[brooklynangler]

Gents-

I know that there are some real trailblazers here... I've been trying to think of a way to get away from having to use a shooting basket. I'm tired of the tangles.

Anyone have any novel ideas? I was thinking about using one of those Alvey sidecast reels as a fly reel. Instead of shooting my line from my basket, shopoting it off of the sideways-turned alvey.

I can't imagine the parasitic drag from this system to be much different than coming from a shooting basket.

Thoughts?

Any crazy ideas?

BEst-

BrooklynAngler

 

[Hammer]

it's not crazy,,,i've thought about a big ol' spinning reel,you stated you're using amnesia running line on another thread,,?,i use it as well,so,i understand completely!,of course,,,don't know if i'd wanna be seen,,but that's my problem,try it and give us a review,maybe you're onto something

 

[Dr. Swing]

Before you ditch the shooting basket, my thought would be to ditch the Amnesia. That stuff tangles like mad. Coated running lines are better, though they probably will cost you a little distance, if you get an Atlantis-that won't be a problem. Besides a few feet is a small price to pay for way fewer tangles. I just started playing around with a spool of 50lb Rio Slickshooter, and I have been very impressed by it so far. It goes like crazy, is thick enough to get a grip on, doesn't have a ton of stretch, and so has been pretty good about not tangling, but I haven't used it enough to really have a good idea. If you do a search for shooting lines, or slickshooter, a number of threads with other peoples experiences will pop up.

In my very brief experience using stripping baskets, I found the hard plastic ones to be superior than the soft mesh ones. The flat bottom was key. Bigger seemed to be better too, and having those thingys sticking up in the bottom made a diference. But I have fished with a basket a lot less than others who use this site. I hope some of this helps. But I have any super ingenious ideas. The Alvey sidecast was a good one though!

 

[BobK]

Problem with the "Alvey" idea...

Due to the method of use, the Alvey would be a terrible
"line twister". With mono, it'a tolerable - but I like to untwist my mono every couple of hours. With a fly line, it would be about every cast!

BobK

 

[brooklynangler]

Sounds about right

The conclusions about the alvey are about what I had come up with. They mention on their website the proper rigs to minimize twist, but it seems that from the design it would be a problem.

I will certainly try non-mono running line.

Thanks a lot-

brooklyn

 

[Whistler]

Brooklyn,

On a bit of a lark I have played around with shooting line straight off of a LOOP Traditional #3. I use shooting heads and 50# Slickshooter and this seems to work. I do not normally fish like this but in the few instances that I've tried this it worked amazingly well. The trick did seem to be setting the tension on the rollers right. When set too low it needed some finger friction from days gone by with the Silex to prevent overrun. I did this merely to see if it would work-but was impressed with the results. Maybe this is the ultimate crossover for gearheads turned spey?
Brian:hehe:

 

[juro]

I love my stripping basket and would rather have it than a reel to hold the running line. Of course I am a striper hound, and fishing means having the kitchen utensil on the belly, I'd feel naked without one.

I once played a real nasty trick on two friends by walking half way to the water with them, not telling them that they had forgotten their baskets. When we got far enough so I clearly had the advantage, I said well boys I am going to fish while you take a walk. "Take a walk?" yeah back to the truck to get your stripping baskets! No they were not paying customers, of course. Just friends who had given me enough crap for my screw ups so that I relished the chance to point out we're not all perfect!

I've used it to scoop bunker when the blues were pushing them on the beach, I've used it as a hard pillow when I pulled an all nighter on the beach, I've used it as a windshield when I had to relieve myself in a nor-easter and I use it to rinse my stuff after each trip. I've used it to hold beach glass and little shells for my daughters when they still used to cherish the little things that do not come from Newbury St. It's an important part of fishing the beach, I wouldn't be without it in the surf.

But if one more tourist asks me "do you put your fish in there?"...

 

[Maxg]

Alveys do twist line, but since the casting line in a fly system would only be the shooting line, you could put a swivel between the shooting line and the head to allow the shooting line to untwist on the retrieve., and it would do that if the swivel was a good one. I don't doubt that you could use a big 6" alvey but they are heavy and you might have to go up in rod length to get a proper balance. Casting a shooting head, an elongated sinker, from a DH rod using an Alvey sidecast reel, would certainly be a unique idea. And you could use a "reel" retrieve, which if you ran the line through your fingers would help the untwist. Another advantage would be faster fly retrieve, and that might be a big advantage. Why not give it a try. You wouldn't want to shoot the swivel through the runners. Alvey reels are not that expensive in US dollars.
You might get a second hand one if you looked at a few sites in OZ, like www.fishnet.com.au or www.ausfish.com.au www.hotbite.com.au but in any case have fun. max

 

[juro]

After loading 500 yards of backing and a full big game fly line, I estimate that the reel would end up weighing almost three times the weight of a certain IM8 two-hander I favor. The Alvey fly reel weighs 13 oz empty.

Wouldn't be my first choice for weight!

Besides if I were (a) casting off the spool and (b) reeling with the reel each cast I would have a hard time convincing that fickle little guy inside my head I call my conscience that I were flyfishing.

Your results may vary.

.02

 

[brooklynangler]

Juro makes a good point

For goodnesssakes, you're right. That's ONE heavy setup for a fly rod. Wow. Fagedaboudit!

Perhaps there is someone a lot more burly than me willing to try this Alvey business.

Best-

Joe

 

[Maxg]

Well you could go down in size to a 5" Alvey, but even so it would weigh a bit, but then any reel loaded with backing and running line and SSH head is not going to be small. I can't fit a SSH head, 10/11 floater, 50 feet of stuffed shooting line plus 150 yards of Gudebrod SST on my Steelfin XFR reel and it's 4.6 inches. No doubt a OF Nautilus in 5" would be great.
But why wouldn't it be fly casting, you are casting a fly on a fly line, or what is generally accepted as a fly and a fly line , so why the hassle. Its only a rod and a fly line after all. The cast is similar to a DH overhead cast.
I might even try it, if I can borrow an Alvey reel from someone.
Might even be an improvement on the generally accepted fly cast thing.
Max

 

[Penguin]

Atlantis Beast Tamer...

What a drag!...
A little heavy, but the 1000 yards of backing gives me a warm fuzzy feeling... :hehe:

 

[Maxg]

You gotta be joking, I'm serious really. I think a Alvey outfit would cast a fly line really well. and since the swivel is outside the runners it isn't going to be a problem, and it would remove the twist. I'm going to see if I can borrow a reel to try this thing out.
I think it might be a classic way of getting rid of baskets on beaches. Max

 

[Penguin]

Max...I was just playin'around...

Your idea may float but...
Since the Alvey spool pivots 90* to cast then reel, the line leaves a la spinning reel and returns a la conventional. With each cast, twists will be introduces to the length of the line sent out, then repeated. In my minds eye, Chubbly Checker (Let's Twist Again, Like We Did Last Summer) may have already tried this unique approach. May I suggest a ball bearing swivel to help unwind the line as it heads down stream...I've used them on off shore 14wt rigs and they seem to encourage a twist free line. Good Luck!
Give it a shot and let us know how it goes!:smokin:

 

[Maxg]

Well the Alvey system is based on untwisting the line every retrieve, and the swivels do the job. In the fly system it's not mno shooting line, unless you want to use Cobra, which is available here. I will give it a try, just for kicks. Max

 

[Greg Pavlov]

I've used it to scoop bunker when the blues were pushing them on the beach, I've used it as a hard pillow when I pulled an all nighter on the beach, ...etc

It's also a useful bin to set the end of your rod in when you're trying to muck around with something on the end of your rod while on a sand beach, or standing in 2 - 3 feet of (reasonably calm) water.