PHP Warning: Use of undefined constant VBA_SCRIPT - assumed 'VBA_SCRIPT' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in ..../includes/functions_navigation.php(802) : eval()'d code on line 1 ALVEY 40AIS - Any Good??
I done bought be an Alvey 40AIS..the second Alvey I've ever bought.The other reel's a deep sea "Snapper" reel.I've used a sidecast years ago as my dad has an old wood one that he used to catch gummy sharks with on the surf.
Just wondering how this model stacks up against the newer reels and what sort of fishing It'd be good for??..I'm down here in Victoria and like surf fishing as well as boat & pier etc.I know I'll have to use a low mount rod etc.
The reel is an older model but is NEW/unused with the box,papers etc.I won it from a USA seller on the big auction house - a bit of an impulse buy.
in that case it would be a little 4", probaly with a bakerlite spool and fixed handles with no star drag.
In that case... give it a good clean inside and out.....if you have the ability...chuck the spool up in a lathe and polish the outside of the spool...400 800 1200 wet and dry folowed with some automotive duffing compound.
put er all together with sewing machine oil or lanolin spray.
spool it up with some good 4 or 6lb mono and you have a very nice bream and whiting reel.
the spools are very light and the action once lubed up is sooooo smmmoooth.
after you polish the spool the line will come off slick as snot of a door knob
they are good reels. That particular model has been around a very long time and has proven reliability. then again, all alveys do. it would be best matched with a fibreglass eastuary rod, or a composite. that model is designed for baitfishing mainly as the retrieve rate is quite slow. As oldboot said, they do have a beautiful action when cleaned up a little. I use alveys off the beach and rocks. Their simplicity, durability and ease of use make them lovely reels to fish with.
One note however, since its an A model, which means fixed handles, if you get a decent fish you will have to "palm" the reel. this is basically a way of administering drag.
The thing that is unmatched about a small alvey is the sensitivity.
you cne feel everything and you can allow the fish to take line even before it knows its hooked
At one time I would have said stick it on a "black queen", but I think something with a bit more stifness in the but but still a soft action in the tip would be better.
Yeah they are a top reel the Alvey,probably suffer a lot from not being as "cool" as others which is a shame.I will get the spool smoothed and I reckon a nice "bread & butter" rod is on the cards..maybe something around 8ft.I reckon it'd be good for garfishing too.
I know what you mean about palming the spool as I grew up reading Australian Angler/Fishing World & Modern Fishing and reading about battles with beasties and burnt palms from the spools. ...a bit more inspirational somehow than the whizz-bang $$$$ reels and toomany modulus rods used in playing with bream..anyway I digress!
The reel is probably more of a collector since it (allegedly) hasn't been used at all but I do want to use it around the local estuaries for the usual flathead,whiting etc.
That one probaly isnt all that collectable... looks pretty recent.... just like the ones currently available.
even if it was an early one with a light spool and hoop stripping guide...... the 4" was possibly one of the most common reels sold in australia in the 60's and 70's.
They were cheap and worked well.
I have 40C series with the star drag...they are a bit less common.....one of those with 60's packaging....that would be collectable.... but still only a $100 or so worth.....yoa might get $200 if it was perfect and the right buyer was looking.
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