Center Pin magic ..or is it ?

[Peter Jacobs]

I don't think there is any superior or snob value in using a centrepin reel at all and I have seen some of the country's best match anglers using both the 'pin and the fixed spool reels.

To my way of thinking using a 'pin is a simpler method of fishing and one where I can far better control the float, and the thereby my bait presentation, than I can by using a fixed spool reel.

The skills and mechanics required to successfully use a 'pin are not complicated and very easy to master, with a little practice, so again, I see no "snob value" in its use.

 

[Alan Tyler]

I'm still at the "trying to avoid tangles " stage, but I make no claims to be a quick learner... and I have the same problem with fixed spools. Even closed-face ones, in a "noser".

If you remember to clean and oil the bush and pin each trip, these reels do "run-in" with use, and have quite a long "prime of life" before they begin to wear out. Decades, generations long, with luck and care.

If you don't fish often enough to keep your skills fluid, a good plan is to think of a water where you can catch close in, and fish further out as you improve*. (Don't forget, if it's a stillwater, to keep a note of the depth in the margin, for a go at that "last knockings" foraging monster from under your rod-top just before packing-up time).

Tigger, don't you mean holding a reel vertically to act as a gentle brake?

In Sam Vimes' "Bargains" thread I've given a cheap "bearings " reel, the "Black Zero", a mention - if you want to find out if the simplicity and directness of the round reel are for you, splash out a whole tenner (sometimes less, mine was £7.50 in a "flash sale" and I've heard of lower yet) on one of these...you should get most of your money back if you sell it on, but you probably won't want to.

*And as your random water-thrashing frightens the fish further away.:wh

 

[peterjg]

I have two centrepins; a narrow drum match aerial which I use for both stillwater and river float fishing and a Fred Crouch wide drum aerial which is used mainly for chub and barbel. Using this reel I have caught a few carp to over 20lb and a few smaller pike, great fun, it's good to hear the ratchet screaming.

However; there is no mystical great skill required in using a pin, they are nice to use but not necessarily better or more efficient. In fact if it is raining and you are sitting under an umbrella in the dark they are a bloomin' pain!

There are certain swims on the river though that just beg to be fished with a pin - a swim with a reasonable flow, not too far out and where you can feed hemp by hand, super fishing.

 

[theartist]

One of the waters I fish almost everyone uses a centrepin because they got taught by a highly skilled pin angler. I've always thought when using one it's a more mechanical process despite pins looking gorgeous compared to fixed spools, theyre fun but I have real issues when catching lots of small fish or losing fish that run upstream faster than I can reel. I know I can bat them in but thats not what I enjoy.

It doesn't help when you get the odd cheeky know it all who refers to your fixed spool as a coffee grinder, but that's still my choice of weapon.

 

[paul80]

The first reel I ever owned was a cheap old pin and that was in the 60's, it did not spin freely so the only cast I could do was the Nottingham (I think That was what its called) pulling line from the rings.

Now have a couple that are miles better and still use the Nottingham or the cross body pull cast, (Don't know what its called though) and find them quite simple to use, never mastered the Wallis and judging by all the different explanations of the "Wallis" either have many others as no 2 people can actually agree on what the "Wallis" cast actually is. Even Mr Crabtree got it wrong.

Find a casting method you like and just enjoy using your pin

Paul

 

[seth49]

Horses for courses really,much as I love my pins, for trotting and close range float fishing on Stillwaters I use a pin,for anything else I use a fixed spool.enjoy both methods just the same.

 

[103841]

I wish I had used a pin the last time out!

I'm a raw novice when it comes to fishing a flowing river and for that reason have stuck with a fixed spool thinking it would be an easier tool to use until I'm a little more savvy with river fishing techniques.

Two days ago I spent just an hour fishing the Stour which thank goodness is now showing some colour, flowing through Canterbury it's no more than a stream, narrow and fairly shallow. I love simplicity so a free lined piece of cheesepaste bumping it's way along downstream with the bale arm open just using my finger on the spool to feed the line and also feel for bites seems good for me. Anyway I got just one good bite and hooked a very good fish, I'm guessing a chub of around the 4lb mark. Here was the problem, I was playing it with just my finger on the spool with the arm still open, keeping the line trapped for all my worth, then in the split second I released the line to close the arm, a bit of slack, fish gonemg:

This may come across as me being a complete muppet, maybe true, my fingers are slightly arthritic so I don't have full dexterity, that's my excuse anyway.

I'm guessing a pin maybe easier?

 

[thecrow]

I've given a cheap "bearings " reel, the "Black Zero", a mention - if you want to find out if the simplicity and directness of the round reel are for you, splash out a whole tenner (sometimes less, mine was £7.50 in a "flash sale" and I've heard of lower yet) on one of these...you should get most of your money back if you sell it on, but you probably won't want to

Where was that from Alan?

 

[barbelboi]

Tigger, don't you mean holding a reel vertically to act as a gentle brake?

With the line he uses Alan it shouldn't make any difference..................

 

[tigger]

Tigger, don't you mean holding a reel vertically to act as a gentle brake?

Yeah Alan, that's what I meant bud, just put the mistake down to dyslexia .

---------- Post added at 13:18 ---------- Previous post was at 13:16 ----------

With the line he uses Alan it shouldn't make any difference..................

Yeah bb, but it catches me as many fish as any one I know....more even, not bad for crappy line .

 

[bracket]

I have three centre pins: a Match Arial, a Speedia and an original Stanton, two are spindle and the other bearing. I spent the first 20 years of my angling life (from the age of eight) using the centre pin on the river Trent and then discovered Abu's. Regarding the "skills" required to use a centre pin. In my case, I did not reacquaint myself with the pin until ten years ago, a break of 37 years. I expected to be well rusty, but from the first cast it was like I had never been gone. That was in no way due to my phenomenal skill, just the fact that the basics required are just that, basic, and anyone can master them quite easily, even casting straight off the reel, the Wallis, Avon or what ever cast you choose to call it. The bottom line is that the centre pin is a delight to use, what ever the pro's and con's. Pete.

 

[Keith M]

never mastered the Wallis and judging by all the different explanations of the "Wallis" either have many others as no 2 people can actually agree on what the "Wallis" cast actually is. Even Mr Crabtree got it wrong.

Well this is what F.W.K.Wallis himself wrote about his cast which he called "The modern light float cast from the reel. Nottingham Style" together with some interesting history about why he developed it, where he would use it and the tackle he would use back in those days:









This Wallis cast is the only thing that took me a bit of practice to do correctly and I rarely ever need to do a Wallis cast anyway; especially as I hardly ever need to cast around 30 metres. In fact I rarely need to cast more than about 8 Metres at the very most.

I found that getting someone to show me how to do the Wallis cast was much easier than trying to follow the above text.

There's no magical skill in using a pin, it's just common sense. Plus you don't need to learn how to perform the Wallis cast anyway.

Keith

 

[Alan Tyler]

@Crow (and anyone else who's interested): I bought the Black Zero from Dragon Carp.
They're back up to about £14 at the moment, but I've seen them as low as a fiver.

 

[Tee-Cee]

I fish close in much of the time with the odd foray up to two rod lengths out and this for roach and crucians primarily so a 'pin works well for me....Personally, it gives me all the control I need and a pleasure to use one with very light lines.
That said, if I needed a f/s for some reason then I would use it, so really it is the best tool for the job IMHO and nothing at all to do with tradition or whatever.

Yesterday I fished with a very old 'pin just using the finger to let fish run if needed and for me it is the 'feel' through the reel one gets when playing a good fish, as much as anything. That thump of a roach is something special, and not IMHO, what you experience with a f/s jobbie.

We all see things in slightly different ways, though..

 

[Bob Hornegold]

I've used Centrepin reels for over 60ty years, I like them.

There seems to be a snobbery thing associated these days with using centrepins, engendered by the Modern Traditionalist movement .

Nothing could be further from the truth, they are the most basic of reels, be it a true pin or bearing pin.

There are anglers who use nothing else, I have a good friend who never uses anything but a centrepin reel, he is a Wallis casting expert, but he would accept that a fixed spool is just as good at casting a float at distant.

He, like myself just prefers to use a pin for trotting and close range legering, but readily admits that most top line match anglers use a fixed spool reel for trotting.

The reason I like them for Big Fish fishing is the slowness of retrieve, something not often mentioned on discussion about centrepin reels.

Bob

 

[S-Kippy]

Spot on, Bob. This pin snobbery thing is a bit of an enigma and don't actually see much real evidence of it. I've no doubt that the "Traditionalist Movement" were instrumental in influencing the return of the pin but that was a good thing because it introduced pins to people like me who had never used a pin before.

But the majority of pin users seem to enjoy them for what they are and don't get all precious about them. I'm sure there are a few pin snobs out there but if they want to dress up and get all unnecessary about their Avocets and Ariel's then good luck to them. I've not met any bankside yet and judging by the posts on this thread most users just aren't like that.

Personally I just like using them and will do so over a f/S whenever I can......but that's all there is to it so far as I'm concerned.

 

[Bob Hornegold]

Spot on, Bob. This pin snobbery thing is a bit of an enigma and don't actually see much real evidence of it. I've no doubt that the "Traditionalist Movement" were instrumental in influencing the return of the pin but that was a good thing because it introduced pins to people like me who had never used a pin before.

But the majority of pin users seem to enjoy them for what they are and don't get all precious about them. I'm sure there are a few pin snobs out there but if they want to dress up and get all unnecessary about their Avocets and Ariel's then good luck to them. I've not met any bankside yet and judging by the posts on this thread most users just aren't like that.

Personally I just like using them and will do so over a f/S whenever I can......but that's all there is to it so far as I'm concerned.

S-Kippy,

There are part of the south of England where they prevail, where Splitcane rods, centrepin reels, silly cloths and ridiculous hats are regarded as normal !!

Bob

 

[Peter Jacobs]

Most on here know that I love to have a session using old split cane rods and centrepin reels, but I don't think I get unnecessary or precious about doing so.

Like S-Kippy though I do etnd to use a pin' over a fixed spool reel whenever the conditions permit.

Also, like Tony, I tend to prefer the more direct connection you get wit ha hooked fish as opposed to feeling the fish though a series of cogs and gears.

 

[greenie62]

Whilst agreeing that there is something appealing about using a pin and getting that direct feel to the fish on the end of the line - I am surprised that the "Traditionalist" / purist ethos doesn't spread to correction of the spelling of 'Center' - Grrrrrrr...... americanisation!mg:

 

[Peter Jacobs]

"Traditionalist" / purist ethos doesn't spread to correction of the spelling of 'Center'

. . . which is far more associated with auto spell checker than anything else . . .