I'm looking to buy a float rod and centrepin for some winter fishing for grayling and also stillwater fishing for perch and roach. I have a budget of around £100 for rod and reel (if this is inadequate i can spend more but I'm a tight Scotsman). Where do i start! I was looking at the TF Gear compact rods which are on offer for £40 just now, but to be honest i haven't a clue whats decent or duff. Jon

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Ron thompson 13ft float rod (amazing value) and dont bother with a centrepin, get a fixed spool reel from okuma or shimano, that set up will set you back approx £70 and that leaves you plenty for the other stuff like floats, shot, hooks etc

Excellent way to fish and really enjoyable, takes just as much skill as the fly to do it right and results can be amazing once youve mastered it, good luck

ps, get to GAC for the tackle, dont use the mail order! the rt rods cannot be beaten for the money imo

I've had various Ronnie Thompson rods but have gone off them - quality control is very variable and finishing clumsy (big gobs of varnish on the eyes being typical). Fortunately there's loads of good, pretty cheap float rods about - Maver Abyss cheap as chips and good, Maver Genesis above that, Garbolino, also Rovex (Masterline as was) - I was using one their 12' cheapy Captive range - carp waggler rods today for trotting with a 'pin and it handled a 4.12lb chub very well), and of course Shakey (Mach 1 and others). 12 or 13'.

I love centrepins for trotting but as you want it for stillwater fishing too, I'd agree with starting off with a fixed spool. Drennan, Shakey, Daiwa, Okuma all do very good cheap ones. You'll get a very decent set up for well under £100, maybe even £50! Cheaper than fly gear on the whole

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Good advice there. Apart from those dragoncarp/Cortesi centrepins (which may be fine, but...), the whole budget wouldn't cover a new centrepin, so fixed spool is the way to go. Buying new, I think I would be considering a Daiwa 125M or ABU 706 closed face reel, which you can pick up for around £55, leaving enough budget for an entry level match rod from Shakespeare or Daiwa.

Must admit, I only ever bought one RT item, a waterproof coat and bib & braces set, which fell apart. Put me off them for good.

Your budget is plenty Jon!

£35.00 - Des Taylor Grandeslam Carbo 13ft (including a tube)
£13.00 - Lureflash ShadowLanda Centrepin reel
£4.50 - Preston Innovations Reflo Powerline 4lbs BS
£14.00 - 4 x Reg Righyni floats (from Grayling Society)
£6.00 - Preston PR27 hooks 10, 12, 14, 16, 18
£3.25 - Dinsmore Super Soft split shot in dispenser
£1.70 - Aluminium Disgorger
£2.00 - Packet of Drennan float tubing
£1.30 - Plummet

All found on eBay Buy it Now, new and including P&P! I make that £80.75 but have assumed you have a suitable landing net already...

richard

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Who resides on the right bank of the Derbyshire Wye and is lulled to sleep each night by the mutterings of a weir, dreaming that "When the rivers and their inhabitants come first, we ALL win..."

Jon

There are lots of decent deals on the go for trotting rods. 13ft is a reasonable length as an all rounder. Take your pick from the deals on offer.

Personally unless you are desperate to use a pin I would get a closed face reel like a daiwa 125 , for trotting they are far superior to a normal fixed spool reel. They offer much more flexibility for casting. Line control in windy weather is excellent to.

As for pins The marco contessi arent a bad reel for the money. I bought one and have used it and its ok I use them on smaller streams where casting is minimal and you are fishing inside the the line of the rod.

Apart from rod and reel the one real essential is a plummet. get one and use it...

Andy

This is the best advice of all!

Know where the bottom is when float fishing.

richard

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Who resides on the right bank of the Derbyshire Wye and is lulled to sleep each night by the mutterings of a weir, dreaming that "When the rivers and their inhabitants come first, we ALL win..."

Although... a plummet is of limited use on running water. More information can be gleaned by trotting through at different depths and seeing where the hook catches bottom and drags the float under.

Much more useful on a stillwater, though I must confess I can never find one in my box (I know damned well that I have several) and usually end up putting the hook a few times through the eye of an Arlesey bomb or pinching a couple of SSG next to the hook.

If you are going to fish the same places regularly a few hours spent not fishing but searching the swims for holes and ledges with a sliding float and a plummet will pay dividends later...

Andy

Oh! I still use a plummet on a river, even if it means moving about to plum the swim in several places, but the dragging you describe is still necessary.

richard

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Who resides on the right bank of the Derbyshire Wye and is lulled to sleep each night by the mutterings of a weir, dreaming that "When the rivers and their inhabitants come first, we ALL win..."