Alvey reel users

[slothparade]

I recently started looking into alvey brand products as I have a couple and was quite curious. I found that there seems to be an alvey reel for basically everything. My main question is does anyone actually use an alvey for anything but beach fishing? Im not a big fan of mine, hence bearly ever use it. But now im really questioning if it would be worth taking out chasing some snapper. 

My next question is, do people actually use them for just general fishing and what do you spool them with? Also are they any good, I just find mine meh, does what i want it to and it works. Is there an advantage or even a reason to use alveys? does anyone spool braid onto them? 

Also are they a kind of alternative to overheads? They seem to hold a stupid amount of line, so Im guessing it would compete with the smaller overhead sizes? 

Thanks, im not planning on buying any just curious about them. 

[noelm]

Lots of advantages, and disadvantages, there is many models, some direct drive, some with a drag, all catch fish, can't say using braid will be a big hit, because you use your finger on the line a lot, you might end up being called ".stumpy" and line twist can be an issue, a big tangle with braid is not a lot of fun.

[Green Hornet]

I don't do a lot of it these days, but when bait fishing I'll always use an Alvey. Beach, rocks or estuary they are a great reel for the purpose. A real plus with them is being able to slowly wind a bait along the bottom or through the water column and still be able to keep a finger on the line to feel for bites. I use this technique to great effect is when chasing whiting in the estuary or on the beach. The direct wind of an A or E series reel is also a huge advantage off the rocks when chasing dirty fighters like drummer and groper only giving line to a fish when you absolutely need to, rather than relying on a drag system. 

A well set up Alvey will always outcast a spin reel and with the long, soft rods that suit them, soft baits casting off is rarely a problem when lobbing one out as well.

As @noelmsays, be wary if using braid. It will cut your finger to the bone unless you wear some kind of protection (Alvey make a glove suited for the purpose). Most dedicated Alvey users prefer a low stretch mono. 

Out of a boat/kayak where casting distance isn't so important, there's probably no advantage over spin or overhead gear.

 

[slothparade]

1 hour ago, noelm said:

Lots of advantages, and disadvantages, there is many models, some direct drive, some with a drag, all catch fish, can't say using braid will be a big hit, because you use your finger on the line a lot, you might end up being called ".stumpy" and line twist can be an issue, a big tangle with braid is not a lot of fun.

Sorry but what's a direct drive? I thought they a have drag. On mine there's this lever and I just wriggle it back and fourth until the clicker and drag comes on, I actually have no idea what it's for lol. I didn't realise you had to continuously hold the line on an Alvey, that might explain a bit then. Lmao, I know all about that one, have a bad braid cut still. I've never had my Alvey tangle, maybe mines just such a crap one. Also when I cast my Alvey I get these whip lash like marks on the back of my hand and it usually bleeds, so I'm guessing my technique is wrong?

[noelm]

Lots of Alvey reels are just a spool on a shaft (direct drive) no drag, no gears, not too sure what you're talking about with wriggling something back and forth? some had a "clicker/ratchet" some had a star drag (a star shaped gizmo you tighten) and the spool can turn without the handles ripping your fingers to bits!

[noelm]

Just to add, if you are getting line "whipping" your hand, maybe your reel fitting is too high on the rod?

[slothparade]

1 hour ago, Green Hornet said:

I don't do a lot of it these days, but when bait fishing I'll always use an Alvey. Beach, rocks or estuary they are a great reel for the purpose. A real plus with them is being able to slowly wind a bait along the bottom or through the water column and still be able to keep a finger on the line to feel for bites. I use this technique to great effect is when chasing whiting in the estuary or on the beach. The direct wind of an A or E series reel is also a huge advantage off the rocks when chasing dirty fighters like drummer and groper only giving line to a fish when you absolutely need to, rather than relying on a drag system. 

A well set up Alvey will always outcast a spin reel and with the long, soft rods that suit them, soft baits casting off is rarely a problem when lobbing one out as well.

As @noelmsays, be wary if using braid. It will cut your finger to the bone unless you wear some kind of protection (Alvey make a glove suited for the purpose). Most dedicated Alvey users prefer a low stretch mono. 

Out of a boat/kayak where casting distance isn't so important, there's probably no advantage over spin or overhead gear.

 

Ahh that would make sense, that's something that annoys me a bit with the 5:1 ratios. Its hard to bring your bait in slowly. But also a spin when you cast out a heap of line and have to bring it all back in lol. I'll do a bit more research into them for rock fishing, I rarely do it so have no idea. Is it true there is a Alvey for soft plastics? 

Yeah I like my 8ft rod for that. 

Yeah I can definitely see why, I just respooled mine with 20lbs mono. 

I guess on a kayak they constantly get wet so it's good having a tough reel. What about the snapper winch on a boat though?

[slothparade]

12 minutes ago, noelm said:

Lots of Alvey reels are just a spool on a shaft (direct drive) no drag, no gears, not too sure what you're talking about with wriggling something back and forth? some had a "clicker/ratchet" some had a star drag (a star shaped gizmo you tighten) and the spool can turn without the handles ripping your fingers to bits!

Ahh, yeah not to sure about mine there's the lever which I wriggle, I'll get some pics tomorrow. Bit there's also a knob on the handle side which you turn and when the lever is in the right spot it acts like a drag. Mine doesn't have a star drag. 

[slothparade]

14 minutes ago, noelm said:

Just to add, if you are getting line "whipping" your hand, maybe your reel fitting is too high on the rod?

Really not sure. Should I try it on a few different rods and see how it goes? I've just resorted to finding anything to wrap around my hand so it doesn't get cut up as bad. 

[noelm]

Most Alvey rods are what's called a "low mount" meaning the butt of the rod is very short. Millions of Alvey are in use all over Australia, lots used around the rocks and off the beaches, right up to Alvey deck winches for deep sea dropping, and up to the reef queen for really deep dropping in water 500m deep! 

Edited May 20, 2022 by noelm

[Green Hornet]

@slothparadeAlveys come in 3 configurations.

The first is simply a spool on a shaft with no drag. You can easliy wind the reel backwards and forwards and if you hook a large fish that wants to take line, "drag" is applied to the spool by pressure from the palm of your hand. This type of reel is commonly known as an A series.

The next style has a drag and an anti reverse (lever) with the handle knobs on a plate that remains motionless when a fish takes line. It is probably the most commonly used style of Alvey and known as a C series.

Lastly is a reel that has a drag, though the handle knobs are fixed directly to the spool (like an A series). With this reel, when a fish wants to take line, you simply let go of the knob and let the drag do its work. These reels are quite popular with fishermen chasing big fish in rough country as there are times when you don't to give a fish line and you can override the drag system. These are called an E series reel or often referred to as a Rockhopper.

Take a look on Alvey's web site. There's plenty of good info on there about what reels suit certain applications.

The whiplash marks you're describing on your hand, indicate to me the rod you're using is unsuitable. As noelm stated, rods suited for Alveys have a low mounted reel seat and a large diameter, first/stripper guide to cope with the line coming off the reel in large coils when casting. It sounds like your line is choking in a smaller guide causing the line slap. 

Post some pics of your rod and reel for a better idea of what's going on.

 

[XD351]

There was a period that all I had were alveys. Rock , beach , estuary ,boat and float fishing on freshwater lakes are all places that I have used an alvey reel .

Other than rock and beach I used a Snyder mag bream rod and a 5 inch alvey for everything except lures . I did use a shorter Rod in  the boat for a while mainly when drifting for flathead as it was a little less cumbersome , it was a 7ft spin stick and the longer butt worked for me because I fished with the rod butt tucked under my arm and I didn’t have to cast the bait out but the Snyder rod was always there if I needed to lob a bait out .

I now use threadline gear in the boat because I switched to braid and these days I mostly drift for flathead - if I know I’m going to flick unweighted baits around the mag bream comes along .

If you type alvey into your favourite search engine and select pictures you will see that they are used all over the world to catch all sorts of fish , many love their simple but rugged design !

[slothparade]

20 hours ago, noelm said:

Most Alvey rods are what's called a "low mount" meaning the butt of the rod is very short. Millions of Alvey are in use all over Australia, lots used around the rocks and off the beaches, right up to Alvey deck winches for deep sea dropping, and up to the reef queen for really deep dropping in water 500m deep! 

Ohh that confused the crap out of me, i never was much of a fan of the alvey rod but now that makes a lot more sense. one promblem though, the garage door shut on it 3 times so its a bit short lol. 

Thanks for all the help and answering my questions.