no-one in particular
Well-known member
I had one of these many years ago for sea fishing, I used it off the pier and the boat. It was a bit clumsy but I liked it for some reason.
I found a Alvey 40 bakelite side casing reel for £10 last week. I thought it has to worth a tenner. These are made in Australia where I gather they are a lot more popular than here.
I gave it a clean, some oil, some backing line and 5lb line and tried it out. I think I made a mistake and this was meant for sea fishing but I gave it a go. It is a bit heavy but as I don't hold a rod much I was not too bothered by that. I liked the sloping spool which cast beautifully, more sloping than you get on a fixed spool. I could easily cast to the other side of the river with a float and 3bb. The twist mechanism is operated by a level but is a bit awkward however, I think I could get used to this. Once back into center pin mode it runs quite smoothly now it is oiled, not too proper modern center pin standard but smooth and spins quite a few times with the finger. The center nut is a drag and can tighten to required level. I kept it just tight to stop over-spills but winds in very easily. It has a big center cage thing and I have not quite worked out the point of that yet but it did make pulling loops from a bit easier or so it seemed in my mind when I could not be bothered to operate the twist for shorter casts.
I think I could design one of these for coarse fishing with modern materials and lightness. The best of both worlds, good casting ability and the good at playing a fish center pin style and the benefits of that.
It got me wondering why these have never caught on, I will try it out for a while; I think I prefer it than my fixed spool even with the drawbacks because of its age and old materials, but time will tell with more try outs
I found a Alvey 40 bakelite side casing reel for £10 last week. I thought it has to worth a tenner. These are made in Australia where I gather they are a lot more popular than here.
I gave it a clean, some oil, some backing line and 5lb line and tried it out. I think I made a mistake and this was meant for sea fishing but I gave it a go. It is a bit heavy but as I don't hold a rod much I was not too bothered by that. I liked the sloping spool which cast beautifully, more sloping than you get on a fixed spool. I could easily cast to the other side of the river with a float and 3bb. The twist mechanism is operated by a level but is a bit awkward however, I think I could get used to this. Once back into center pin mode it runs quite smoothly now it is oiled, not too proper modern center pin standard but smooth and spins quite a few times with the finger. The center nut is a drag and can tighten to required level. I kept it just tight to stop over-spills but winds in very easily. It has a big center cage thing and I have not quite worked out the point of that yet but it did make pulling loops from a bit easier or so it seemed in my mind when I could not be bothered to operate the twist for shorter casts.
I think I could design one of these for coarse fishing with modern materials and lightness. The best of both worlds, good casting ability and the good at playing a fish center pin style and the benefits of that.
It got me wondering why these have never caught on, I will try it out for a while; I think I prefer it than my fixed spool even with the drawbacks because of its age and old materials, but time will tell with more try outs