yellowbeard

I'm too old to start with an Alvey, but I sure do go through a shipload of egg beater reels on the beach. I don't mind taking them apart, brushing the sand out with a paintbrush and giving them a grease and oil change, but what I can't stand is crapola spitting the dummy when you just look at them -- And reels that suffer stupid things like little springs breaking and bale arms falling off -- paint peeling off and weird corrosion setting in.
I'm mostly spinning for tailor and bait-casting for bream with about 10lb line.

MyEscape

I don't see why spinning reels should be a problem. As long as they are kept out of the sand. Always use some sort of a rod holder (plastic pipe in the sand).

Most important thing is running the fresh water all over when you are finished, and that includes taking the reel off to wash underneath.

Quality is also important. Cheaper reels are really only for that summer holiday - 4 weeks and chuck them away. Still they can be good value for this.

Steve

goat boy

not sure what you mean by 'too old for an alvey' but an alvey sure would solve most of the problems you seem to be having
plenty of info out there on how to use 'em (and it's actually....easy)
as for spinning slugs, a mid-priced shimano or similar should be fine and give you no probs (depends on how much you want to spend). A good tackle shop could help you out, better yet, give ausfishers your budget and what you're after in a reel and good information will be forthcoming

dagwood

Have found that the TSS4 to be a good alround spinning reel whether on the beach or out in the bay. Have always used Alveys on the beach in the past..mainly bait fishing..but was lucky enough to spend a few days with Slider on Fraser a couple of years back. He put me on to the TSS4 mainly for spinning but I use it on most occasions now. They are very robust and stand up to beach conditions extremely well.

Darryl

hooknose

Hey Yellowbeard, you are never too old to do the alvey thing, the time you will save not having to piss around keeping them out of the sand while you rerig etc and the ease of cleaning/ maintenance is the biggest thing going for them.
Where beach and estuary light gear fishing is concerned, IMHO the direct contact you get bait fishing with an alvey cannot be achieved with any of the other styles of reels, and it will last virtually forever. I still use my old mans 6 1/2 inch timber alvey that would have to be at least 50 years old and it goes like a dream.
By all means go the TSS-4 for spinning(top notch bit of gear, I have an older model one) or perhaps a Torium or similar if you are into overheads but for bait fishing it has to be "ALVEY", remember the old line: "Its the Alvey reel that fills the creel" !!!

DigitalSI

I have two rods for beach fishing. 13'.6" Gary Howard Surf Classic with an Alvey 6500BCVRR Reel and a Wilson 10' with a $100 egg beater. I use the Alvey reel when Tailor fishing using both gangs and lures thanks to the rapid retrieve handle on the model Alvey I purchased. I use the 10' Wilson with the $100 egg beater for spinning only but only gets used when the surf is light. First sign of trouble and the $100 egg beater will be replaced with the new $100 egg beater I keep in the ute as its replacement. The Alvey is great, I know I will never have to replace it, only parts will be replaced in time. I never owned an Alvey before as they looked akward but in reality they are very similar to cast as an egg beater. Like everything, with practise, you will master it.

deepfried

I have found that a really high retrieve rate is not needed for spinning tailor. My reel pulls in 108cm a turn which is fairly good but most of the time i am not cranking the handle that fast. I rekon most reels in your budget would do the job as long as the retrieve is not snail paced. I like my penn spinnfisher for general rock and beach work, they are cheap and handle knocks well. They also have a great drag for a cheapie. All that has been said about alvey reels is right but if you dont like them so be it, i am not a fan myself.

Freeeedom

I'm another Alvey devotee from way back. I always use them when bait fishing the beach or the rocks for everything from bream and whiting up to big jew and pelagics. As the hands and joints have got more arthritic I have come down from the 7" models but still use a plain 6" for the bigger stuff and a 5" on a lighter rod for the dart, bream and whiting in closer. I've had both of these reels for close to 40 years and they are still going strong. I use an egg beater on a separate rod just for spinning, but the arms and shoulders won't stand up to hours of casting and retrieving anymore so I usually have a couple of short spinning sessions when the time and place are ideal. As well the Alvey's give you the greatest casting distance as well. It's worth taking the time to get used to using them - you'll never go back to anything else.
Cheers Freeeedom

yellowbeard

Bloody hell, you guys are pushy!! Well I guess I'll have to put an Alvey on my 'Bucket List' of things to try. I know that anything that has stood the test of time like the Alveys must be a winner, but I love the feel of the egg beaters. I perservered years ago with a nice overhead for jewfishing out of the boat and also currently own a 4500 Shimano baitrunner -- but don't really want to indroduce it to the sand. Recently went on a charter hoping to hook up with some snapper, and bloody hell, all the reels on the boat were Alveys. They just don't have the 'feel' to me (in my humble twisted opinion) -- especially when the deckie kept saying, " ...wind faster, wind faster." Might as well use a boat winch. But the beach is a different deal. There's also a guy whom I have a chat to on the beach who uses these squizzy looking reels that have a strange bale arm and apparently are used by holders world record casting -- they look a bit like overheads, and apparently aren't made anymore. He's also got a South African called a Vivtek Pirahna, which looks like a techno Alvey only you reverse it alternatively on casts so as to neutralise 'twist'. I emailed the manufacturer in SA who quoted me $46 including shipping. Doesn't sound right to me?

Useless trivia department:
Beach fishing (I'm only 12 months into it) had me instantly hooked like 'crack' from the first taste. So-much-so that I'm selling the boat. I was using pilchards exclusively for tailor, but last week one of the guys was chucking Kokada Roger lures at tailor. He got 11 and I got zilch. So I'm now the proud owner of 2 x Kokada Roger lures, which I'll try next trip.

Mac1952

Looks like you,ve made up your mind now. Just an interesting stat regarding egg-beaters: You get what you pay for.

I have been using a Mitchell 308 (yeah, believe me!) for more than 30 years now.
It has caught everything from tailor, through big (20-30kg.) Mulloway, even a 60kg Bronzie, and is as good today as the day it was bought. If not for the hassle of finding spares lately, I wouldn't use anything else.

But they just don't make them that good anymore!!!!

Ps: Anyone out there maybe still has one I can have or buy?

As for South Africa: Consider the exchange rate is roughly7.5/1.
Thus $46 equates to around R345.00, a fair amount of money over there.
I would persue it if I were you: Buy 3, I'll take two off you hands!

Mac

yellowbeard

Thanks Mac, I've been trying to remember that 'Mitchell' name for months now and it's been driving me crackers. A very experienced guy at a Barbeque told me to look out for them at garage sales (Me at a garage sale? I'd rather be orally crotching sheep!!).

And thanks for telling me that the South Africans use rand 'cause I was going to email them and ask if the $46 was South African dollars or AUD. Bit embarrassing!

nigelr

The big Mitchells (488 and 489 left and right hand wind bail arm models, 498, 499 left and right hand wind manual pick-up models) are a fantastic alternative to an Alvey. They were produced between 1969 and the mid to late 80's or so in France, and after that in Asia up to the early 90's I think. The French made models are IMHO very considerably superior.
They are still available, in various conditions of usage, on Ebay, particularly on the US site.
They are a lot lighter than a star drag 650 size Alvey, though Freedoms' 6" plain model would also be a lot lighter than the big star drag 650s.
One bonus of the Mitchells in regards to other eggbeaters is than they are mechanically quite simple and hence easy to clean, and all bearings and most parts are fairly readily available. Expect to pay $300-350 for a mint right hand wind 489 or 499, or $250 $300 for the left hand wind 488 or 498, any of which will, with appropriate care, last you 30+ years.
The Aussie made Se#a#ma#rt#in may also be of interest, worth a google, these are still made today I believe, and are about $170 or so from memory.
Old cedar examples of this classic Aussie reel regularly sell for well over a grand on Ebay!
Cheers.

PNG1M

I've used a variety of reels off the beach over the years but never really came to terms with the Alveys. I always preferred the egg-beater styles.

The PENN SPINFISHER series were my consistent favourites. I probably enjoyed using the 6500 model the most as its a compact size & relatively light.

Sometimes I used the 7500 even though it was a tad bulkier & heavier. So out of those two I reckon y'd have it covered.

The next reel I'll be trying this tailor season is a PENN 560 SLAMMER.

The Penn spinning reels are reliable, not too pricey and they do the job...

---

"...a voice in my head told me I had to go fishing..."

Mac1952

Nigel,

You seem to know a lot about the old Mitchells. Was the 308 lefthand reel ever available in Australia? I would love to get my hands on a few if possible as, to my mind and in my experience, they will outperform even very expensive modern-day reels, due to their simplicity and manufactured quality.

Come to think of it: That is probably why they are not made any more. They last forever and a day!!!!
Everything nowadays has to have a shelf life...................

nigelr

Check your PMs, Mack.
Cheers.