# Alvey and Plastics?



## theclick (Jun 25, 2007)

Hey all.

A bit of a crazy idea came into my head today. With my shimano's suffering a bit from a few dunkings in the salt, and my Alvey surf reel sitting proudly on the shelf after many years of use and lack of servicing, i wondered "I wonder if you can use an alvey for soft plastics?"

I know casting can get a bit annoying, and there is the issue of line twist so you'd have to go with mono, but considering their casting advantage, and ease of maintenance, I was wondering if there are any Alvey reels suited to throwing plastics in the bay for snapper and sweetlips.

obviously, you would need a small reel, but thats ok. Probably in the 2-3 or 3-6kg range, matched to a 7foot rod. I'm sure this is probably absolutely crazy, but does anyone have any thoughts/idea/information on this?

It may just be a bad idea.


----------



## theclick (Jun 25, 2007)

Initial testing in the pool tells me that it casts fine. Main problem is the weight of the reel, and also tangles. Casting is really damn good.

Would be even better with an appropriate sized alvey  6500 on a 7 foot rod is a bit much. Would think maybe a 500bc would be good. 5kg 

will test for 'reel' on sunday  I don't think its the most accurate system, but for the Bay thats not an issue. I think the extra length, and simplicity might be a bonus in the less windy times of year.


----------



## Dodge (Oct 12, 2005)

theclick said:


> . Would think maybe a 500bc would be good. 5kg


Andy I use a 500BC on a low mount 8' rod with a soft tip, loaded with 9lb mono and it is great on the yak with bait or plastics

Should you get any line twist after a while [I've had no problems to date], just remove all the terminal tackle feed out 100m of line behind you and go for a paddle for 5 minutes and the twist will be removed, and longer you paddle better the result


----------



## theclick (Jun 25, 2007)

Thanks Dodge. Great information from a well knowledged kayaker  Seems it wasn't such a crazy idea.

I jsut don't see why you would use something complicated when you can use something simple just as effectively


----------



## yakfly (Jun 8, 2006)

If twist is a problem,try using a small swivel as the link between main line and leader.Keep the leader length
down around 3-4 feet and you shouldnt damage the runners when you get fish yakside to net it.
As plastics are meant to be fished slowly the Alveys are perfect for this style of fishing.they can still
pull line when you need as I witnessed in the early 80s when I watched a mate hook and land an 8kg spaniard
using poppers off the shore on Flat Top Island out off Mackay.


----------



## TROJAN (Jan 2, 2009)

I use Alveys all the time. I have 9 Alveys reels that I use beach, rock, estuary and deep sea fishing in my boat, and now my Kayak.

I am new to Kayak fishing and I have been fishing with my Alvey 600c with bait and soft plastics from the Kayak. No problem, having heaps of fun and catching fish.

I use to work for Dunphy Sports Shimano as their Warehouse Manager, but I am from the old school and I absolutely love my Alveys reels. I was taught to fish with Alveys reels when I was an Adolescent after football training by renowned fishing expert Ken Appel. Thats all Ken uses is Alvey reels and 90% of guys in my fishing club all use Alveys.

I still use all my Shimano reels as well, but the thing is with Alvey if I dunk it in the salt water, it takes my 2 minutes to service it. If I dunk my expensive Shimano reels in salt water then It takes time to pull them all apart, clean in Kerosine and lubricate it and put them back together or take them to Shimano and get them to service them, which cost dollars.

Alveys are great and they will outlive me to pass on to my kids or someone else.

Cheers Ged


----------



## TROJAN (Jan 2, 2009)

Also great quote from Dodge about "line twist" or you can just tie your mono to a tree or pole and let out 150 feet or so of line and stretch it gently by pulling at it 3 times without breaking it, should get the twist out. Thats what Ken taught me years ago.

Cheers Ged


----------



## tomca (Dec 1, 2007)

i've got a 500bc on an 8' bream rod. I've put 10lb fireline on it as a test and use a tiny swivel to connect a leader. After several trips there was a bit of twist so I did what Dodge said and let out heaps of line and peddled off. Did the trick. I took the advice from the alvey website and loaded the line straight on the spool with no mono backing, so I've only got 125 yards of line. Not planning on hooking a monster so should be fine.


----------

