The centrepin reel thread......

[tigger]

Actually its two rods banded together ...look closely ..you should be able to identify at least one of them, its a classic...& no laughing matter...thats a clue...

I knew one was a Wilson rod.....i've had them but they're too floppy for me....unlike Grahams reel handles that get the horn when he hooks up with a fish mg:.

 

[maggot_dangler]

Nothing plastic there ..quality wood ! ...Love my MC reel & it spins for yonks on those super smooth bearings :wh

That looks like an Advanta Icon reel even the spring looks the same on the rat*hit.

PG ...

 

[Philip]

That looks like an Advanta Icon reel even the spring looks the same on the rat*hit.

Your probably right, I think its been sold under a few different guises but that one at least came in a Marco Cortessi box, was sold as a Marco Cortessi reel and has Marco Cortesso written on it.

Mind you I dont really care how many times its been rebranded, I like fishing with it. Its been abused and is still working perfectly and it only cost 30 quid. In fact i liked it so much I got a 2nd one.

It gets my thumbs up !

 

[trotter2]

I had a couple of those years ago, they were ok . Worked fine the spring was a bit naff on the ratchet but for the money you can't complain really.
They did the job" trot a float ".
Just in my opinion the 4 inch was the better of the two.

 

[tigger]

Your probably right, I think its been sold under a few different guises but that one at least came in a Marco Cortessi box, was sold as a Marco Cortessi reel and has Marco Cortesso written on it.

Mind you I dont really care how many times its been rebranded, I like fishing with it. Its been abused and is still working perfectly and it only cost 30 quid. In fact i liked it so much I got a 2nd one.

It gets my thumbs up !

Who's this Marco Cortessi bloke anyhow :w

 

[tigger]

Here's a couple more of my reels for anyone else who has a fetish for centrepins. These are Gary Mills creations and he made them with Fred J Taylor's input on design etc. The reels are very similar but one "The Specialist" has a wider drum than the other "The Trotter". They have a push down ratchet button with a caliper check. Of all GM's reels these along with the Browning Revolver are my favorites .....




Oh, I forgot to say the handles are WOODEN...ROSEWOOD lol

 

[maggot_dangler]

Your probably right, I think its been sold under a few different guises but that one at least came in a Marco Cortessi box, was sold as a Marco Cortessi reel and has Marco Cortesso written on it.

Mind you I dont really care how many times its been rebranded, I like fishing with it. Its been abused and is still working perfectly and it only cost 30 quid. In fact i liked it so much I got a 2nd one.

It gets my thumbs up !

HAve you looked at the bearings on it just wondered what make they were as most of the bearings i have found for them correct size are pretty awfull even paid for supposed top end bearings still not impressed .

Be intersting to see who MC uses ..


PG ...

 

[maggot_dangler]

Here's a couple more of my reels for anyone else who has a fetish for centrepins. These are Gary Mills creations and he made them with Fred J Taylor's input on design etc. The reels are very similar but one "The Specialist" has a wider drum than the other "The Trotter". They have a push down ratchet button with a caliper check. Of all GM's reels these along with the Browning Revolver are my favorites .....








Oh, I forgot to say the handles are WOODEN...ROSEWOOD lol

I wish you would quit with the trying to get me to get the wallet out Tigger just spent way too much on a replacement car ouch ! ..


PG ...

 

[mikench]

Stunning reels again Ian! Well worth the admission money!

Marco Cortesi played goalkeeper for Juventus in the 70's! I hope he makes better reels than his goal keeping skills

I feel a purchase coming on

 

[tigger]

I wish you would quit with the trying to get me to get the wallet out Tigger just spent way too much on a replacement car ouch ! ..


PG ...

I just keep the old car and plod on, so long as it gets me from A to B it'll do for me .

 

[Philip]

HAve you looked at the bearings on it just wondered what make they were as most of the bearings i have found for them correct size are pretty awfull even paid for supposed top end bearings still not impressed .

Be intersting to see who MC uses ..

No I havn’t looked at the bearings on it, I don’t have a clue how to and why would I even want to do that?

Its been dropped in mud, dunked in a river multiple times, covered in fish slime (..obviously..) and generally battered about and I think the sum total of “maintenance” is that I occasionally run it under the tap. Its flawless, still spins like a dream and gives me a great deal of pleasure to use. If the bearings are somehow deemed inferior or naff thats fine by me because in an actual angling situation I don’t notice it and at the end of the day I go fishing to catch fish, not oggle at a Centerpins inner workings.

You have to remember, to a die hard fix spool angler of many years like me the MC opened the door for me to try a centerpin. I had considered them before but I simply could not justify the several hundreds of pounds outlay which even a modest CP would have cost me prior to makes like the Cortessi becoming available. I am quite I am not alone in that and along with a few other makes it allowed more people to try fishing with a pin and its really opened up a new avenue for me and added yet another dimension to my fishing in what was already a wonderful and varied pastime.

Right I better stop enthusing there as I fear I am in danger of disappearing up my own bottom.

 

[S-Kippy]

I regret to say that I have a Marco Cortesi pin too. I couldn't honestly tell you where it is but I've got one somewhere. I bought it simply because I thought for £25 it would do as a back up and I was curious about it. I think I was lucky in that mine ran fairly well from the get go ( plenty dont) even though the bearings fell out when I undid the spool retaining plate !

I bought some better bearings but the reel was actually worse with them in. For somebody wanting to try pin fishing I guess one of these is a cheap way of finding out if it's for you....but as just about every other pin I own is 10 times better than this I never got round to using it in anger.

I can't knock it for what I paid for it I suppose and Phillip has just confirmed what I thought....its fine for people wanting to try a pin but not wanting to shell out shedloads on something they might not get on with. In that respect it is a good buy.

 

[tigger]

Right I better stop enthusing there as I fear I am in danger of disappearing up my own bottom.

Too late Philip mg:.

 

[Philip]

Here's a couple more of my reels for anyone else who has a fetish for centrepins. These are Gary Mills creations and he made them with Fred J Taylor's input on design etc. The reels are very similar but one "The Specialist" has a wider drum than the other "The Trotter". They have a push down ratchet button with a caliper check. Of all GM's reels these along with the Browning Revolver are my favorites .....







Oh, I forgot to say the handles are WOODEN...ROSEWOOD lol

Now even I can appreciate these are very nice reels. Basic question...why is the trotter the one with the narrower drum ? ...I would have thought its on the trotting reel you would want the wider drum to stop line bedding in ?

...and yes nice to see handles that actually match the reel & dont look like something out of pound land - well done GM ! ;-)

 

[tigger]

Now even I can appreciate these are very nice reels. Basic question...why is the trotter the one with the narrower drum ? ...I would have thought its on the trotting reel you would want the wider drum to stop line bedding in ?

...and yes nice to see handles that actually match the reel & dont look like something out of pound land - well done GM ! ;-)

GM put 16 line lays in the spool so line bedding isn't really a problem. The narrower trotter is most likely an attempt to lighten the spool but I haven't noticed any difference in the inertia taken to rotate them.
The reels are actually called "The Fred J Taylor" as he designed them along with GM and GM built them.
The wooden handles are nice but I prefer the plastic ones, if you noticed the 1915 original had plastic handles. I think this is because they last much longer and they're more practical. It would be cheaper to use wooden handles so the plastic isn't a cheap alternative . Handles arn't a problem anyhow as if you get a reel and it's fitted out with handles you don't like you can just change them for what you want.

 

[Philip]

GM put 16 line lays in the spool so line bedding isn't really a problem. The narrower trotter is most likely an attempt to lighten the spool but I haven't noticed any difference in the inertia taken to rotate them.
The reels are actually called "The Fred J Taylor" as he designed them along with GM and GM built them.
The wooden handles are nice but I prefer the plastic ones, if you noticed the 1915 original had plastic handles. I think this is because they last much longer and they're more practical. It would be cheaper to use wooden handles so the plastic isn't a cheap alternative . Handles arn't a problem anyhow as if you get a reel and it's fitted out with handles you don't like you can just change them for what you want.

Yes that would make sense for a reason to make the trotter narrower so basically try and reduce the weight so it turns easier, even if it sounds like it didnt quite work out like that

As for handles, if its practicality then surely rubber would make most sense ?

If I'm honest I am actually a bit surprised the Pin aficionados appear to be accepting handles of any sort ! ....I thought you would all be going on about drum batting & sticking finger in spokes being the "proper" way and anyone who dared have anything that even remotely resembled a handle would be thrown out and have the dogs set on them !

 

[tigger]

Yes that would make sense for a reason to make the trotter narrower so basically try and reduce the weight so it turns easier, even if it sounds like it didnt quite work out like that

As for handles, if its practicality then surely rubber would make most sense ?

If I'm honest I am actually a bit surprised the Pin aficionados appear to be accepting handles of any sort ! ....I thought you would all be going on about drum batting & sticking finger in spokes being the "proper" way and anyone who dared have anything that even remotely resembled a handle would be thrown out and have the dogs set on them !

I've never thought about rubber Philip, to be honest i'm ok with 'ewt if it feels and looks ok. I like using handles on a reel, i'd hate not to have any! I like the larger ones that are on my Bowler pin. Regarding winding in I do a mix of everything. On long trotts usually pull the rod back then drop it down and whizz the spool round with the handle so it spins as fast as possible and picks up all the loose line, then repeat until the floats back with me .

 

[sam vimes]

If I'm honest I am actually a bit surprised the Pin aficionados appear to be accepting handles of any sort ! ....I thought you would all be going on about drum batting & sticking finger in spokes being the "proper" way and anyone who dared have anything that even remotely resembled a handle would be thrown out and have the dogs set on them !

Different strokes for different folks. I don't bat rims, it just doesn't do it for me. I do tend to prefer a finger through retrieve and won't buy a reel that won't allow it. However, I wouldn't have a reel with no handle(s) either. Finger through retrieving an unsuccessful trot, or small fish, is fine. Tangle with something substantial and sticking digits between spokes, or in holes, is dicey. Handles suddenly seem like a great idea.

 

[S-Kippy]

Different strokes for different folks. I don't bat rims, it just doesn't do it for me. I do tend to prefer a finger through retrieve and won't buy a reel that won't allow it. However, I wouldn't have a reel with no handle(s) either. Finger through retrieving an unsuccessful trot, or small fish, is fine. Tangle with something substantial and sticking digits between spokes, or in holes, is dicey. Handles suddenly seem like a great idea.

Once again I agree entirely. Are we distantly related ?

I am a confirmed finger through retriever....never could master batting and it just didnt feel right to me in any case. The look of a reel matters to me too which is why my pins must have handles and not nasty looking plastic ones either.. And i prefer a solid back plate because i find it more comfortable than these cut away ventilated cheesewire jobs. I dont honestly think any weight penalty is significant.

I was gazing at a Hardy Conquest yesterday. Despite the 3 handles I think I could get along with one of those. What surprised me is that at 4" diameter it looked a lot bigger than my Bewick....which is maybe even smaller than I thought.

It didn't come home with me. Not at £339 !

 

[Philip]

For me handles are especially useful when your playing fish. Trying to retrieve line on a fish running towards you by trying to bat the spool is not a great idea. As Tigger mentions I think spool batting is best when you can basically sweep the rod back and forth to pick up the loose line you create.
Fingers in holes / Spokes is slightly better as the retrieve on a running fish will be more consistent but I recon best of all is a handle you can grip and wind. Just my opinion of course.