Side casting reels

[no-one in particular]

Some of you may remember I started using an old Alvey side casting reel back in the summer to see what it was like, I have not stopped using it although it is not the ideal reel, it is basically a sea fishing reel and I have looked at the Alvey range and they don't do a coarse reel as far as I can make out and I did email them in Australia. They do a creek and bay reel which might suit and ummed and arred a bit but then forgot about it; but I was thinking this morning I must look again for next year and the summer when I get coarse fishing more often again which prompted this post.
More the point is to say after using it for 5/6 months now I have enjoyed using this type of reel more than I do a fixed spool and a center pin. It casts a long way without the hassle of doing this with a center pin but I get the added the pleasure of playing a fish like a center pin. I own one center pin and could not get on with it but to be fair I don't own a good one. But this side casting technique gives me the best of both worlds. When this was first posted most said line twist was the biggest problem with these reels but I have not noticed any however, I don't cast a long way with it, the far bank of a 30ft river is about the furthest I have gone but this is as far as I ever cast; so line twist is not a problem. In fact the only problem was getting used to the technique of casting with one, it is a bit clumsy having to turn the reel each time and holding it in such a way to trap the line and cast well, but I have got used to that now and it is not a problem anymore. I doubt these would ever catch on but I cannot see why not as I am now completely sold on them, I am going to look for one that is more suited to coarse fishing, smaller and lighter.
I have realized what a bad design a fixed spool is, everything is sacrificed for casting, convoluted engineering susceptible to go wrong, wrong for playing fish-cranking dynamics at odds with being in proper contact with a fish, awkward and unbalanced on the rod, proportionally heavy and difficulty to store in a bag, not much going for it apart from casting a long way. Center pins have the opposite, good in every way but difficult when casting over a certain distance. Side casters overcome all of that, ticks all the boxes and yet it will never catch on which I find odd.

 

[108831]

They do have problems with line twist,but they are great for playing fish whilst enabling very accurate casting on the lead at the ranges that pins normally become less so(me anyway),another issue I have with one to one reels is chub fishing,near snags,they dont let you get on top of changes of direction quick enough,especially on tight swims,but this is probably one in ten,twenty,thirty,just that when it happens it gripes me....

 

[no-one in particular]

They do have problems with line twist,but they are great for playing fish whilst enabling very accurate casting on the lead at the ranges that pins normally become less so(me anyway),another issue I have with one to one reels is chub fishing,near snags,they dont let you get on top of changes of direction quick enough,especially on tight swims,but this is probably one in ten,twenty,thirty,just that when it happens it gripes me....

I have had no problem with line twist Whitty, if it ever does occur I can ditch 30 yds. of line every now and then but as I say, I don't have a problem and I have been using it for some time. This shouldn't be an issue as to not using one to my mind. this is what everyone kept telling me last summer like it was such a big thing and it is not. not as far as I am concerned anyway, no problems have ensued with line twist.
If I have one issue, it still feels a bit clumsy how you have to hold and cast with them but after years of using a fixed spool all my life that was to be expected and it gets less so the more I use it but it is a very small issue in comparison with all the benefits in my opinion.
I have no desire to replace it with my fixed spool which has been redundant since I put this on the rod. And it is hardly ideal but when and if I get one that is; even more gain for me.

 

[108831]

It has never really stopped me using in Mark,strangely what stopped me most was the venues I fished,I found barbel in heavy weeded rivers an issue,which i didn't think it would be being one to one ratio,but when playing barbel on tightish drags on fixed spools I can get the upper hand very quickly whereas on the pin it takes a few seconds to get adjusted which can cause major issues....

 

[no-one in particular]

It has never really stopped me using in Mark,strangely what stopped me most was the venues I fished,I found barbel in heavy weeded rivers an issue,which i didn't think it would be being one to one ratio,but when playing barbel on tightish drags on fixed spools I can get the upper hand very quickly whereas on the pin it takes a few seconds to get adjusted which can cause major issues....

I can understand that, the center pin retrieve is slow in comparison and it is a long time since I fished for barbel but a lot of people use center pins when barbel and carp fishing, don't they? Maybe the fixed spool is an advantage in certain circumstance but all my general coarse fishing which is all I do these days; this side casting reel has proved ideal in technique. I wouldn't like to use one for really long distance like those far off swims carp anglers often aim for but then again I believe anglers reach the same distances as fixed spools once the technique is mastered.
I don't do any specialist angling anymore but I can see this may need special considerations but for a general fishing reel I think this side casting is superior to fixed spool and center pins.

 

[Ray Roberts]

There are a couple of smaller side cast reels that are a lot smaller than the Alvey.

There is the Ray Walton “Rolling Pin.” These look good but are about£350 retail and not a lot cheaper used. The other small side cast reel, which is still available new is the Shakespeare Lincoln which is about £70 new. They do pop up used at times for not a lot of money.

I believe many people who use this type of reel use braid as it’s more forgiving of line twist. I have never used either reel personally, though I did have an Alvey at one time many years ago and back then I believe they held some casting records.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[no-one in particular]

There are a couple of smaller side cast reels that are a lot smaller than the Alvey.

There is the Ray Walton “Rolling Pin.” These look good but are about£350 retail and not a lot cheaper used. The other small side cast reel, which is still available new is the Shakespeare Lincoln which is about £70 new. They do pop up used at times for not a lot of money.

I believe many people who use this type of reel use braid as it’s more forgiving of line twist. I have never used either reel personally, though I did have an Alvey at one time many years ago and back then I believe they held some casting records.


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Thanks Ray, £350 too much for me but I will look at the £70 one. However the one thing I liked about the side casting reel I am using is it has a sloping facing spool and I have looked at others and they don't appear to have this feature. This does aid smooth casting considerable in my opinion so I find it a shame I cannot find one the same. however the £70 one definitely in my sights. cheers.

Ps yep just googled it and £69.99 from angling direct, might have to go for that one and forgo the sloping spool face but still a shame I cannot find that feature. Still looks good and I reckon it will be great to use.

 

[108831]

Mine is a hand made jobbie,bought as a pressie for my sixtieth by the family by a small batch producer of high quality pins,arm and leg comes to mind....

 

[seth49]

I have one of the Shakespeare Lincoln pins had it for years, as mentioned it works best with braid, I used power pro it was even better when it wasn’t new line, it goes limper with use and had very few problems then.

As well as coarse fish I caught salmon to 16,1/4 pounds on it with no problems, only downside to me, was that it didn’t have a ratchet, just a friction drag, apart from that it worked well.

I have one of the Ray Walton Rolling pins, which I’ve never used yet, I bought quite a few pins before I retired and this is one of them, I’m thinking of trying it for margin carp next year, should work well for this, and I won’t need an alarm, the ratchet will do for that.

I do like playing fish on a pin, it’s direct with no gears in the way, and your thumb is more sensitive than any drag.

Ps the Lincoln does have a taper and a rounded edge to help casting.

 

[no-one in particular]

I have one of the Shakespeare Lincoln pins had it for years, as mentioned it works best with braid, I used power pro it was even better when it wasn’t new line, it goes limper with use and had very few problems then.

As well as coarse fish I caught salmon to 16,1/4 pounds on it with no problems, only downside to me, was that it didn’t have a ratchet, just a friction drag, apart from that it worked well.

I have one of the Ray Walton Rolling pins, which I’ve never used yet, I bought quite a few pins before I retired and this is one of them, I’m thinking of trying it for margin carp next year, should work well for this, and I won’t need an alarm, the ratchet will do for that.

I do like playing fish on a pin, it’s direct with no gears in the way, and your thumb is more sensitive than any drag.

I do remember you mentioning that Seth about the braid, I just drifted away from the subject and coarse fishing a bit. Nice recommendation for the Lincoln, I think I might get one but I will do a bit more research again first. The one I am using only has a tension spring and no ratchet but I haven't found that a problem as such but it does have its uses.

 

[108831]

Funny you know,but when I trot with a pin I never have problems with chub,yet legering the same fish can be a nightmare with one,lol.

 

[peterjg]

Is there an adaptor that could be used with any centrepin that could rotate it so that it could side cast?

 

[ian g]

I bought a Ray Walton pin a while back . I've used it a few times with braid . I haven't had any issues with line twist but I just find the spool diameter @ 3 1/2 inches is a bit small . I've got a few other pins including a Youngs Purist and an Okuma Advanta Pro both of which I use much more than the rolling pin . I'll probably sell it one day but use it just enough to hang on to it

 

[108831]

What are you using it for Ian???

 

[mikench]

Mark there is a brand new one(Shakespeare Lincoln) for sale on eBay and open to offers. From the pic it looks to be made by Alvey in Australia.

 

[sam vimes]

As I understand it, the Shakespeare Lincoln is made by Alvey.

For a time, I had a similarly dim view of normal centrepins. I found them too slow on the retrieve and too limiting of range.
Two things changed everything for me. The first was the realisation that small reels/deep arbours are frustratingly slow on the retrieve. Initially, I started going for bigger reels and avoiding reels with deeper arbours. Only after practice and really getting to grips with various retrieval techniques have I started using smaller or deeper arbour reels again. The second and most important thing has been learning to cast properly. I'm no master, but learning how to Wallis cast has had a huge impact on how I fish with pins. The range I can float fish, on both still and running water, has been extended significantly. With more practice, it's still increasing.

 

[108831]

I agree with the Wallis casting Chris,I watched countless you tube vids till I got the idea,I do it,well enough,but not brilliantly,some days it just doesn't happen,others it can be almost faultless,but I wouldn't be fishing 20yds all day,maybe if I was forced to fish venues requiring me to cast that distance I'd get the hang of it,but I don't,so won't.....lol.

 

[ian g]

I bought it for rolling meat , I use my other pins a lot on rivers , canals and stillwaters . I use the Nottingham cast mainly but wanted to try rolling meat on the middle Severn so bought the Rolling pin second hand . To be fair I haven't really persisted with it . I suppose my thoughts on it were I might as well use a fixed spool reel . It's a decent bit of kit if a little expensive

 

[tigger]

I agree with the Wallis casting Chris,I watched countless you tube vids till I got the idea,I do it,well enough,but not brilliantly,some days it just doesn't happen,others it can be almost faultless,but I wouldn't be fishing 20yds all day,maybe if I was forced to fish venues requiring me to cast that distance I'd get the hang of it,but I don't,so won't.....lol.

I find I can cast much more accurately with a centrepin reel than a egg beater, especially at closer ranges, that's using a float or a lead.
At 25yds I can drop a lead into a small bucket with ease, can do the same at any range inbetween.

 

[108831]

Yeah,but you specialise in it Ian,to me it is occasional,that said,I dont spend my time up trees or anything,just well practised with a fixed spool,when I fished the Thames a lot I could cast 50-60yrs into holes in the nettles on the far bank with manicured Drennan feederlinks,I haven't trotted with a pin since this time last year,short of practice somewhat,lol....