Having never owned or use one are they any good for trotting for roach? Why use a closed face reel instead of a centrepin or standard reel? What are their pros and cons? What make and model would you recommend and new or secondhand? Should I just stick with my centre pins and standard fixed spool reels for trotting? Thanks.
Closed Face Reels?
- Thread starter peterjg
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I used the old abu closed faced reels for trotting for many years. The original abu 501 is one of my personal all time favourite reels, although not for trotting. Biggest downside for me was the line stick, best points are fishing in a gale force wind wasn't a problem, and the reels are very small, light and compact.
However, once I was able to afford a decent centrepin reel I started to use them for my trotting. Once I mastered casting nothing comes close to a pin for trotting a top and bottom float. Wind is no problem for me either.
My advice would be to stick with your pins for top and bottom floats and your fixed spools for waggler fishing...jmo mind!
However, once I was able to afford a decent centrepin reel I started to use them for my trotting. Once I mastered casting nothing comes close to a pin for trotting a top and bottom float. Wind is no problem for me either.
My advice would be to stick with your pins for top and bottom floats and your fixed spools for waggler fishing...jmo mind!
S-Kippy
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For years I used nothing but closed face reels for trotting....but this was on small rivers and flowing canals. I still use one occasionally when I'm roach fishing but you'll nearly always find me using a pin nowadays....for no better reason than I enjoy doing so. I still have a couple of original ( Swedish built) Abu 501s which as far as cf reels go are great....and a more recent version of the Abu 506. This hasn't the solid build quality of the original Abus but its a decent enough reel for the occasional use which is all it ever gets. A cf reel is good in an awkward wind but I still prefer my pins, especially if there's a chance of a lump or two. Never did like playing decent fish on a cf reel.
The downside of pins is when you need to use small sticks in swims with awkward,or little flow,which if you rove about you will always come up against,you can master these by hard work but IF you carried a rod with a CF or FS reel it would be better,CF reels are very good as they are of a simple one handed operation,line bedding is generally poor because of the narrowness of the spool,great for small fish however.
S-Kippy
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I agree...cf reels for small fish and awkward swims/winds.Pins for everything else.
And as well as being simple and pretty efficient pins just look so good too.
Keith M
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I totally agree with this.
The only times that I might be tempted to use my original Abu 506 closed face reel is if I were not needing to cast very far and also fishing for smaller sized fish (because of the narrow spool causing constant line bedding after catching a larger fish); or I were trying to cope with a gusty headwind.
NB: To minimise line bedding in I only ever used more than 50mtrs of line (or less) but even that suffered from bedding in after playing in a larger fish.
Otherwise it would be a centrepin or a fixed spool reel for me every time.
Keith
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Not used one for a long time but I have a very old ABU 501 and plan to use it this winter.
The big plus is that when it's windy you won't be constantly sorting out tangles.
I find my Swallow pin or any other pin for that matter a real pain in the wind, even when putting the line on backwards so it comes off the top of the reel.
That great Roach Angler, Owen Wentworth, used a closed face reel so they have a good pedigree.
Right I am going to set myself up for being taken out at dawn to be shot! IMHO a lot of starry eyed nonsense is said/written about the use of centrepins. I still use my ABU 501 for trotting, sorry tigger no line stick here, and for all other styles a fixed spool reel. I do find my beloved Mitchell Matches a bit heavy these days so generally go for Shimano. I also have a Matrix reel for longer range feeder fishing. It sounds like a coffee grinder but does the job well. I also have a small Greys example, a clearance item, but it is just the job for short range method feeder.
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Fred, if you prefer a CF reel, thats fine. As I said I think my old 501 was my all time favourite reel.
Regarding starry eyed nonsense, I don't quite get what you mean?
Centrepin or fixed spool for me as well, I bought an Abu closed face a few years back ( modern one) and absolutely hated it from the off, I gave it the benefit, and persevered, but still hated it. I just don't see the point of them apart from the smooth pick up versus a FS.
It is cuurently languishing in my box of doom, and wiil remain there....
It is cuurently languishing in my box of doom, and wiil remain there....
Keith M
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If you can’t get on with using a Centrepin or you don’t fish places where such a reel could be suitable for your fishing then that’s fine; however saying that people who use them are spouting ‘starry eyed nonsense’ when they talk about how good they are is a bit over the top 
Some of us get a great deal of enjoyment when we use ours and find them a perfect tool for presenting baits on streams and rivers as well as occasionally on Stillwaters.
There are loads of respected anglers at the top of their game who occasionally use centrepins and they are not
talking ‘starry eyed nonsense’ when they talk about their centrepins.
Keith
Some of us get a great deal of enjoyment when we use ours and find them a perfect tool for presenting baits on streams and rivers as well as occasionally on Stillwaters.
There are loads of respected anglers at the top of their game who occasionally use centrepins and they are not
talking ‘starry eyed nonsense’ when they talk about their centrepins.
Keith
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Also,the only way closed face reel don't bed in is if you put seventy yards of line on,or don't catch decent fish on it,this applies to virtually every closed face ever made,as I have had 99% of them,Shakespeare,Abu,Daiwa,Crack,Ryobi,in all their variations,great reels,magnificent for bagging on roach on canals,rivers etc,especially for one handed operation,as for Mitchell matches,they are garbage by todays standards,brilliant reels when I match fished,I won so many matches on them and 300's for lead work,imo they are just about the same standard as entry level reels today.As for centrepins,for trotting they are just about the best for fishing bulk shotted rigs in my experience,but as soon as you need to be more delicate in presentation,ie no.8's and smaller they fail,so there is no perfect reel for every job,however fixed spool reels are the most versatile for every job,if you to watch someone like Ian(Tigger) fish a pin Fred you may realise that some people have mastered the art,where some play at it,like myself,but i've had the great pleasure to have had a few double figure barbel on the pin,many five pound chub,perch to over three,among many other decent fish i've forgotten about,when the direct tackle control,with line being pulled from the drum is a presentation that cannot be achieved with any closed face or fixed spool,that is fact,not romanticism,however as a match reel,generally they are a non-starter...
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mikench
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He's a master at work; it's like watching Rembrandt, Nijinsky or Federer.??
ian g
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sounds more like the other way round ? ?
mikench
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No Alan he doesn't. He owes me nowt!? Even a numpty like me can recognise skill at casting a pin so praise where praise is due. He won't even buy a pint as he doesn't drink. ?
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Thanks for the compliments Mike ?.
Although, there really is nothing to it once you get the hang of it. I suppose it's similar to when you were a kid learning to ride a pushbike with stabalisers, then you take em off and wonder what all the fuss was about ?.
I think,that the more you practice with the pin,the better you get,especially after you get the correct concept from somewhere,or somebody,my local venues don't get the pace for the majority of the year,plus our rivers generally fish better later in the year,because of weed,so I get very little practice,unless I fish the pin in fairly unsuitable conditions...