Centerpin Question

[lakhyaman]

I have just acquired the following:

I have never used a centerpin before. My research shows there are many other makes much preferred by the cognoscenti. My reason for choosing this one was that it has a disc drag which can be switched on and off. The tension can be adjusted by a star lever inside the frame.

Now, why a drag on the centerpin? I often use a large arbor wide spool fly reel loaded with monofilament to float fish for carp and other specimen fish in the margins. This gives me the advantage of a smooth adjustable drag and rim control when playing a fish.

This centerpin seemed to offer the same facilities while allowing a return to the pure centerpin function. Not having used a centerpin before I thought that if I never learn how to use one for trotting at least it will serve for my style of margin fishing. You can switch on the drag function even when playing a fish on the pure centerpin!

My question is that do I have to load it with backing before putting on the main line and can this be any old braid (20lb braid) or does it have to be the stuff sold as backing for fly reels?

Also the box indicates " 275 yards of 8 line" - is this 8 lb bs line or is that a separate specification? In that case, how thick is No. 8 line?

Thanks for your help and would appreciate any other comments on the reel and pointers and tips on its use.

All the best

Lakhyaman

 

[peter crabtree]

8lb line is approx 0.18mm. Use whatever line you think you need. Personally I only spool as much line as I am going to need. Put too much line on and it will bed in after your first fish.

 

[tigger]

Nice reel Lanky, the older version was called the Trent and was blue in colour and I think there was a silver and gold coloured version also. The only use / situatuon the star drag would be for myself would be if I was legering in flowing water which was flowing with such a strong force that an ordinary ratchet drag was to weak to hold the spool stationary and stop the release of line. In that situation I would set the star drag so as to "just" hold my bait stationary and if a bite occured the reel would allow the fish to pull line from the reel (the same as you would set a baitrunner drag). If a fish was to take my bait and be hooked I would switch off the drag and play the fish using my thumb on the spools rim to control the drag on the line.
Hope that makes sense .

Oh, I forgot to mention the line. I use no backing whatsoever and spool about one hundred yards of line before going fishing. I never leave line on my pin and spool up with new line before my next trip out. I daiwa sensor in bulk spools which makes this practice possible as it costs little money and is good line.

 

[S-Kippy]

Whatever you do DONT put 275 yards of line on it. 50-60 is plenty unless you have something special in mind which I think you might. The risk is line bedding in.....pin anglers nightmare.

Personally I think a disc drag on a pin is a complete waste of time but others disagree and we don't want disc drag pin wars resurrecting. Enjoy the reel....a lot easier to use than some people would have you think.

 

[lakhyaman]

8lb line is approx 0.18mm. Use whatever line you think you need. Personally I only spool as much line as I am going to need. Put too much line on and it will bed in after your first fish.

Thanks for the info and advice. Clarifies matters considerably.

All the best

Lakhyaman

 

[sam vimes]

There's no need whatsoever to fill a centrepin to the brim as the is with a fixed spool reel. Put on as little, or as much, as you need for your requirements. When trotting with a pin, people tend to use as little as they can to minimize the effects of bedding in.

For much of the fishing you've shown us on here, you perhaps don't need lots of line on the reel. How far do the stillwater carp/mahseer etc generally run? If it's only twenty yards or so, fifty yards of line on the reel might be more than adequate. If you end up latching onto an unexpected monster or using it on a river and tangling with a huge mahseer, or whopping catfish, I'm guessing that you might want hundreds of yards on it rather than fifty.

I'd suggest that the line rating on the box is just a typo, it should have 8lb rather than just 8. The Okuma Trent predecessor has exactly the same specs printed on the box. The suggestion of using backing is simply a product of the market it's aimed at. In North America they tend to use pins for salmon and steelhead in quite a different style to UK centrepin angling. They invariably would be looking to use backing and fill the spool.

 

[lakhyaman]

Nice reel Lanky, the older version was called the Trent and was blue in colour and I think there was a silver and gold coloured version also. The only use / situatuon the star drag would be for myself would be if I was legering in flowing water which was flowing with such a strong force that an ordinary ratchet drag was to weak to hold the spool stationary and stop the release of line. In that situation I would set the star drag so as to "just" hold my bait stationary and if a bite occured the reel would allow the fish to pull line from the reel (the same as you would set a baitrunner drag). If a fish was to take my bait and be hooked I would switch off the drag and play the fish using my thumb on the spools rim to control the drag on the line.
Hope that makes sense .

Oh, I forgot to mention the line. I use no backing whatsoever and spool about one hundred yards of line before going fishing. I never leave line on my pin and spool up with new line before my next trip out. I Daiwa sensor in bulk spools which makes this practice possible as it costs little money and is good line.

Re: Centerpin Question
Whatever you do DONT put 275 yards of line on it. 50-60 is plenty unless you have something special in mind such I think you might. The risk is line bedding in.....pin anglers nightmare.

Personally I think a disc drag on a pin is a complete waste of time but others disagree and we don't want disc drag pin wars resurrecting. Enjoy the reel....a lot easier to use than some people would have you think.

Thanks for all the info and advice. Glad to hear that backing is not a prerequisite.

I will certainly avoid overloading the reel with line.

Daiwas sensor is available in Bangladesh and I will give it a try.

All the best

Lakhyaman

 

[S-Kippy]

Thanks for all the info and advice. Glad to hear that backing is not a prerequisite.

I will certainly avoid overloading the reel with line.

Daiwas sensor is available in Bangladesh and I will give it a try.

All the best

Lakhyaman

Sensor !

 

[john step]

I would suggest the drag tension is also useful when fishing still water ie not trotting until you get used to it. It will stop line coming off due to the free revolving characteristics of a pin when you dont want it to and tangling round the handles or back of the reel......just when you get a fast take usually!!!

 

[lakhyaman]

There's no need whatsoever to fill a centrepin to the brim as the is with a fixed spool reel. Put on as little, or as much, as you need for your requirements. When trotting with a pin, people tend to use as little as they can to minimize the effects of bedding in.

For much of the fishing you've shown us on here, you perhaps don't need lots of line on the reel. How far do the stillwater carp/mahseer etc generally run? If it's only twenty yards or so, fifty yards of line on the reel might be more than adequate. If you end up latching onto an unexpected monster or using it on a river and tangling with a huge mahseer, or whopping catfish, I'm guessing that you might want hundreds of yards on it rather than fifty.

I'd suggest that the line rating on the box is just a typo, it should have 8lb rather than just 8. The Okuma Trent predecessor has exactly the same specs printed on the box. The suggestion of using backing is simply a product of the market it's aimed at. In North America they tend to use pins for salmon and steelhead in quite a different style to UK centrepin angling. They invariably would be looking to use backing and fill the spool.

Sam Vimes

Thanks for the advice. As a matter of fact, a large mahseer in a river will easily peel of a hundred yards or more of line, and that at frightening speed. They are truly the gamest of fish! The mahseer in my pool do not exceed 10 lbs but will peel off 50-70 yds of line before you react or if you are just a little far away from your rods.

I intend to use this reel for relatively long trots on a river that goes from 200 yards to half a mile wide and rolls along at a steady 3 miles an hour come winter. The bait would be a largish worm or prawn (uncooked and peeled). The quarry would be Rohu, (Labeo rohita), a cyprinid, upto 5 kgs which becomes a leaping devil on being hooked and knows full well how to use the current to its advantage. Also on the menu would be Mrigala and Kalabans, also similar cyprinids. I am hoping that the worm will also account for the various siluroid catfish found in the river. They grow large too. We catch them using the leger but I have long had a hankering to see if they could be taken by trotting. So to that extent, large floats for long trots from boats is the plan. could possibly be similar to what the Americans do as seen on you tube.(actually that is where I got the idea!). May be some backing to fill up the spool and a hundred yards of good floating line is in order?

I would suggest the drag tension is also useful when fishing still water i.e. not trotting until you get used to it. It will stop line coming off due to the free revolving characteristics of a pin when you don't want it to and tangling round the handles or back of the reel......just when you get a fast take usually!!

john step

I absolutely agree with you and that was on my mind when I was attracted by the drag on this reel. Also when float fishing the margins, rod on hand, the drag can be set to fighting strength and allowed to do its job on a largish fish.

Thank you all again.

All the best

Lakhyaman

 

[seth49]

I think the drag will be very handy if the mahseer etc run of that fast, I've had my thumb burnt a few times when salmon have gone on a long fast run, it's very painful when it happens.

 

[tigger]

I think the drag will be very handy if the mahseer etc run of that fast, I've had my thumb burnt a few times when salmon have gone on a long fast run, it's very painful when it happens.

I've had a few decent fish including salmon and I honestly don't know how you've had your thumb burned?
Maybe a little bit of an old wives tale Seth .

 

[seth49]

I use a Shakespeare Lincoln pin for worming and shrimping for salmon. It's made by alvey reels in Australia.
It's a side caster which is very handy, flick the spool ninety degrees to cast, like a fixed spool reel, then back into pin mode to fish with.

It's made from either nylon or carbon fibre, the drag is useless so you have to use your thumb to brake it, most times that's fine, but I have had a couple which have screamed off downstream, and that's when I got the friction burns, blistered the skin and were sore for a couple of days.

At the time I was digging and shovelling all day, so my hands weren't soft either.
I was fishing below a weir at the time, there current was very fast and if they got below you some of had to be followed two or three hundred yards downstream.

Ok if you kept them in the pool,fun and games otherwise.