Rod, reel (centrepin) for small river fishing

Okay, I am not planning on rushing out and buying a lot of new gear (apart from a few floats) but I am interested in why centrepins are so popular for river fishing and what rods and reels are being used. As I understand it, a centrepin reel allows the line to spool off easier when 'trotting' - I think I know what trotting is but it is all a bit new to me at the moment.

For now, any recommendations of rod and reel type would be appreciated. Also any to be avoided would be useful!

Thanks,
Ralph.

Personally I wouldn't buy a centrepin reel to leger with. I have used them loads of times but imo a centrepin comes into it's own when trotting. I'd stick with a fixed spool if I already had one....unless I was going to be doing a lot of trotting.
There's too many different rods and reels to spout 'em all off, so a price bracket is needed to give recommendations.
Also what kind'a species are you aiming to catch?

Agree with the above, stick with a fixed spool for a while, can be used for trotting very well.

As for a rod, you know what I'm going to say! A Derwent Valley specialist from the Tacklebox for silvers if you want to keep costs down.

An Avon style rod for the chub in pools like we fished Saturday, need a bit of clout sometimes.

Ralph you are turning to the dark side I endorse the Darent Valley rods which are an absolute bargain particularly the .75tc specialist. They do a 1.25 and a 1.75 as well. I have the former as well.

I too have bought a pin which i have not actually used for trotting on a river other than without a hook by way from practice and with expert guidance from Tigger! I have tried it on still waters and like it on its day. The day i caught 9 tench with Nottskev i used the pin! Until then i had difficulty imagining the capture of a decent fish using just your thumb as a drag! It works!

I have used the Darent Valley with an Abu 501 ( i also have a new 507) which is perfect for trotting and for small silvers. This pairing on your local river could be just right! Closed face reels are great in windy conditions and for allowing the easy release of line ie when trotting. I prefer them to my fs reels particularly with light tackle.

I feel awkward in advising you as i too am a novice and regularly blank, make mistakes and break things! but that is part of the joy of fishing. I do like buying tackle though!. I can justify most things to myself( self-delusion i know) and swmbo and it all compares favourably to hair do's dresses and fancy dressing gowns!!

fishplate42 said:

Okay, I am not planning on rushing out and buying a lot of new gear (apart from a few floats) but I am interested in why centrepins are so popular for river fishing and what rods and reels are being used. As I understand it, a centrepin reel allows the line to spool off easier when 'trotting' - I think I know what trotting is but it is all a bit new to me at the moment.

For now, any recommendations of rod and reel type would be appreciated. Also any to be avoided would be useful!

Thanks,
Ralph.

Click to expand...

the point of using a centerpin for trotting (i.e. running the float down stream at the same speed as the flow) is that the line is taken off the spool at the same rate as the flow. You can do this with a fixed spool by simply leaving the bail arm open, which begs the question why use a center pin? The killer point is this-you can fine tune the rate of line taken by braking the drum with your thumb, and the degree of precision and control is pretty well absolute-a fixed spool does not even come close, and given that on deeper rivers (more than 3/4 feet deep) the flow at the bottom is less than that at the surface, this ability to control the rate of line pay is critical.

I too can also endorse the Darent Valley 0.75. My Son bought me one for last Xmax. Brilliant action and very well put together. Bargain for the money. If you do want to go down the center pin route i use a 14ft Drennan Acolyte plus Why the plus? i target Chub and needed the extra bit of back bone. I also use the 0.75 and Avons in 1.00, 1.25 and 1.5. As for pins before use practice casting in the garden before hitting the rivers. You will only need to cast a rods length or two. Center pins can cost a bomb or as little as £50 for a starter. All mine are from TFG, a classic, a free flow and a cheap second hand Matt Hayes 1st model limited edition, a heavy lump of Alloy. Whatever you do make sure your set up is light and balanced because you will be casting and holding the rod for a long time

I just had a bit of target practice in the garden using the centrepin, couldn't get more than 23 strides because of the size of the garden so not a long cast but I could get the one ounce bomb in a small gorilla bucket easy enough at that range. I would have cast further but the back field is still full of cows, not quite milkin' time yet.
I actually find casting with a pin to be more accurate than when using a fixed spool reel up to about 30 yards, obviously that's once you get the knack of casting with one.... i've now got the urge to go and do some legering with the centrepin reel LOL! It'll have to be later in the week now though .

Ralph, for what it's worth I only use a centrepin for trotting, and the main reason I do that is that for some reason it just seems like more fun than using a fixed spool. So seeing as I only fish for my own pleasure, using a centrepin in a river with a bit of flow makes a lot of sense to me.

I certainly don't think you need a specific float rod to have a go at this, a standard 13' match rod is fine. Sure, if you really get the bug then getting something longer or lighter might have some appeal, but to try it out, any float rod will do.

What I would say is that to enjoy it to the full, the water in front of you needs to be moving a bit. Which all of my local rivers are not really doing at the moment!!

You don't become a center pin Greek to you've had a few birds nests. Always keep a 100 meter of spare line in your bag.