Line for ALVEY reel

[Angha]

Just bought an Alvey reel 6000 and a 13.6 surf rod (8 - 15 KG) for Fraser trip next month. This will be my second time trying out an Alvey, the last time was horrible. However I have someone to teach me this time and the DVD's instruction seems not that hard.

Just wondering what strength and which brand of line to use. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Angha

[2iar]

Hi Mate,

I like to use Platypus Super 100. It's very strong and thin for a monofilament. You shouldn't pay more than $25 for a whopping 500m.

I guess the line class is up to you, based on your Alvey, rod and what you're chasing....

Good luck,
Mike

[nigelr]

I'd go 500m of Platypus Pink in either 8 or 10kg, depending how soft or stiff the rod is. If the rod is fairly soft and forgiving, 8kg will be fine. Personally I'd only use 10kg on a very stiff rod, or if you intend to fish adjacent to or off the rocks. 8kg will land most anything off the beach and being fairly thin, will not be affected too much by current, wave action etc. About $20 or so.
Cheers.

[SURF_SNIPER]

super 100 for sure. if you can get a 500m for 25 bucks or less your getting a bargin buy as it normally sell in the range of 35-40 bucks at most tackle outlets.

great line nice and thin and very strong would suggest 15-20 for big bream/dart and 25-30 for big tailor if useing heavy lead. these could be droped lower if using light lead.

just a question... what made you purchase the 6 inch alvey to suit the 13'6 rod or did it comes as a kit?

just because the 6.5 inch alvey is the best casting size real you can get. you will get your max casting distance from a 650, best choice for the surf.

Drew :)

[SeaHunt]

Most of the tailor fishos up there use 15 lb which is about 7 kg.
20lb cuts your casting distance down by a fair bit. I would not go above 20 or under 12 pound line.
Penn 10X or Platypus. Casting and retrieving a lot on an Alvey winds your line up, try to have no weight above the top swivel and use a good quality black roller ball type swivel. Otherwise be prepared to strip off 30 or 40 metres of line every few days and throw it away.

[SURF_SNIPER]

if your repetively throwing 3-5 balls 15pound would be fine, if your in the 8-10 ball catergory, its a nessasary to use 25-30 pound line. if you go with a super thin line like supper 100 you can step up to 25 pund line class and still stay int the 15 pound si

[SURF_SNIPER]

if your repetively throwing 3-5 balls 15pound would be fine, if your in the 8-10 ball catergory, its a nessasary to use 25-30 pound line. if you go with a super thin line like supper 100 you can step up to 25 pound line class and still stay int the 15 pound diameter class

super 100 15lb ( 0.27mm ), 20lb ( 0.31 mm ), 30lb ( .40 )

the only other line which i could recommend, which i find has a similar size and is extremly strong is the shogun brand line.

[SURF_SNIPER]

haaha, bumped the bloody mouse again ;D

[Feral]

Jarvis walker 12lb, 5 bucks for 1000m from Kmart.

Its an Alvey, you dont need fancy lines, (no low stretch, or fancy colours) the alvey will handle anything.

The other advantage of a cheap line is it is generally a bit thicker, remember on an Alvey, you fingers are on the line all the time, guiding it onto a reel, even when pulling in fish. You do not want a super fine line, it will only cut you to pieces.

Roll on a few hundred metres and see how the reel looks for thickness, (about 300 turns per 100m for a 6inch spool diameter) (I cant remember if the 6000 has a wide / deep spool or not) go another hundred if you have plenty of room.

[BrandonH]

I Have 2 taylor setups for hte surf. one has 15lb and hte other is 20. both lines were bought in bulk and i can't remember the brand. I can generally cast futhuer with the lighter line and only use 20lb when the bigger taylor are around or if chasing a jew ;) Prob could go wiht 15 and 25 or 30 on instead but you have a hell of a lot of line and usually fishing on a beach you don't have to worry about rocks (unless your casting off a headland or something). anyways one other pointer that your mate will prob tell you is if the line starts to twist, take the rod up the back of the first dunes in the grass and pull off 100 metres or so of line and wind it back on tight :) i gota do that at least once each trip at Frasier. you mighn't have to do this so often if your using better line.

Cheers
Brandon...

PS: My Leaders on the beach are always made with 40lb Mono.

[2iar]

super 100 for sure. if you can get a 500m for 25 bucks or less your getting a bargin buy as it normally sell in the range of 35-40 bucks at most tackle outlets.
Drew :)

Hey Drew,

Give Sundown a call. I was at their sale the other week and picked a spool of 12lb up for $17. Admittedly this was at the sale, but I'm fairly sure it was only about $25 beforehand.

Good luck,
Mike

[CHRIS_aka_GWH]

i'll throw an alternative in

Berkley Trilene (its a low stretch thin dia. mono - very little memory)

i fish 22lb (??) on a 7inch with 13'6.

It casts a mile, excellent knotting & strength. Costs a bit $40 or so to spool up.

I haven't tried Platypus 100. I would prefer to buy aussie if it was as good.

chris

[Angha]

Thanks guys for your input.

Drew .... Main reason for getting the 6000 was the price $70 (new) and this will be my 2nd time using Alvey. If I go well this time I will get the 6500 next.

It is either Berkley or the Super maybe stick with 7KG

Thanks

[CHRIS_aka_GWH]

go up a class to 18lb (8kg) if you are serious about bigger fish - you will still nail choppers but it will also give you options for the rocks & as drew said casting distance.

if you really want to get good with the alvey buy some rubbish as well & load the reel with that first & go to the local oval & cast cast cast,
cast with the wind, into the wind across the wind
most good surf casters (in fact all casters) have done this type of dry practice and you can visibly measure which technique gives you the best distance.

seeyainthesurf,
chris

[Feral]

I must admit I went at looked at the Alvey site, from idle curiosity after reading this thread, When I bought my Alvey's (all those years ago) there was only 3 numbers in Alvey models, si I was curious to see what was with this new fangled numbering!.

Imagine my suprise at the cost of em these days! My fav reel (a 650C, the green unit with the wide spool) the new version is nearly $200 now!

I think mine cost me $80 when I bought it, and I thought that was a kings ransome! The cheapest reel on the site was nearly $50, No wonder you dont see a lot of Alvey's around now, you can get a reasonable eggbeater for $20 to $25.

[straddie]

Heya Angha

I use 6kg platinum for the smaller species and 10kg for bigger in the surf. Could probably do the job with half that B/S for most fish but you need to keep a bit of diameter with the alvey so it doesn't cut you fingers too much.

You have to compromise a little between casting distance, finger damage and weight you are wanting to cast and if fishing near rocks some abrasion resistance. I think if I was you I would opt for heavier line initially especially if you go the finer super 100 or trilene of 10 to 12 kg. It will be more forgiving and the greatest distance gains you will get in the short term is casting smoothly.

As Chris said find a park or open area where you aren't casting toward people, cars or houses and practice before hand. Don't try and cast with a lot of grunt just keep things as smooth as possible and get the timing right for max distance and easy casting.

[TinarooTriumph]

If your going surf fishing its no use spending money on good lines like Super 100 etc etc. After all it is just the surf, and alot of us dont surf fish much as it is, so whats the point in having good line on it??? Keep the Platypus for the Freshwater fella's, Platypus hates the salt and the sand.

Just grab some cheapo 10 or 12lb (you do NOT want to fish 'heavy' in the surf, 10lb is ample, and remember if you have a good fish use the push of the waves and a medium retrival),anyway, just some line from Big-W, just some Jarvis Walker or some Pro-Hunter. Or if your in a fishing tackle store, its likely they wont have the cheapo lines. But keep your eyes open on a brand called Pucci. Strong, Cheap, Good for the salt.

I read above (next page actually) cant remember his name god dam it >:( but he advised to have no weight above your swivel, and use a roller swivel. Couldnt agree more. Have a small bean sinker running from the swivel to the hook (Bean's as they cast well, might move around the sea bottom a little but still quite alright, important to keep the bait moving) and, expecially when your surf fishing, sharpen your hooks every few casts, hooks get hammered in the surf.

TinarooTriumph 8-)

[straddie]

Heya TinarooTriumph

I have been using platypus platinum in the surf for about 10 years give or take a few years either side after having tried numerous other brands and you are the first person I know of that has said it doesn't like salt and sand. :o Honestly the stuff is brilliant and if it doesn't like salt or sand it does a great impression of it. ;D Have you actually used it or did someone else tell you this? because it is the total opposite to what I have found.

[NeilD]

I have not come across any platypus line that reacted badly to saltwater conditions. I have used platinum for many years now with great results and will probably go to super 100 next time. I would advise against some of the cheaper lines as they seem to have a lot of memory, are thick for BS and just don't behave themselves as well as something like platinum. In my opinion you will enjoy your time in the surf better with a quality line. I use 10kg for heavy stuff and 6kg for general use.

Neil

[CHRIS_aka_GWH]

how is the surf at tinaroo ? ;)

Repetitive casting of big weights, 2m seas, 15 kt winds, heavy sweep, lots of shell debris flying past & toothies all over the past, usually at night ...

not the place for a cheap line.

[CHRIS_aka_GWH]

how is the surf at tinaroo ? ;)

apart from the last week ::) (bloody larry)


Repetitive casting of big weights, 2m seas, 15 kt winds, heavy sweep, lots of shell debris flying past & toothies all over the past, usually at night ...

not the place for a cheap line.

[SURF_SNIPER]

If your going surf fishing its no use spending money on good lines like Super 100 etc etc. After all it is just the surf, and alot of us dont surf fish much as it is, so whats the point in having good line on it??? Keep the Platypus for the Freshwater fella's, Platypus hates the salt and the sand.

Just grab some cheapo 10 or 12lb (you do NOT want to fish 'heavy' in the surf, 10lb is ample, and remember if you have a good fish use the push of the waves and a medium retrival),anyway, just some line from Big-W, just some Jarvis Walker or some Pro-Hunter. Or if your in a fishing tackle store, its likely they wont have the cheapo lines. But keep your eyes open on a brand called Pucci. Strong, Cheap, Good for the salt.



;D ::) ;D :o [smiley=2vrolijk_08.gif]

[TinarooTriumph]

Surf at Tinaroo is mighty fine mate :D nice gag.
Fished Tinaroo today, boy did that cyclone give the dam a hammering i tell ya! The amount of leaves and s*** in the water is astonishing.

Last time i went surf fishing would of been two weeks ago at Bramston Beach near Innisfail, which i am told of is no longer after Larry :-[. Had two 12 foot rods with me, both fitted with Viva (forget what model, nice reels tho). One topped with Pucci which i just got on the cheap as i needed some line quickly, the other one spooled with Platinum, both about 12 pound. Both had pretty much the same diameter etc etc had the same rig, just a light ball sinker running down to a 4/0 (i think :-?) Must Big Red hook.

Fished all weekend really, nothing else better to do. And i was most impressed with both lines may i say, landed 2 shovel nose sharks on both rods. As i got home i cleaned and did alot of maintenance work on both the reels, only to find that the Platinum had picked up alot of sand and had detiriated alot. I used and trialed BOTH rods the same, but hey i know jack about Surf fishing, i dont get much of a chance to do anyway so maybe i should just shutup as i am only a novice at Salt ;). But yer im a BIG Platypus fan when it comes to using it in Freshwater, works and absolute treat!

Back to the Freshwater.

TinarooTriumph 8-)

[straddie]

".....but hey i know jack about Surf fishing, i dont get much of a chance to do anyway so maybe i should just shutup as i am only a novice at Salt"

Mate always have your say, just don't be surprised if some one debates the point if they don't agree with what you have said. :)

I usually keep a spool of platinum on my surf reels for a year which works out around 150 + hours actual in the water fishing time, after which I rotate the line onto other reels I use for bay work. So by the time I run down my reel sizes the line has been used for 4 years and is finally dumped although still in reasonable condition but a lot shorter.

Platinum will have some colour fade and I am wondering if this is what you may think is deterioration, plus being used to fresh water, dryed salt on the line might be giving you the impression that the line has collected sand. Neither thing will have any impact on the strength of the line.

If there was actual damage to the line I would think it is most likely it was rubbing agianst some rocks, you have a damaged guide or you got a bad batch which I haven't come across with platinum.

[TinarooTriumph]

meh, im 16. still got plenty more to learn. maybe the spool of the platinum i got for my rsurf reel was made at 4-30pm on a Friday afternoon haha. oh well.