Hi,

I am just wondering if a centrepin is much use for fishing still waters? I see a lot of people seem to favour them for river fishing, trotting in particular... I "need" a new reel as I have more rods than reels at the moment and quite fancy something a bit different and have been thinking about an Okuma 1002 centrepin, but not sure what peoples' opinions would be for using one on a still water lake float fishing for roach?

Comments welcome...

Rob

I've used a centrepin on lakes to fish for tench, carp and roach. I don't see any reason for not using one.

Thanks - it's not something I've ever used before so wasn't sure if it was a silly question

Scrob,

Depends how far you want out you want to fish. For my level of casting ability I can only really fish the margins! I'm sure some people are proficient enough and can fish at more or less the same distance they would with a fixed spool reel! If it was up to me I would use a centrepin for all my coarse fishing.

Sam

They're fine for stillwater but don't expect to cast to the otherside of the lake (unless it's a small one). Playing a fish of any size is such a lovely experience on a 'pin too. And they look nice!!

Ok, bit of an update, I got an Okuma Aventa 1002 from a forum member, had it out in the garden for an hour and cannot cast the damn thing! Mind you I was trying to cast a light waggler with 2 AAA shot and no other weight - could this have been the problem? I tried watching videos on youtube re: the side cast and was able to cast about 10 yards at best.

On a side note, took 14 roach and 3 perch tonight on the fixed spool reel, very chuffed as haven't been coarse fishing in literally 10 years!

The Wallis cast is the way to greater distance - essentially, as you swing the rod into the cast, you pull line off the reel to start it spinning so that line is released as the tackle flies out. It takes a lot of practice!

As much as I love river fishing with my 'pin, whenever I fish stillwaters (not very often ... once or twice a year) I always pack a fixed spool reel as well ... my Wallis casting is just not up to scratch. If there's a feature close-in then I use my 'pin ... otherwise I put the fixed spool reel on.

Luckily I don't fish stillwaters very often ... not found that Mr. Crabtree lake ... it's all gravel pits and carp puddles round here

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Cheers,
Lawrence

Or

get a Ray walton rolling pin.The drum rotates to cast like a fixed spool then,rotate it again to use in centerpin mode.Only downside is the cost
Lovely bit of kit though

I think the best use for a centrepin on lakes is margin fishing for carp. I used to do this at a commercial carp fishery near me (when it was still day ticket, its now club controlled) and the pin made for some fun fishing and great close control when fighting carp. You do need one with a click check for that type of thing though to stop overruns. The model I've used for that is a Leeds Classic. If legering in the margins you can also effectively use it like a baitrunner, waiting for the click check to scream into life If fishing at any more than a rod length out though you may as well use a fixed spool reel as I can't really see any advantage in using a 'pin, especially if you can't wallis cast to get any sort of distance.

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