Jump to content

Center pin reels

Rate this topic


BrianBM

Recommended Posts

14 hours ago, BrianBM said:

Apparently it's mostly done with a fly at the bitter end. The difference between drifting a fly beneath a bobber, and using a bit of lead on a fly reel to keep a fake egg down in the water column (and fishing the same on a fly rod) isn't all that great.

 

I don't think I'd call it fly fishing, since casting is all but impossible (AFAIK) and it need not involve a fly line. YMMV.

After looking up what centerpin fishing is, I agree with you, but for a different reason, that it is not fly fishing, even when tying a fly at the end of a centerpin outfit. Indeed,  you can fish a fly with any rod, be it a spinning rod, bait casting rod or whatever and it's not fly fishing in my book. What differentiates fly fishing is that when one casts a fly line with a fly rod, it's the line that carries whatever you tie at the end to the target  and not the other way around as it is with other methods of fishing including  centerpinning.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pinning as we call it over here is mostly used on rivers with a good flow to allow the spool to turn and give line from the flow. It can be slowed with the thumb on the rod holding hand to slow down the presentation to a speed that is less than the current. If by doing this the float rises up we over shot the float so if dropped into a slack it would sink. You play around with your split shot to get the balance right. The float is heavier than we would use on a slower river so it has enough mass with the shot  to turn the spool. The heavier float allows more aggressive braking to. Light floats that only carry say 3 no 4 shot are  hard work with a pin as you would have to keep nudging the spool with your thumb. We pray for upstream winds which help with float control massively.

 

This is very important. We fish  the pin so the reel spindle is 90 degrees to the waters surface. On its side if you prefer. Why so we can control with the thumb on the rod hand. Plus real pin bearings only work in this orientation. Some heathen modern reels have wash my mouth out ball races so could be fished under the rod but control is not good that way. It is way easier if you put the line on the reel so it comes off when trotting from the top of the reel Not the underside like it is on a fly reel. Why well because in a slower glide where the spool needs some encouragement to turn it is way way easier to nudge the reel with a push of the thumb tip rather than a pull. Another tip don’t overfill your reel or the line will dig in and the float will not travel smoothly. This can and will put fish off as the presentation is not natural. Line about 4lb is good and around 80 yards of it..Lines more than 4lb are very difficult to keep afloat on the surface. You need to put proper mono line floatant  on your line.

 

Ok if you have a stinker of a down stream wind you can try a sinking line. We also will back shot our float if using a floating line with a downstream wind. You put a small shot on the line above the float by about four feet  to sink the line by the float. You need to experiment with the shot size. Pre stretched mono is not good for this style of fishing you want limp regular mono..


Hope this is useful.

 

mike

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Suave, I agree with you.  Mike, thank you too. The idea of fishing a reel sideways strikes me as odd, but then again, you guys like warm beer too. And there are still old, VERY old old timers who apparently prefer sidewinder reels for blackfish.

 

Always a pleasure to get good answers from knowledgeable people.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Brian we fish the reel with the handles if your reel has handles fitted facing to the sky because that  is the correct way to fish them as explained in my post. Fishing the reel beneath the rod like you would a fly reel puts you in the same category as the guys who fishes his spinning reel on top of his rod and reels backwards.  
Some guys take the handles off or if buying from the small specialist makers specify no handles. This allows the reel to be batted which means with your palm you gently strike your reels spool to make it spin. This is way way faster than winding using the handles. A long trot can be forty yards and if match fishing speed is very important. It is nice when not fishing for money to.
You need to understand that the original pins made by Allocks in Redditch England for one had a proper pin bearing arrangement. The bearing is a top hat and actually sits on top of the pin. If you fish the reel underneath the rod the spool will slap from side to side. Even ball race modern reels if you want to get the best out of them and why would you not are  fished with the spindle pointing up to the sky as is the face of the spool. 
look up names like Match Ariel which had a narrow 1 inch wide spool. I have a hand made  Richard Carter pin made  in the old style so it is a proper pin.

Youngs do nice ball race reels.  A good condition Ariel will fetch very good money on the used market. They are treasured.

 

Bill is in the post Brian. There  is more I could add about wind and control but would need convincing of the real need and affirmation that if I do this the guys will actually listen take heed and bloody well do it.

 

mikey

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to register here in order to participate.

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


×
×
  • Create New...