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Alvey is paying attention

Wednesday, 05 September 2007

Kayak fishing reel in development

I neglected to take a photo of it but I can tell you that renowned Aussie based reel manufacturor, Alvey, have a purpose designed reel intended for kayak fishing in the works. As far as I'm aware there is only one sample in existence right now and Bill 'Billybob' Watson has it in his hot little hands right now. Indeed, it's design is based on some feedback that he offered to them some time ago. At a distance it looks much like the other Alvey reels on offer, with only minor tweaks. The sample model actually holds a km of fishing line and although I can't recall the weight rating (it was 5AM in the morning when Bill told me) I found that to be pretty impressive.

Obviously the stand out feature of Alvey reels - and what is likely to make them attractive as a kayak fishing option - is that they are relatively bullet proof and highly corrosion resistant. I'm not sure if I'd switch from the vanilla threadline reel design, but I can understand why those who are performing regular surf launches would want to. For me the most impressive thing of all is that they have started toying wth the idea of developing a reel intended for kayak fishing. It demonstrates to me that the industry is starting to take notice of our illustrious beloved sport.