INDIANANGLER

Have been using superlines for couple of years - most know the advantages - can somebody advise on their longevity and maintenance aspect?

The color fade early on is not the problem; its the fraying and dryness (?) of the lines that worries me.

Depends on what terrain and what I am fishing for.

Unlike mono, braided lines do not decompose when exposed to light so they should happily sit on a reel from one season to the next.

They don't contain plasticisers like flylines do, so there isn't any chemical mainainence to worry about.

Some lines have a teflon based coating that will fray up a bit after use. This doesn't significantly affect strength but isnt estheticaly pleasing and can reduce casting distance a little. Don't chuck the line out, just turn in arround on the reel and use the other end.
When both ends are frayed, take the line off the spool, add a little backing and re-load the line - disguarding the frayed bit at the end.

Generally, braided and fused lines don't have good abraision resistance so mono might be a better choice where there are rocks, oysters etc.
A lot of problems can be avoided (when lure fishing) by using a mono or wire leader but if you think that the line has been dragged through a snag, you can give it a quick test by grabbing the lure and loading the rod up prior to re-casting. If the line has been badly damaged, it'll probably part when you do this rather than when the next fish comes allong.

Thanks Ken

That was brilliant

I think am going to incorporate mono at the lead - will give me some flex and take care of the abrasion & fraying..

Will revert mid/end May after the big fish event in my life

Thanks again

Suffix performance braid is supposed to have better abrasion resistance compared to the others. I've ordered some and will post a mini review once it's here.

Bops

I;ve bought a spool of suffix 17lb mono and havent used it - looks good though in terms of the dia/fineness - plan to use it on the Alvey - was using 25Lb on it but couldn't get the casting right. Maybe some of the bangalore guys should check out the Alvey, if one is casting and then waiting for the fish to take - the alvey can throw a chicken quite a long way..

What dia lines will the Alvey hold Viraj? and how much of it ?
Does the spool over run when casting, do you have to use your thumb to control line line flow during casting, or do they have inbuilt casting brakes? I checked out some Aussie sites that sell them.
Regards
Owen

Hi Owen,

In the Alvey reel the line comes off like that of a fixed spool, when you want to cast, you the Twist/turn the whole drum/reel across and cast like you would with a fixed spool reel. You then turn the drum back into the original position to wind.

The biggest drawback with the Alvey is because of twisting the reel into the cast position and twisting back into the winding position the line twists.

They were originally designed for Fly Casting but were outlawed because it made fly casting easier

Regards,

Bobby

The 500 C alvey that I have can take 1000 mtr of 8 LB, if I remember correct.

The casting is easy - actually its like hurling the bait - the reel comes with a diagram on teh stance you should use

The advantages are given on the site - no gears, great drag, immense line capacity and tremendous casting distance.

I havent achieved that 'cause I was using 25Lb mono - had about 400 yards of line on and I think the line was too heavy for the equipment. Incidentally teh Alvey requires a different rod as the first guide has to be at half the distance from the reel to rod tip.

The reason I was suggesting for the Cauvery is that (supposedly) one can feel every nibble on the line as its direct to the bait w/o a bail - will be trying the Alvey again with the 17lb suffix mono and will revert. But as I spin using rapalas & spoons, spininng on the Alvey is not as simple as spinning with conventional. Though the 1:1 retrieve doesn't bother one at all - the Penns that I use typically have 4.6:1 and I was wondering whether that would be a problem.

Maybe when I come to Bgl next will carry it along and possibly try it on the Cauvery

Thanks for the info on twisting the reel and casting Bobby, thats an interesting concept.
They looked like fly reels to me, so i was wondering how the devil they can cast out a chicken without a bird nest

Hi Viraj,
Problem is that we use lines between 30 & 40lb BS as you know. So how much of it will the Alvey hold ? and how well will they cast with heavy lines. Looks like it will require a new type of guide spacing.
Regards
Owen

The twist and turn is similar to what Kite Fliers do - when they want line to come out really fast they hold the line/roll in one hand and point to the direction where the line has to unravel and reverse that when they want to retrive or slow the unravelling.

Havent tried it often enough, but havent experienced line twists yet - sometimes the line did get entangled during a cast when my retrieve had not wound up right, which can happen in the absence of a bail arm guiding the line onto the spool - that does worry me though, 'cause if i have to use my fingers to lay the line then what happens when I catch a big one??

There is also a open fixed guide on the rod next to the reel, which is supposedly for placing the line during the retrieve - also the spool is sloped so some of the laying happens automatically