Centrepin Users

[Spindle]

ALL THE ABOVE REPLYS ARE FINE, but they do seem to think that, say £125 is cheap for what is, basically, just a reel. I see few drawbacks to them for trotting, they are great. However, there does seem to be some degree of sentimental/purist attitude about them....adcock stanton.aerial etc....I can tell you now that they have been superceeded.Just like say an E type Jag...looks grest, smells great , but with an engine that overheats big time, poor brakes etc......a modern car would out perform it big time.

OKUMA AVENTA PRO....About £80, reliable, dependable and spins like a dream. 5 yr warranty on okuma reels by the way....do the overpriced models, (youngs etc) even if they are still made, offer that ? My only quibble is that it comes in 1 size only, and the retrieve isn't very fast for long trotting.

My 2nd reel is a Leeds.Its 5.5" dia, so the retrieve is really fast. It will spin longer than the Adcock Stanton(I know as my mate has 1, and we tested them). The Adcock looks the part, (E type....) that much i will concede, but if someone offered me a straight swap I'd stick with the Leeds (10 yrs old now). (or i might swap, sell the adcock on ebay , buy a new Leeds and pocket the tidy difference !!) If you damage a pin, you can't buy a "spare spool" . I'd go for the okuma for general work and a large Leeds for long trotting. I don't work for either company. In case you wondered. Keith.

 

 

I sort of agree with you. The Okuma is, from what I've seen, a fantastic well made reel and if you're not prejudiced about it being made in the far east, is easily the best value reel out there. A lot of traditionally british companies have had to adapt to this, and I *believe* that companies such as Hardy, Youngs and so on now have much of their reels made in foreign parts, and assembled over here.

 

I think pins more than any other item of tackle seem to cause the most discussion and controversy. My personal feeling is the more you use one the more you know what you like. Or perhaps it's me being really fussy!

 

If I had £125 given to me today, I would genuinely go out and buy a Match Aerial (or a Fred Crouch version).

 

If somebody else was given it they would think I was crazy and make a bolt for the Sheffield.

 

You would pocket £70 and use the Leeds. And if that's good enough for you then good on you.

 

I guess that's the way it is! I just wish the new Greys Bewick I ordered from eBay a few years ago for £100 had turned up!)

[Michael G]

I wanted to try the centre-pin and not spend a lot of money, so I bought the Okuma. Last month in County Cavan I found out how perfect it was. I was trotting the channel at the bridge in Killykeen and I found that if I lifted the rod so that the line was out of the water, the current alone was enough to draw line off the reel. As my float came close to the bridge I got bite after bite from roach, but the line was tight enough to hook them if I just clamped my thumb on the reel and lifted into them. It was perfect fishing. Perhaps a centre-pin costing three times as much would be that much better, but I can't imagine needing it.

 

(Experienced centre-pin users may laugh at me, I realise, but I'm happy with my Okuma.)

[Paul_D]

If I had £125 given to me today, I would genuinely go out and buy a Match Aerial (or a Fred Crouch version).

 

Quite suprised at this, and it emphasises how much it all comes down to individual tastes with the centepin. I've got a Fred Crouch and I think it's by far the worst of my (7, I think) 'pins by a long way.

 

To illustrate; I have a 'real' Match Aerial but also the Free Spirit badged version of the Match Aerial and I love it (albeit, not so much for trotting but more legering). When Alan Roe did his 'magic' on it and filed away to make it run that bit better, I was more than pleased with the results but he obviously had no regard for the reel at all....hey ho! I guess the days spent using them and the results attained count for a lot in formulating your personal preferences.

 

My original Aerial, closely followed by the James Lightweight are both my pride and joy....but I aspire to a Witcher one day.

 

As for the Okuma.....Ford Capri Ghia, Rodney!

[gozzer]

ALL THE ABOVE REPLYS ARE FINE, but they do seem to think that, say £125 is cheap for what is, basically, just a reel. I see few drawbacks to them for trotting, they are great. However, there does seem to be some degree of sentimental/purist attitude about them....adcock stanton.aerial etc....I can tell you now that they have been superceeded.Just like say an E type Jag...looks grest, smells great , but with an engine that overheats big time, poor brakes etc......a modern car would out perform it big time.

OKUMA AVENTA PRO....About £80, reliable, dependable and spins like a dream. 5 yr warranty on okuma reels by the way....do the overpriced models, (youngs etc) even if they are still made, offer that ? My only quibble is that it comes in 1 size only, and the retrieve isn't very fast for long trotting.

My 2nd reel is a Leeds.Its 5.5" dia, so the retrieve is really fast. It will spin longer than the Adcock Stanton(I know as my mate has 1, and we tested them). The Adcock looks the part, (E type....) that much i will concede, but if someone offered me a straight swap I'd stick with the Leeds (10 yrs old now). (or i might swap, sell the adcock on ebay , buy a new Leeds and pocket the tidy difference !!) If you damage a pin, you can't buy a "spare spool" . I'd go for the okuma for general work and a large Leeds for long trotting. I don't work for either company. In case you wondered. Keith.

 

 

5 Year warranty? I bought my Match Aerial new in 1968, £6-8s-0d. Still use it, only thing is I broke the knob on the ratchet, keep meaning to fix it, but rarely use the ratchet anyway, so it's not missed.

[chavender]

What exactly can go wrong with a centrepin, apart from denting it, which is generally considered to be your own fault I imagine...

 

 

 

well the only moving part with metal-to-metal contact could wear !

[dogstick]

Thanks for all the replies.Don`t think I`ll be fishing the pin regular,unless of course I get hooked(pardon the pun)so it sounds like the Okuma model will be ideal...

I`ve looked at some of the other reels mentioned and they do look fantastic.....I can always upgrade later

DS

[Chris Goddard]

D/S!!(And all) Unless your name is PLUMB or SPINDLE you are NOT going to APPRECIATE a named pin i fear!! Stick to the Okuma and enjoy and then IF...........

 

 

(PS NO offence intended by NAME calling! )

[ColinW]

I have a Leeds and I have to question the build quality. When I first got it the outer casing of a bearing was actually spinning in its housing. Credit to them they replaced the reel but there's no way that first reel should have ever left the factory with what I'd consider such a serious fault. On the plus side, having got a good one, it fishes really well, which is what is important at the end of the day.

[kreid]

[i guess that's the way it is! I just wish the new Greys Bewick I ordered from eBay a few years ago for £100 had turned up!)

 

Well don't fret(unless you lost your cash obviously)...typical Grey's...overpriced and overhyped.I have tried 1 and have to say it was "slow" to spin....ie, it didn't revolve for that long. Shop owner said it needed "running in".....I want 1 to work from the off. I think he was having me on. Maybe not ? Also seemed heavy!

[poledark]

I was brought up using centrepins, actually owned an Allcocks Ariel (untill it was stolen)

 

First off, the ability of a pin to spin for a long time depends on two things...first the weight of the spool/flywheel...second the bearings.

 

Fact is, that ball races offer much less friction, so are freer running than plain bearings/spindle, and if you couple this with a "heavy" spool then it should "spin for ages".

 

Doesn't make it any better for fishing though.

 

Diameter plays a large part in how easily a reel starts to turn, for any given design, the larger dia the better...

 

When my Ariel went, I took the insurance money with no intention of replacing it, but did buy a Shakespeare Black prince (?)

This was awfull and I ended up putting my own ball races in it, and used it for barbel fishing a few times. I still couldn't understand all the fuss about "direct feel" and all the other cobblers spouted about 'pins

 

There is one other point, having watched a few pin men in action, I actually think they hinder fishing and don't help. Swim selection is often governed by whether it suits the pin, rather than where the fish may be, large areas of water are unfished because they are not trottable or to slow or to far away..................

 

Give me a good C/F or F/S any day.

 

Den