Incredibly, there are still boat anglers out there who have yet to fish uptide. Uptide fishing won’t always provide more fish in shallow water where other approaches fail. But it is a useful extra weapon to have in your armoury for particularly shallow water, and for species such as tope and bass which can be put off coming within drop down fishing range by vibration and noise radiating out from a boat. Reasons put forward for this unwillingness to at least give uptiding a try include the need to be able to cast, which for some boat anglers is the main reason why they choose the boat over the beach, and the cost of kitting out for something they may not take to. Both are valid reasons for not giving it a go. But both are straight forward obstacles to get over.
The casting problem can be overcome simply by using a fixed spool reel. Fixed spools are not used often enough for boat fishing. There are however situations where a fixed spool reel is not going to be the right choice. Examples here would be deep water drop down fishing; areas with lots of tide requiring big leads, and heavy non free swimming fish suck as thornback rays which come up like a sack of cement. In a nutshell, fixed spool reels are not good at coping with dead weight situations. Ideally what is needed is a reel that can combine the fixed spools ability to cast with the dead weight lifting capabilities of a good multiplier. The Australians solved this problem years ago with the development of the Alvey Side Cast range of reels currently imported and marketed in the UK by Shakespeare.
Before taking a closer look at the Alvey, lets first lay the 'problem' of cost in kitting out for uptiding to rest. If you can’t cast and/or like centre pin reels, the Alvey provides one cost cutting route in itself. As I said earlier, fixed spool reels won't necessarily double up for other types of fishing, but the Alvey can. So far as rods for uptiding go, there is no short cut. But there are ways of sugaring the pill such as shopping at the budget end of the range. This unfortunately can turn out to be a more expensive approach long term if the first rod you choose isn’t up to the job and you end up having to buy a more expensive version later. The term budget however does not have to go hand in glove with cheap and nasty. There are decent rods out there at the lower end of the market range. Take a look at the Shakespeare catalogue.
Shakespeare market several models of uptide rod, none of which is particularly expensive. With a shop around price tag often less than £30, the Onset Uptide is a very good starting point. Alvey reels also offer a degree of choice from the most basic at under £20 through to the 650 mode. The one I field tested on the Onset Uptide rod was the 500 model which falls midway through the range. Twisting the reel spool through 90 degrees to drop down or to cast takes a bit of getting used, but putting a lead a decent distance away from the boat was the same as casting with any traditional fixed spool reel. The spool is then rotated back to the centre pin position.
The Aussies apparently used Alvey reels for all manner of fishing and seem to manage fine. No point then me taking it fishing for dabs or something similar. What I wanted was something capable of running line from the reel to try out the ratchet as a bite warning device, and later the 'lever' drag allowing the spool to rotate independently of the handle. Other centre pin reels such as the old one piece wooden Scarborough with their fixed handles are unable to do this. Equally I wanted something to test the boasts made for the rod. The best fish to give both pieces of kit a good airing would have to be tope, fished for with a fair old lick of tide running to see how the rod would cope in terms of tip sensitivity and not jumping the grip of the lead.
Looking at the taper of the rod, I initially thought it would be made of glass. However, a warning sticker near the butt about the danger of touching overhead power wires suggests it must be graphite. A rather heavy looking rod for its 2 to 6 ounce weight range, but not a bad rod to cast and hold across the tide with, and a rod with plenty of power when it comes to bullying a decent fish. As for the Alvey, this is a surprisingly user friendly reel to use. Its ratchet sounded out loud and clear when the runs came along, and its drag was sensitive enough to protect the 18lbs line adequately. I deliberately set the drag light, preferring to apply extra pressure when pumping fish on the lift stroke by holding the side of the spool. That way I could release the pressure in a split second if the fish showed any signs of taking off again.
My initial concerns were that the rod might be a bit too heavy and that the reel would be slow and laborious. I was pleasantly surprised on both counts. Anyone giving uptiding a miss on the grounds of not being able to cast with a multiplier should give the Alvey a go. There are no longer any excuses.
SPECIFICATIONS
ONSET UPTIDE ROD: No lay up information is provided by Shakespeare in their catalogue on the blank used for this particular rod, though I suspect it has some fibre glass in it, particularly towards the tip. This is no bad thing for an uptider, as graphite blanks need a glass tip with flex if it is not to jump the lead in a bumpy sea. Glass also has better sensitivity for bite detection. Overall length of both models is 9.5 feet with a graphite reel seat and ceramic lined guides.
ALVEY 500 REEL: The side cast principal has stood the test of time and Alvey reels are very simple yet highly efficient pieces of kit to use. The 500 model comprises a light graphite frame with a fibreglass maxi strength spool, sensitive lever drag positioned close to the handle in the centre of the spool, ratchet for free running fish, and silent anti-reverse. After turning the spool to face forward for casting, it can be turned sideways in either direction to suit either left or right handed retrieve preference.
