Centre pin reel fishing

[gozzer]

Like many others, I like the simplicity of the centre pin, the direct 'feel' when playing a fish, and I have more confidence playing large fish on finer lines, than I do with a geared reel. Ideal for trotting, but also good for fairly close fishing in stillwater, and of course the ratchet can be used like a 'baitrunner', with built in audible alarm, when legering. Only two things stop me using a centre pin, that's fishing at a distance, and a nuisance wind.

 

John.

[Mark Wintle]

I must admit that the best thing that ever happened with my fishing was learning how good a fixed spool reel was compared to the dreadful 'centrepin' (what I now know was actually a Victorian fly reel with a diameter of 2.5") that I was struggling to fish with at the age of 11. The advantages of using a 'pin for trotting are seriously overstated; bait presentation depends on many other more important factors including but not confined to; choice of float, shotting, choice of line, feeding, wind, current, range, rod used, friction in rod rings, angler skill and finally, maybe 5% comes down to the reel. If you want the ultimate in bait presentation then master a roach pole. Practice trotting for 40 years and with a bit of coaching and striving to improve you ought to be able to make a decent fist of it regardless of reel.

 

I like using a 'pin for occasional stillwater fishing close in.

[gozzer]

Well Sussex, you'll now know that it's down to personal preference, and confidence, as are many things in angling. A reel is just a tool in your tackle box, and, just like I have a favourite hammer, that I sometimes use when a lighter one might be better, so it is with a centre pin. Like mark says, for ultimate float presentation, you can't beat a pole, but try trotting 40yds with one. A fixed spool will allow you to fish at a greater distance, and let you play a good fish, but a centre pin doesn't need a pre-set clutch, or any adjustment during the fight, it's just down to thumb, or finger, pressure. I was brought up using a 'pin, as were many of my generation, and it was many years before I needed to buy a fixed spool, so I'm a bit biased.

 

My personal view is that if you have never used a 'pin, then I would suggest a bearing 'pin, to start out with, and maybe try a true 'pin later, just my opinion, others may disagree.

Whatever you decide, enjoy it.

 

John.

[Tigger]

I used a fixed spool or a close faced reel for trotting for the majority of my life, always fancying a centrepin but jusy never having the money to afford a decent one, or should I say I never wanted one enough to spend the amount of money a good one cost to buy.

In 2005 I joined this forum and at that time this forum was a bustling place to be and amongst the posters there where quite a few centrepin enthusiasts. All the chi-chat about centrepins re-kindled my old hankering for one and swayed me to get one, then another and so on until I found myself with a cabinet full !

 

I have the opposite optinion to Marks and I think a centrepin is far better to trott a float with than a fixed spool or closed faced reel...so long as were talking a top and bottom type float, trotting a waggler is more suited to a fixed spool.

Regarding casting, I can cast quite well with a centrepin and for the most part I have no problems reaching the line I want to trott, and I mostly fish on quite a large river.

 

Mark, if you think the advantages of using a pin for trotting is serioussly overated then maybe you need a few lessons from someone who can use one correctly...seriously. All the people who think you can only trott off the rod top when using a pin need to practice a little more or get someone to show them how it's done.

Trotting with a centrepin reel is like anything else....you get back what you put in, if you like fishing with a pin then you will improve as you'll keep trying until you get things right, if your half hearted and not really botherd then you'll never improve and you may as well forget the pin and stick to a eggbeater .

Edited July 29, 2016 by Tigger

[ayjay]

Lol ajay, that sounds like something that would happen to me !

 

Several years ago I was stood mid-river trotting for barbel and had hooked one and was in the middle of playing it when I stepped backwards and stepped off a ledge of bedrock into a deeper hole. I went straight down under the water.At a guess it must have been at least 6 inches to over a foot over my head before my feet touched bottom and I pushed myself back up. I had my arm outstretched straight up in the air like the statue of libery and was still clutcing my rod in it, my finger still pressed on the centrepins spool stopping the barbel pulling off line. I did catch the barbel ok lol.

It was a seriously hot spell and in all honesty if I hadn't swallowed a mouthfull of the river water it wouldn't have been so bad as the water felt like warm bath water. After releasing the barbel I emptied out my waders and stipped off to me crackers to try and dry out. I thought i'd carry on fishing and wade out in my bare feet. That was a mistake as the rocks where wrecking me feet so I was forced to wade in my wet waders and my skids...a litle embarassing when other anglers walked past as I felt as though I looked like a gay boy!!

 

I've done the river ducking too, but mine was in December, I was stood just in the edge in a swim I fished often and knew well, I had a nice rhythm going, cast float, switch rod to left hand, reach behind for loose feed, chuck in loose feed. (sounds a bit convoluted but it worked OK in that swim).

 

All went well until on one chuck of loose feed I managed to whack the butt of the rod with the heel of my hand and deposit it into the water in front of me, I leant forward to retrieve it, leant forward across an upright pole buried in the river bed which had probably been a reinforcement for the front of the swim in some past age, the rod was tantalisingly close to my fingertips so I leant a little harder and the pole suddenly snapped depositing me in the river face down from the waist up, the lurch forward also enabled my waders to fill up.

 

I got out and dried off as much as I could, had a word with a mate a couple of swims away to keep an eye on my gear and drove home and changed clothes.

[Tigger]

 

Lol ajay, I know it's not funny when it happens, but you've gott'a laugh about it later .

 

I've had several more accidents similar to yours with one where I slid slowly down a icy grass bank, fingernails scraping into the ground desperatly trying to prevent my fate of a dunking in virtual sewage water!

[lutra]

I used a fixed spool or a close faced reel for trotting for the majority of my life, always fancying a centrepin but jusy never having the money to afford a decent one, or should I say I never wanted one enough to spend the amount of money a good one cost to buy.

In 2005 I joined this forum and at that time this forum was a bustling place to be and amongst the posters there where quite a few centrepin enthusiasts. All the chi-chat about centrepins re-kindled my old hankering for one and swayed me to get one, then another and so on until I found myself with a cabinet full !

 

I have the opposite optinion to Marks and I think a centrepin is far better to trott a float with than a fixed spool or closed faced reel...so long as were talking a top and bottom type float, trotting a waggler is more suited to a fixed spool.

Regarding casting, I can cast quite well with a centrepin and for the most part I have no problems reaching the line I want to trott, and I mostly fish on quite a large river.

 

Mark, if you think the advantages of using a pin for trotting is serioussly overated then maybe you need a few lessons from someone who can use one correctly...seriously. All the people who think you can only trott off the rod top when using a pin need to practice a little more or get someone to show them how it's done.

Trotting with a centrepin reel is like anything else....you get back what you put in, if you like fishing with a pin then you will improve as you'll keep trying until you get things right, if your half hearted and not really botherd then you'll never improve and you may as well forget the pin and stick to a eggbeater .

I think we need to remember that we are blessed with good pacey rivers around here for long trotting Ian, where a pin really maximizes control and its easy to keep things moving at the speed you want. Not sure I would be quite the same pinhead if I was surrounded by big slow unwadeable rivers.

[Mark Wintle]

I used a fixed spool or a close faced reel for trotting for the majority of my life, always fancying a centrepin but jusy never having the money to afford a decent one, or should I say I never wanted one enough to spend the amount of money a good one cost to buy.

In 2005 I joined this forum and at that time this forum was a bustling place to be and amongst the posters there where quite a few centrepin enthusiasts. All the chi-chat about centrepins re-kindled my old hankering for one and swayed me to get one, then another and so on until I found myself with a cabinet full !

 

I have the opposite optinion to Marks and I think a centrepin is far better to trott a float with than a fixed spool or closed faced reel...so long as were talking a top and bottom type float, trotting a waggler is more suited to a fixed spool.

Regarding casting, I can cast quite well with a centrepin and for the most part I have no problems reaching the line I want to trott, and I mostly fish on quite a large river.

 

Mark, if you think the advantages of using a pin for trotting is serioussly overated then maybe you need a few lessons from someone who can use one correctly...seriously. All the people who think you can only trott off the rod top when using a pin need to practice a little more or get someone to show them how it's done.

Trotting with a centrepin reel is like anything else....you get back what you put in, if you like fishing with a pin then you will improve as you'll keep trying until you get things right, if your half hearted and not really botherd then you'll never improve and you may as well forget the pin and stick to a eggbeater .

Exactly what advantage am I missing? I no longer match fish but when I did most of it was on moving water and if a centrepin truly offered an advantage we'd have seen far more of them. When I started a few of the older anglers used them but once we gained experience in feeding and control we could easily outfish those using 'pins. Now I fish for pleasure and no longer care whether I catch ten fish or two hundred, not even that bothered what they are or how big just that I enjoy doing it. this week I've trotted a pacy river Frome for dace and suffered a massive shoal of mullet, and hemp and tared on the slow moving upper Dorset Stour for roach. In both cases a centrepin, in experienced hands would have worked equally as well as my old Mitchell Match, but there was nothing at stake but my pleasure and I simply don't enjoy trotting with a pin and never have. I've watched some very good anglers fish the 'pin including Wayne Swinscoe fish one in a Div 1 National.

[Tigger]

I think we need to remember that we are blessed with good pacey rivers around here for long trotting Ian, where a pin really maximizes control and its easy to keep things moving at the speed you want. Not sure I would be quite the same pinhead if I was surrounded by big slow unwadeable rivers.

I'm sure there's plenty rivers up and down the country that have decent enough flow to make good use of a pin. The kind you mention may be best fished with a fixed spool reel but those sluggish rivers arn't my cupp'a tea. I'd most likely leger on a water like that or better still i'd get in the car and find one I liked.

[Tigger]

Exactly what advantage am I missing? I no longer match fish but when I did most of it was on moving water and if a centrepin truly offered an advantage we'd have seen far more of them. When I started a few of the older anglers used them but once we gained experience in feeding and control we could easily outfish those using 'pins. Now I fish for pleasure and no longer care whether I catch ten fish or two hundred, not even that bothered what they are or how big just that I enjoy doing it. this week I've trotted a pacy river Frome for dace and suffered a massive shoal of mullet, and hemp and tared on the slow moving upper Dorset Stour for roach. In both cases a centrepin, in experienced hands would have worked equally as well as my old Mitchell Match, but there was nothing at stake but my pleasure and I simply don't enjoy trotting with a pin and never have. I've watched some very good anglers fish the 'pin including Wayne Swinscoe fish one in a Div 1 National.

Pity we don't live a little closer to each other Mark, we could have met up and compare methods. I'm not very good at explaining things in writing so I won't make a fool of myself trying to, other than to say for "myself" after using both pins and egg beaters a centrepin reel is a superior tool for trotting a top and bottom float in most circumstances. I've found within a reasnable distance I can cast my float more accuratly with a pin than I can with a beater. I can wind in my tackle pretty much as fast with a pin as with a fixed spool also.

As I said earlier, if your not really into pins and using them you'll never get the results out of them that you would if you enjoyed using them and used one often enough to get proficiant at using it. I'm not trying to lord it over anyone with what i'm saying, i've only really been using a pin for a decade but because I found I like using them so much and i've caught a lot of fish with one i've really tried to master the use of one more than the majority do...can you make sense of that? Lol.