work. Just dust it off and she's ready for action.

I haven’t used it from the yak yet but no reason to think it would perform as normal.

 

[spinner1]

thanks for the info gents. I just need to get out there and see how it goes hope the weather in sydney plays ball this week so I can get out. Once again thanks will see you out there. Cheers

 

[spooled1]

What they all said!

I generally use mine between easter and the october long weekend for Jewies off the rocks. Nothing beats that 1:1 gear ratio when you have a good fish on. Downside is pelagic season when a faster retrieve is better for chucking lures.