Alvey reel problem

[ghoti]

Greetings fellow fishermen from halfway around the globe,
Ive just purchased an Alvey reel, model 500/C5. Filled it with 1000 yards of 10lb test trilene xl. Put it on a 7' Fenwick rod and can't cast it worth a hoot. The line is slapping the rod before it gets to the first guide. Do I need a longer rod, or what? I'll be using this rig mostly for bass with soft plastics, but may also use it for walleye with bait.

I've just discovered this site. Founds lots of good info. I'm always interested in chatting with people who fish, where ever they may be. If anynbody needs any info anout fishing in Illinois, ( I'm about 200 miles south of Chicago ), I'd be happy to help.
Thanks and good luck,
GK

[CHRIS_aka_GWH]

you need a larger first runner - best casting is achieved from an alvey (and spinning reels) if you imagine a perfect smooth cone with the reel face as the base & the tip as the point with a inside edges of the runners describing the sides.

Particulary bad slap is achieved from rods meant for overheads as they deliver line straight and very little difference in diameter between the first & tip runners. Spinning reels because of the smaller spool diameter have a smaller first runner.

A five inch alvey needs a first runner of at least 2 inches possibly three. Your problem is compounded by the short length of rod (the cone is squatter) & the fact that an alvey 500C5 is a heavy little sucker & if you are using 10lb line, I'd say the rod is a whippy liitle number and the rod is probably resonating a bit under that weight.

Hope this helps,

seeyainthesurf,
chris

[Roo]

GK,
Why did you get an alvey for this? I'd have thought a spinning reel would have been a better choice for this kind of fishing.
Chris is right, you need a bigger rod and a bigger first runner. Also if your using a graphite rod that is quite stiff ( like most fenwicks iv'e seen) you casting weight may be too small to load up the rod to get any power out of it.

good luck!

Cheers, Roo.

[straddie]

Heya Orbyroo, only guessing but sounds like he is targeting bass from a boat or jetty so they will probably be pretty big plastics getting thrown at potentialy pretty big fish (think jew size) so the line capacity of the alvey starts to come into its own.

Heya Ghoti, any chance of posting a pic from reel seat to tip of the rod to see the guide positions?

Modding a rod to suit an alvey isn't a great option, do you have a similar old rod that needs new guides? Could make that much better.

If you have to mod this one then I would remove the first/stripper guide all together and see how it casts then. Then consider Chris' suggestion for the next guide.

[rando]

Also the typical set up for an alvey has reel seat positioned low on the rod as well as a larger stripper guide than for a spinning reel
hope that helps
rando

[theoldlegend]

Hi Ghoti,

If you're about 200 miles south of Chicago, that'd put you close to Normal, where the Illinois State University is. They have a good ladies softball team there. Every time they send a team over here, I get a T shirt off them.

They sent over a team about 3 years ago and wiped the floor with everything that Queensland could throw at them.

TOL

[DR]

the longest cast i have ever seen came off a 6" alvey through a #25 stripper guide.the rod was 13' - 15' long, the caster at the time, from memory, was the qld casting champ, & this was his preferred weapon.. at the time it proved to me that you don't need hose rediculous large wire stripper guides.
my guess is the rod is too short & the stripper is too close to the reel, it needs to be further away to give the line time to lay out a bit before going through the stripper guide. you need a longer, more purpose built one, or a smaller alvey.
anyway why would you buy an alvey when you can get baitcasters so cheap over there ;), they do the job a lot better than a sidecast.

if you look at a rod for a sidecast reel the stripper guide is usually approx 1/2 way up the rod. an old spacing formula was divide blank in 1/2 for stripper guide, 1/2 from stripper to tip for next, 1/2 again etc. usually only 3-4 guides + stripper blanks were usually a parabolic (sloppy) taper which did not rip the heck out of soft baits when cast.. you could build your own or get one built to suit.. somewhere in the cupboard i have a couple of recipes if you need one..
cheers

[Flounder]

Yeah, don't use an alvey for this sort of fishin'. I'd only ever use an alvey for surf fishing.

[straddie]

DR you are right the big wire guides aren't necessary if you set up the rod for a specific purpose like pure distance casting, that's why I suggested removing the first guide even though it would then run to an even smaller guide. The bigger guides are however the best compromise for a very versatile general surf rod, where differing line classes, reel sizes, bait and weights are probably going to used.

[ghoti]

Thanks to all, I did remove the first guide from the rod, which is a bit on the stiff side. That helped some, but did not completely fix the problem. I have a 9' rod I will try next. It has a first guide of about 2". To answer the "why" question, I spotted the Alvey at Cabelas.com and just had to try one. I'm a bit of a tackle junkie. Always ready, willing and able to try out anything new. I thought I could use this thing for long-distance casting a carolina rig. This is a rig for bass using a large soft plastic with a 1/2 to 1 ounce weight about 3' in from of the bait, separated by a swivel. I aslo thought I could use this for live baiting and get a nice long cast without tossing the bait off. I do use baitcasters for 90% of my bass fishing. I use Team Daiawa's and Quantum PT's. If you guys can get your hands on a Quantum PT baitcaster, TRY ONE. They are half the price of the TD and every bit as smooth. The PT spinning reel is excellent also. Thanks to all for the advice.
Don't catch em all,
GK
To "The Old Legend", I grew up in Normal. The first house I remember living in was about a mile from the ISU assembly hall. I teach at a community college 50 miles south of Normal In Decatur, Illinois. I'm working out an articulation agrrement with ISU. At our next meeting I'll request a couple of T-shirts and send them along to you. What size you need?