no-one in particular
Well-known member
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.
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.
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