Centrepins, the Rolls Royce of reels. A delight to look at, wonderful to hold and a nightmare to use. But, but, but, but…. they’re perfect for trotting…. they’re the best for playing fish…. they’re the best…no line twist, …nothing to go wrong. Hmm. Bumblebee says otherwise. Why? Are my views jaundiced? Do I know what I’m talking about? Did F. W. K. Wallis frighten my mother?
Is it just spin? (click for bigger picture)
A recent forum started by Jason Lennon asked for advice on a trotting reel. Two schools of thought dominated, though the sensible advice to get and learn how to use a small fixed spool was buried in there somewhere. He was advised to either get a centrepin or a closed-face reel.
There is some logic in the closed-face reel for all their faults but advising a novice float angler to get a centrepin is like telling a learner driver to get a Ferrari. In the hands of an expert usable but specialised, yet impractical. I’m not going to go into the whys and wherefores of what reel Jason should be using. There have been a number of articles on trotting and reels for trotting before. But I am going to dissect the myths behind the impractical centrepin, the twenty-first century anachronism.
Why have we got centrepins? Though true centrepins have not been around in this country a fantastically long time it appears that the Chinese developed a similar type of spoked reel as much as a thousand years ago. In Britain, free-running reels, mostly made of varnished wood, became popular from about 1850 onwards, especially on the Trent. Further developments by David Slater in 1883 and Henry Coxon in 1896 led to the development of the Coxon-Aerial, later the Allcock-Aerial. This reel reached its ultimate by about 1940 with the Aerial Match.
It took a good few years for fixed spool reels to be technically superior to centrepins. After a decline through the seventies, a revival in the nineties brought back a number of superbly made centrepins, from the modestly priced Leeds reels from Lewtham Engineering up to the hand crafted and rare gems from reel makers like Dave Plowman and Richard Carter. TV programs like ‘Go Fishing’ only served to increase their popularity. Even J. W. Young brought back a revitalised range of new Rapidexs and Aerials. But enough of the history, let’s look at why they’re no good.
They don’t reel in very fast As the centrepin is single action – turn the handle once and you get one turn of the reel, the speed that you can wind in is going to be comparatively slow. C=2R or three and a bit times the diameter per turn. So a four-inch drum brings in line at just over a foot per turn compared to a fixed spool at two and a half times this.
Increasing the diameter of the reel increases the weight of the reel at a squared proportion of the increase in diameter. Double the diameter and the reel will weigh four times as much. Dick Walker looked at this in detail. To overcome the weight problem he made a centrepin from magnesium alloy (later presented to BB) with a drum of over five inches. He was conscious of the flywheel effect that enabled ‘batting’ of the reel to speed up the retrieve of float tackle, but ultimately thought that this reel failed to overcome the limitations of centrepins as well as being prohibitively expensive to produce.
They don’t play fish that well At one time criticisms of fixed spools reels were justified but with the excellent rollers, clutches and gearing found today they are better than centrepins in every way. Why? A correctly set clutch can help prevent breakages that a centrepin reel angler has to rely on reactions to give line. The powerful gearing and roller allow the fixed spool angler to quickly gain line when a fish swims at speed towards him, whereas a centrepin angler will be lucky to keep in contact at all. Feel? The argument that a centrepin angler has better ‘feel’ is nonsense. In all cases, the angler is holding the rod and is able to feel what is happening, and therefore able to judge, with experience, how much pressure to apply.
Graham with a small grayling caught just last Sunday (Jan 04) using a Young’s ‘pin (click for bigger picture)
They don’t cast very well Well, they don’t do they? There are many potential casting techniques with a fixed spool reel yet only two or three with a centrepin. Range is limited to about twenty-five yards (for a few experts). A beginner will be lucky to cast with one at all yet a novice with a fixed spool can soon cast to the range that he’s frightened all the fish to, and further. The ability to feather a cast is largely lost when using a centrepin, something that is essential for certain float rigs.
They trot a float perfectly? But only a centrepin reel allows you to trot a float perfectly. Poppycock! A top class angler with a fixed spool reel can not only trot better than any centrepin angler, he can also use a much greater variety of floats and methods. A simple example is fishing a light stick float at range or waggler fishing. Even centrepin wizards like Billy Lane admitted that a fixed spool was essential for certain styles of fishing. Oh, and don’t forget the line beds in like billy-o with no level wind to lay the line on properly so you’re restricted to fifty yards of line. With a centrepin, the trotted float must overcome the inertia and drag of the revolving drum. This limits the possibilities in trotting, unless you constantly manual feed the line, which defeats the object.
They tangle like there’s no tomorrow If you must use a centrepin then you’d better pick perfect conditions. No wind, no rain, otherwise all those loops of line will soon tangle around the spool, the reel foot . . .
Awkward to hold Talking of which, isn’t it difficult to hold the rod comfortably when using a centrepin. It’s almost as if the reel doesn’t really match a rod at all. With your hand below the reel, the rod feels top heavy but with it above, the reel is more difficult to control.
They do look lovely in a glass case At last, a use for them. Clean them up carefully and stick them in a polished glass cabinet. After all, they are high maintenance. You won’t get away with chucking them into the bottom of your bag encrusted in mud and groundbait. They quickly seize up and refuse to spin, unlike a sealed for life modern fixed spool. They are not especially robust either, and easily knocked out of true.
Occasionally I take out an Adcock Stanton and have a go on the river. I can cast straight off the reel, but it’s bloody hard work, and I catch less than I would do using a fixed spool, so if you must persevere with these museum pieces, don’t try to fool me that they’re superior. Back in the sixties, and again in the eighties, Angling Times organised fixed spool versus centrepin matches on the Trent. In all cases, the anglers that took part were the very best, yet the fixed spool anglers won every time.
Centrepins? They are like a Ferrari in town. Expensive, uncomfortable, impossible to park, need skilful handling and frustrating to boot, but what a wonderful thing to pose with! Remember, in Monte Carlo the wise drive minis.
Remember the bumblebee dress code in Monaco, yellow and black stripes!
