centerpins

Can any centerpin owners inform me if there good or bad. my match reel is on its last legs and my float gear needs upgrading.i like the john wilson heritige but its expensive and id like to know ,should i or shouldnt i buy one?

a centerpin rod isnt necessary is it?

yes and no

A centre-pin is great for trotting a small river. However on fairly wide rivers such as the Severn, Trent and Hant Avon, you often need to trot well out in the stream or next to the other bank.

A fixed spool reel is by far more efficient at that.

You need a float that GRIPS the current such as a Drennan Loafer.

I have youngs purist mark 2 Michael, it wipes the floor with any fixed spool for trotting, but like Ron says distance casting is a bit tricky. I use a 14 ft shimano and by pulling line from 3 eyesI can make a reasonable cast. The rod to which you refer has a ring close to the reel to make this job easier I believe. The reel is not cheap at ?180ish but it is top drawer engineering mate!

Tell you what i'll swap you mine for your beachcaster;-)

Michael, the Young's and Grey's reels are very nice.
I used to have a PuristII but sold it because I didn't like the fact that the bearings are so inaccessible and the handles are too close to the rim.
I have never fished with the Grey's reel but it does look very nice.
If you're undecided why not take your rod into the shop and try each reel on the rod to see how it looks and feels.

It might surprise you to know that many centrepin users (myself included) prefer to use old second-hand reels such as the Speedia, Match Aerial, Trudex etc.

If ever I could afford to do so, I'd love a Witcher, Carter, Mills or Lythe reel or two.

For the sake of keep repeating ouselves I think we should put our centre pins on the reviews section. I noticed though that the Manufacturers are not listed so I've just emailed Graham to ask him to put them up.

Wouldn't swap my Arnold Kingpin.

arnold kingpins have a good review in an old improve your coarse fishing magasine.very sensitive apparently.does any one use their pin on lakes?iv seen john wilson doing it and wondered if it helped?

does every c/pin owner have a centerpin rod.or is my 13 ft match rod ok.

What is called a "match rod" today is generally OK for fishing with a centre-pin. For most of my trotting for smaller species such as dace, roach, grayling etc I use a 14 foot lightweight Drennan DRX Float Rod. For larger fish My Drennan Long distance float rod at 131/2 feet is ideal.

For very large fish and lines up to 8lbs bs a rod similar to the Drennan Tench float will suffice.

The are called "match rods" by the way because they are not really used for match fishing anymore.

Michael,

There is little to chose between most of todays modern centre pin reels for most situations, although the prices to vary a great deal.
Before you spend a lot of money do have a look around for second hand models, and like Richard says, a lot of Trudex, Rapidex and Aerials are in use these days.

You can buy a decent second hand model for less than 100 pounds or order a Witcher Aerial for 500 pounds and wait about 6 months to get it. Purists can be obtained from anything between the RRP of 250 down to 180 in some shops.
(one day a Witcher will grace my tackle box

Something else worth thinking about is to try to get the best possible balance between rod and reel, and this might mean incorporating a small weight in the butt of your rod.

For trotting you will be holding the rod for long periods at a time and an unbalanced set-up can make this really tiring. I would suggest that you take the rod that you intend to use and test it out at the shop with the reel of your choice.

The other alternative for fishing the far bank, and my preferrence over a fixed spool reel, is a closed face reel as line feed and control is lot easier and there is no bail arm to constantly open and close. Look at the abu 1044 (if it is still made) and the really good Diawa 125M's. If you can get one then the old Abu 500 series reels are an excellent alternative.

Hope this helps.

Just founnd on e-bay
"Original Dave Swallow centerpin (4.5inch)
dated about 1990".
Just in case anybody interested.

I've got a purist II which is a lovely reel. You don't need a special rod, I use a 15/17 carbonactive.

I've got a Purist II and a Leeds 4.75. Both are great, although I do err towards the Purist for preference.

Had a Trudex but sold it as it sat too close to the rod for my liking and couldn't really get on with, however the two 'pins I have now sit that bit further out and, for me at least, are more comfortable.

I had to file down the reel seat on the Leeds though as it only fitted one of my rods, and that wasn't one I was comfortable with trotting.

As for rods, I'll either use a Shimano 14ft or Shakespeare 13ft Match Rod. I'm happy with the way both perform.

go to www.anglingcentre.net/acatalog/mlinecpin.
They sell most of youngs reels there and a lot cheeper. I have the john wilson one and it is ?187 (a lot cheeper than retail ?250)Just got it and having great fun trying to cast with it but it is a great reel and line just rolls of. I was lucky mine was a present.