as promised a writeup from my fishing buddy on centre pins
regards carl.
Centre pin reels are the ultimate fishing experience "ONCE they are mastered" originally made for the simple reason of "having a running line" they evolved to become a reel which was used primarily on running water, the idea being, that when your trotting with a fixed spool, the line tends to come off a bit wobbley and juddery, therefore this equates to the float and therefore bait doing the same, the ultimate damage is that the bait acts unnaturaly, with a centrepin this doesnt happen at all! The basic principal behind stick fishing is the bait must go throught the swim slightley slower that the current, not many people know why, but this is because on running water the layer of water at the top of the river runs faster than that at the bottom, so if left unchecked the float would pull the bait through faster than is natural and would probably spook fish, So you slow it down, with a pin this is easy, as you just touch the rim with finger or thumb.
The aeriel match is wideley believed to be the best trotting reel ever produced, made from about 1964 to 1972 they were also the last of the aeriel type reels that allcock ever made.the aeriel match is 4 and a half inch diameter and is a narrow drum, they spin for between one and two and a half mins, though I tend to slow mine down as they are just to free running The aeriels were invented by henry coxon in the late 1800s . he had the idea after looking at a bike wheel, he built one and went to allcocks, at the time reels were of solid wood and tended to warp after being wet, the first aeriels (trade mark) that were in circulation were or the type as used by Chris yates in a passion for angling (his is a 1915 version) and was given to him by donald leney , the man who stocked redmire pool amongst others, names to look out for are aeriel and popular, the aeirel had spokes , the pop didnt but was made of a lesser grade aluminium, they all were fitted with bone, horn or xylonite handles, when you see them now they are usually crazed and a dirty colour, they also had brass fittings, they were made in sizes from 3" to 5" including the halfs and were all wide drum which basically makes them easier to wallis cast (around an inch), these are mint reels but because of passion for angling are very expensive, expect to pay up to £700 from a dealer for a good one, I got one two years before "P F A " was one the telly, it cost me £15, nobody wanted them you see the limiting factor is the distance of cast, compared to fixed spool its pathetic, this actually suits me as everybody on a pool fishes as far out as they can cast so most of the fish hide (usually under the bank) which is where i can cast to. If your going to buy one go for something about 4" diameter drum with no line guard, as you cant wallis cast with a line guard on, if your going to use it soleley for trotting you need one with a line guard on as it cuts down on tangles, The trudex reel is one with a removable line guard and is 4 " but is narrow drum but its a good starting point as they are around £35 to £45 on ebay ( around £70 off a dealer and over £100 quid for a new one , as jw young have recentley started to produce them again. If you specifically want a wide drum, go for a speedia, these were made in the 60'S and are four inch both wide and narrow drum, the ratchets sound good and they are very free running but are not as well made as the aeirel if you get one off ebay allways ask the buyer if it has a wobble. expect to pay around £40 to £60 and more off a dealer, its a good starting point.
best fishes Salv
