$1000 stella versus an old alvey

[countbaysea]

spears

"

So the question i'm going to ask from the large variety of fishers here is what other reel would serve us in versatility where we outlay less amount of $$$ and are able to get some thing still decent..spinning reels only.."

shimano spheros 12/14000, spinfisher 8500/9500, banax gts, daiwa entoh, daiwa emblem pro. okuma eclipz. All of these would need drag upgrades.
Maybe try a search on "budget jigging gear"
hope this helps
shane

[spears]

I've had some of those and they are around the $150-$250 price range.i would have thought of something in the $250-$400 range.i have an idea that even in that price range that when you open them up and look inside at the workings they may be no different that the cheaper $200 reels

i'll start a new thread on this as its going off topic

[GPB]

The new Spheros FB will be released later in the year, it comes as a standard upgraded Spheros, with the extra ball bearing and Carbontex drag .
Also a next level up reel called a Saragosa which comes with 7 BB and Dartainium Drag :cheesy:

[mattooty]

You have worded the stella as "versatility" which makes good sense and i myself would love to have a stella or saltiga and have that versatility in my fishing but find it hard to fork out between $700-$1000 for a reel.

So the question i'm going to ask from the large variety of fishers here is what other reel would serve us in versatility where we outlay less amount of $$$ and are able to get some thing still decent..spinning reels only..

looking forward to your reply guys cause i'm in the market for something good..

Spheros. = $200
Drag upgrade = ~$25-30
Bush to bearing = $20

And you have yourself a heavy duty jigging outfit. If you cant afford the stella go the spheros and get it upgraded, they dont call it the sphella (spheros with upgrades) for nothing. they will cop a fair amount of abuse, but wil eventually break down.
I for one would rather save the money for a stella but until then my spheros is covering my bases.

[NAGG]

[

quote=TonyM;770413]I don't think I've seen a single person on this post who's said they own a Stella?

Does this one count ? Attachment 21954

I wont be using it to fish for reefies though

Nagg

[NAGG]

You have worded the stella as "versatility" which makes good sense and i myself would love to have a stella or saltiga and have that versatility in my fishing but find it hard to fork out between $700-$1000 for a reel.

So the question i'm going to ask from the large variety of fishers here is what other reel would serve us in versatility where we outlay less amount of $$$ and are able to get some thing still decent..spinning reels only..

looking forward to your reply guys cause i'm in the market for something good..

I'd be looking at a Daiwa Saltiga ........ but not buying it in OZ! You'll save a few hundred dollars without any of the compromise that are part & parcel of buying a cheaper reel! ...... I do this with all my mid & high end gear these days ..... So I get what I want .... & don't have to compromise

Nagg

[oldboot]

In all fairness it is a bit of a mis match, but not an unreasonable discussion.

I've heard a lot of people bag the alvey drag or complete lack of it on some models.

the modern reels do have much better drag systems than the older ones that had a single washer.

As far as breaking an alvey......has anybody seen someone break an alvey apart from droping it from a great height or running over it with the car?

The other thing is if you worked the drags in the alvey... laped the washers and selected the friction material for your desire the drag would be even better.
Isnt ther a good market for doing this to egg braters and overheads....

I've heard a lot of emotive rubbish and preconceptions bandied about.... lets talk facts.
yes the stella will most cretaily be a more sofisticated reel and will problay have many advantage in lots of situations

but so will the alvey
The stella simply can not touch a big alvey for line capacity

The alvey will cretailny be cheaper..... perhaps the compariston should have been with a $150 egg beater or an entry leve overhead

There will be differenced in how a fish is played on the two different styles of reel. but this talk of just winching stuff in.....is rubbish........or do you acknoweledge that the alvey has more pulling power .

you problay wouln't use the same line on both reels but lets say comparble breaking strain.

you would use them on very different rods

and you would fish them both differently.

as far as getting lets asy a standard fish..... lets say a decent snapper...... landed once hooked.

equal fishermen with similar skills on their tackle.

I recon they would both have an even chance.as long as the alvey was a recent large bc or c series.


just as a matter of interest
My young brotherinlaw loves to fish for snapper out in the bay....he has a good selection of tackle.........he uses an old b series alvey on a 12 foot custom rod and 30 lb mono........he has a great time and catches decent fish.......the whole rig cst him less that $300 hook line & sinker.

If he had $1000 to spend on fishing.... it would go toward a bigger boat, not a fancy reel

I cant say his rig would be my choice....... but it works for him.
I woudn't be spending $1000 on any reel either.

cheers

[spears]

There have been a lot of things said by the new generation fisho’s but we do have people here which had started fishing 40 years ago and have been comfortable using so called out dated gear,but these alvey reels have been reliable for us.

I have 2 alvey’s and I have one with a modded drag and I rely on that reel to bring in the big fish.

Give me a stella or saltiga any day for free and I’ll use it but I won’t pay $800-$1000 for a reel..

If I were fishing for a living I would buy something that’s realable and makes it easy for me to make a living.which one would I use alvey / saltiga ..don’t know I’m not a pro fisherman out there every day,but they would know..do we have one here..

This is a simple sport for enjoyment but were heading into rocket science for reels.

[NAGG]

This is a simple sport for enjoyment but were heading into rocket science for reels.

Welcome to the 21st century !
& to those with their eyes shut ........ You probably aint seen nothing yet ( so open your eyes)
Yes $1000 is a fair bit of cash to outlay for a fishing reel ...... but no different to when I was spending $700 on a Finnor or $500 on a Penn International lever drag game reel to catch YFT & other game fish (25 years ago) ...... Technology & precision doesn't come cheap ....... but it does become cheaper
Reels like the Stella & Saltiga use today's technology (materials) which have allowed previously uncharted waters to be crossed! ..... 10 years ago you would have laughed at someone who was going to target Marlin , Tuna ( incl dogtooth) , samson fish , kingfish etc etc etc on Spin gear ( It just wasn't up to it .... or had the line capacity) Now we have reels that not only can handle the drag & stresses ..... but because of the use of thin braided lines , we now have the capacity to boot!
So what does this all mean to the average Jo fishoe who wants to target big fish ...... In simple terms they will have much much lighter gear which is user friendly ..... can handle pretty well the biggest fish , is versatile & should last ( with care) as long as an Alvey ........... Also this new technology allows our kids & wives to participate because the tackle is now manageable .

An Alvey will always have its place ........ however it continues to be pushed further back as we continue to embrace technology

Yes ours is a simple sport ..... But these days its been made a lot more enjoyable because of the tackle which is available ....... Actually these days It is "ROCKET SCIENCE"


Cheers

Nagg

PS .... I'd hate to go back to jigging for Kingies with 4/0 Penn Senators & 7ft fiberglass rods ( 1982 style) .......

[GPB]

Chalk and cheese again oldboot, you wouldn't buy a big 'top end' HD reel for fishing in the bay for Snapper, the brotherinlaws rig is an older style which is made for that style of fishing and he is happy with it [which is the whole point], but a lot of fishers these days chase the same fish with smaller spinning reels in the 2500-4000 sizes with SP's and 10-20lb braid, and they are just as happy, but they are not the $1000 reels referred to .
Also the line capacity becomes irrelevant when bottom fishing especially in the bay, in the 1980's when I used my Alvey Reef Master and 925 Boat Reel fishing the deep water outside the Barwon Banks, I would only replace the top 200-250m as only 150-200m was ever used, the spool had to be filled up with cheap backing.

[wayneoro]

top post nagg ty ok made my mind up will buy stella or simler reel ,sell my reefmaster, keep my alvey 600 c37(timber) and 650c57(glass) but will try buy upgraded washers etc ty all plus of cause my main reel tld20 i die owning lol

[larfin]

If you just look at the reel in the box at the takle store it is hard to justify the money for the stella but once you have used a stella in anger you will never go back .They are just so good.
cheers
greg

[spears]

If the stella reel is so good why did they only give 12 month warranty when there are other reels giving 5 years.

12 month warranty on a 20000 at $1190 geez

[breamnut]

to put it symple for some of u guys. THERE ARE ALOT OF FISH OUT THERE THAT AN ALVEY CANT HANDLE! the stella is a super strong and the 20000 holds over 37kilo of drag!. (no way an alvey can do this) not many guys buy stella if they are only bait fishing.
and yes the alvey is a solid reel but i dont know many people stupid enough to run over there reel in there car. or drop it from a considerable hight.
alvey is fine for what its designed for but i dont see why people dont understand that a $150-$200 reel WILL NOT LAST on some fish!
has anyone seen the IFISH dvd when lee pulled in that massive dog tooth tuna on the stella? that was a 37kilo t,curve jig rod he was using. try stopping that fish on your alvey

[oldboot]

There is no way I would try to tell anybody that an Alvey any Alvey was a better reel in all situations, certainly when it comes to big game & repitition casting they are simply not in the race.

But there is one reason and one reason only that the Alvey products don't have the market volume they deserve..... and that is marketing.

There is one small company marketing a side cast centre pin reel in the world now.

there are at least 5 major players and heaps of minor players marketing thredlines and overheads of some sort, and the combined marketing force and sheer volume of product on the shelves, makes it dificult for the poor old Alvey to be actulay judged on its merits.

I completely realise that southerers in general look down on alvies and always have...... lets face it there is a lot of...... um........ culture ( bull$%#@) associated with every part of fishing, and it is difficult to have a discussion without preconceptions, dogma and marketing getting in the way of reason.

no where has the idea of being "up to date" been better sold to a bunch of suckers than in fishing (if you exclude computing).

The fish don't know & dont care how much your reel cost or how many bearings it has in it, they'll rap you arround a pillon just as fast regardless of the type of line you have on.

I dont think I have seen anything I could consider a truly inovative recent development...it has all been fiddling arround the edges or repackaging of old ideas.

The major changes have been in qulaity of manufacture, reduction in price and marketing.... marketing everwhere.

It is a very long bow to say this type reel or that, this rod or the other, and on down the line to sinkers & hooks... is better or worse......... just different and suitable for different applications.

personaly I own something like 5 threadlines, 8 or so Alvies and 1 "Reel of Satan" ( baitcaster).....I can see the advantages of various types of tackle.
Unfortunately there is an eliment that can not possibly understand what an Alvey can do for you.
Certainly the concept of not having a drag system is a hard one for some to get past......
None of the other reels can match them for simplicity, sensitivity, durability and outright value for money.


You can look down on the poor old Alvey all you like....... but that is your loss.....sucker . Makes the bidding on ebay easier for the rest of us.

cheers