Centerpinning! 2024

ChrisWi reply :

Looking into getting a centerpin, I think i'm going to get a Okuma Aventa. Seems like the best deal for a beginner, and probably going to get a Shimano Clarus Pin rod. Anyone have experience with Aventa's? Feel free to post any pictures of your Pin and some Chrome, i like pictures :eyebrows:

flyfisher reply :

I know one of the mods in here does it so i am sure he will chime in soon enough....

Scott F reply :

What is the reason you want to try center pinning.

ChrisWi reply :

On 10/22/2014 at 11:25 AM, Scott F said:
What is the reason you want to try center pinning.

Better floats, I fish some pretty big runs.

Delaware Valley Tackle reply :

The Raw II is worth the extra $30 IMO. The discontinued Sheffield is a good way to go if you can find one. Either way, an Okuma is the way to go for an entry into Pin Reels. Centre Pin fishing is a specialized application tackle system that just can not be beat for drag free, natural drift fishing, but it's limited pretty much to that. I'll use mine for a float and fly presentation on lakes especially if there's some wind. Other that that it's strictly a current setup for creeks and rivers.

ChrisWi reply :

On 10/23/2014 at 2:34 AM, Delaware Valley Tackle said:
The Raw II is worth the extra $30 IMO. The discontinued Sheffield is a good way to go if you can find one. Either way, an Okuma is the way to go for an entry into Pin Reels. Centre Pin fishing is a specialized application tackle system that just can not be beat for drag free, natural drift fishing, but it's limited pretty much to that. I'll use mine for a float and fly presentation on lakes especially if there's some wind. Other that that it's strictly a current setup for creeks and rivers.

I'm in Wisconsin so I've got some top notch steelhead fishing from now till March!

Delaware Valley Tackle reply :

Perfect. We fish the Salmon River here in NY but it's a 2hr ride for me.

J Francho reply :

My Aventa is around 5 or 6 years old. It works as good as any $1000 Kingpin I've tried, just not as pretty.

ChrisWi reply :

On 10/23/2014 at 3:14 AM, Delaware Valley Tackle said:
Perfect. We fish the Salmon River here in NY but it's a 2hr ride for me.

I live about ten minutes away from three different river's so i'm pretty lucky!

J Francho reply :

Small tip, back the reel with a spool of 30 or 40# fly line backing. Pins hold a TON of line. I used MagiBraid for mine: http://www.basspro.com/White-River-Fly-Shop-MAGIBRAID-Flyline-Backing/product/25198/#chart-container

ChrisWi reply :

On 10/23/2014 at 9:19 PM, J Francho said:
Small tip, back the reel with a spool of 30 or 40# fly line backing. Pins hold a TON of line. I used MagiBraid for mine: http://www.basspro.com/White-River-Fly-Shop-MAGIBRAID-Flyline-Backing/product/25198/#chart-container

thats what I've heard, I got a few buddies that pin, might do the two different colored lines becuase it looks pretty cool haha

J Francho reply :

I have white, orange, and yellow on mine.

OntarioFishingGuy reply :

The Sheffield and the Aventa are both great reels. Out of curiosity, what length Clarus are you looking at?

ChrisWi reply :

On 10/24/2014 at 3:54 AM, OntarioFishingGuy said:
The Sheffield and the Aventa are both great reels. Out of curiosity, what length Clarus are you looking at?

the 13 foot.

ChrisWi reply :

On 10/24/2014 at 2:33 AM, J Francho said:
I have white, orange, and yellow on mine.

always looks cool when people run multiple colored lines.

J Francho reply :

The line matches my man-purse.

Delaware Valley Tackle reply :

It's just a purse.

J Francho reply :

It's actually pretty hilarious. Put a second strap on it, and now that purse is a "chest pack." Subtle differences make all the difference, lol.

ChrisWi reply :

On 10/23/2014 at 2:34 AM, Delaware Valley Tackle said:
The Raw II is worth the extra $30 IMO. The discontinued Sheffield is a good way to go if you can find one. Either way, an Okuma is the way to go for an entry into Pin Reels. Centre Pin fishing is a specialized application tackle system that just can not be beat for drag free, natural drift fishing, but it's limited pretty much to that. I'll use mine for a float and fly presentation on lakes especially if there's some wind. Other that that it's strictly a current setup for creeks and rivers.

do you use a 13 foot stick or 11?

timsford reply :

What is center pinning? Sorry if i sound dumb but im from the mid south (tennesse) and ive never heard if it

ChrisWi reply :

On 10/26/2014 at 7:21 PM, timsford said:
What is center pinning? Sorry if i sound dumb but im from the mid south (tennesse) and ive never heard if it

Centerpinning is to get a long efficient drift for steelhead fishing with a float, the centerpin spins backwards with the current letting line off of the reel with zero drag. There are a lot of videos out there, I'd suggest checking out the Consumate Sporstman. They make some great videos.

Delaware Valley Tackle reply :

I use a 13' float rod but fish fairly wide, open rivers. I can see going 11' or even 9' for some tighter quarters.

ChrisWi reply :

On 10/27/2014 at 5:55 AM, Delaware Valley Tackle said:
I use a 13' float rod but fish fairly wide, open rivers. I can see going 11' or even 9' for some tighter quarters.

im having troubles deciding, one place I fish is pretty tight every where else is nice and open, still thinking the 13'

OntarioFishingGuy reply :

I fish medium sized, open rivers, and use an 11'6''.

J Francho reply :

I have a 7-6, for ditches, and a 10, 11, and 13. There's a 15 somewhere here, but that's just for the salmon river. 10-12 is probably a good all around size.

Delaware Valley Tackle reply :

That 15 footer must be a treat after about 6 hrs on the water. Unless of course you're hookin' up regularly.

J Francho reply :

It's an Avid, and it weighs less than my drop shot rods, lol. OK, maybe it's more, but it's the lightest of all the float rods. I think I might have it sold, though. I've used less than a dozen times.

Delaware Valley Tackle reply :

I'd have a hard time leaving those quiet little ditches you fish to combat fish the community holes on the Salmon. I try to go mid week and nasty weather to have more water to myself.

J Francho reply :

I don't really fish the "community holes" on the Salmon either. i actually don't know my way around there too well. I go to one parking lot, and walk downstream about two miles, and that's it...the only others I see there are drift boats. Bernie Haney brought me there a long time ago, so I guess it's his spot, but It's easy to fish, though it is a terminal rig eater, lol.

ChrisWi reply :

On 10/27/2014 at 9:01 PM, J Francho said:
I have a 7-6, for ditches, and a 10, 11, and 13. There's a 15 somewhere here, but that's just for the salmon river. 10-12 is probably a good all around size.

couldn't imagine how Wippy a 15 foot rod would be!

J Francho reply :

It's not whippy at all. only that last 6' or so bend, unless there's a fish on. There's a lot of power in that blank.

ChrisWi reply :

On 10/30/2014 at 2:44 AM, J Francho said:
It's not whippy at all. only that last 6' or so bend, unless there's a fish on. There's a lot of power in that blank.

oh wow, my buddy fishes an Okuma Aventa rod and it's a 13' 6" and it has like no back bone

J Francho reply :

You don't want "backbone" on a fully loaded rod with a fish on. The harder you fight a steelhead, the harder it fights back. You want constant and steady pressure. You'd be surprised at how much pressure you're putting on a fish with even a 4# line rated rod that's 10+ feet long. Watch an experienced steelheader fight a fish - there's more side pressure, steering, and letting them run that actual yanking back.

ChrisWi reply :

On 10/31/2014 at 2:55 AM, J Francho said:
You don't want "backbone" on a fully loaded rod with a fish on. The harder you fight a steelhead, the harder it fights back. You want constant and steady pressure. You'd be surprised at how much pressure you're putting on a fish with even a 4# line rated rod that's 10+ feet long. Watch an experienced steelheader fight a fish - there's more side pressure, steering, and letting them run that actual yanking back.

i know, im just saying i've talked to an awful lot of pinners this year about rod choice and they say the aventa rod is so floppy its hard to get even a good hookset. I've fished steelhead for 2 years now, just never wanted a pin back then.

J Francho reply :

I don't think I've ever really set the hook. I just stop the pin, and lift the rod.

SirSnookalot reply :

On 10/31/2014 at 10:38 AM, J Francho said:
I don't think I've ever really set the hook. I just stop the pin, and lift the rod.

I've never centerpinned, but I catch a variety of species, I seldom have to set a hook. In many cases lifting the rod is all that it takes, even some of the inhalers like a snook or tarpon. The weight and the power of the fish set the hook, steelhead strike hard enough to hook set themselves. As fast as some of these fish can swim trying to set the hook can work against you, you're pulling the lure away too fast, once I feel the weight of the fish I lift the rod.

ChrisWi reply :

On 10/31/2014 at 10:38 AM, J Francho said:
I don't think I've ever really set the hook. I just stop the pin, and lift the rod.

a lot of times thats all it takes but you put a bigger bag on a #6 hook and you might miss a fish or two that way. I'm not saying hookset as in jack the fish, just maybe a little more force than lifting.

J Francho reply :

Sometimes they like caviar, other times, you gotta sack up meatballs.

S Hovanec reply :

On 10/28/2014 at 4:06 AM, J Francho said:
It's an Avid, and it weighs less than my drop shot rods, lol. OK, maybe it's more, but it's the lightest of all the float rods. I think I might have it sold, though. I've used less than a dozen times.

I bought the 15' Avid blank a few years ago. I was appauled by how heavy it was. Ended up selling it without even building it. It was heavier than my built 13' Talon ITM. Croix discontinued the Avid float series for 2015. My guess would be due to the weight.

My Islander. This isn't the rod I use. I just put it on this rod so I could photograph the rod.

J Francho reply :

It's like half the weight of the Browning steelhead rod I have.

That Islander is pretty sweet!

S Hovanec reply :

I love the Islander. Got it years ago when the silver color was a limited run. I have an email from them saying it was one of the first dozen or so made in silver.

ChrisWi reply :

On 11/3/2014 at 1:48 AM, S Hovanec said:

I bought the 15' Avid blank a few years ago. I was appauled by how heavy it was. Ended up selling it without even building it. It was heavier than my built 13' Talon ITM. Croix discontinued the Avid float series for 2015. My guess would be due to the weight.

My Islander. This isn't the rod I use. I just put it on this rod so I could photograph the rod.

Is that a fly rod?

S Hovanec reply :

On 11/3/2014 at 9:36 AM, ChrisWi said:
Is that a fly rod?

That is a 9' 9wt. fly rod I built to donate for an event, I didn't have a fly reel to put on it to photograph the rod, so I just put my float reel on it.

ChrisWi reply :

On 11/5/2014 at 2:15 AM, S Hovanec said:
That is a 9' 9wt. fly rod I built to donate for an event, I didn't have a fly reel to put on it to photograph the rod, so I just put my float reel on it.

I got to mess around with an Islander pin the other day and all I can say is wow. Super smooth compared to an aventa.

BooyahMan reply :

I have the 13' Shimano Clarus and last Steelhead season I paired mine with an Okuma Aventa that I use as a beater for salmon fishing. I normally use an Islander with an 11'3 Sage but honestly was just as happy with the Clarus setup this year even though most people would consider it a down-grade. The Clarus loads up well for casting; a slight flick can send your presentation quite far. Nice flex when fighting fish too but definitely not a rod with a ton of backbone if you are fishing pockets in white water (which is my favourite type of water to hunt for Steelhead).

I might get jumped on for saying this but in my opinion the budget pins are not much worse than their more expensive counterparts. My dad is a collector so I've gotten to use a wide variety of pins over the years, but I still return to the Aventa as it's a great workhorse and if I fall on the ice I won't devalue a $400+ reel. I recently tried an Amundson Steelhead Tracker (dirt cheap $99 on sale) as well and enjoyed using it for Chinooks back when they were running.

Here's one of the fish I landed on the aforementioned Aventa/Clarus setup from this season:

And here is my largest Steel, caught on my Islander/Sage setup:

SirSnookalot reply :

^^ Nice looking fish ^^

J Francho reply :

Quote

I might get jumped on for saying this but in my opinion the budget pins are not much worse than their more expensive counterparts.

As long as the bearings work properly, and the spool is pretty well balanced, there no difference. Anything else is simply bling. It's an arbor on a couple of bearings - big bearing packs, at that. If a reel is "smoother" or takes less effort, generally a bearing flush and lube is all that's required to get a $200 Okuma to work like a $1000 Kingpin. I have a 10' Convergence (a level below the Clarus, I believe?) with a Michigan grip, and I love it for small ditches.I think it was all of $60.

Beautiful chrome, btw!

ChrisWi reply :

On 11/12/2014 at 1:29 PM, Ex-Steelheader said:

I have the 13' Shimano Clarus and last Steelhead season I paired mine with an Okuma Aventa that I use as a beater for salmon fishing. I normally use an Islander with an 11'3 Sage but honestly was just as happy with the Clarus setup this year even though most people would consider it a down-grade. The Clarus loads up well for casting; a slight flick can send your presentation quite far. Nice flex when fighting fish too but definitely not a rod with a ton of backbone if you are fishing pockets in white water (which is my favourite type of water to hunt for Steelhead).

I might get jumped on for saying this but in my opinion the budget pins are not much worse than their more expensive counterparts. My dad is a collector so I've gotten to use a wide variety of pins over the years, but I still return to the Aventa as it's a great workhorse and if I fall on the ice I won't devalue a $400+ reel. I recently tried an Amundson Steelhead Tracker (dirt cheap $99 on sale) as well and enjoyed using it for Chinooks back when they were running.

Here's one of the fish I landed on the aforementioned Aventa/Clarus setup from this season:

And here is my largest Steel, caught on my Islander/Sage setup:

thanks for sharing! I dont really understand why people spend so much on pin reels. That one fish was a tank. Nice job

J Francho reply :

You really only need one reel, so guys that pin will often go high end.

ChrisWi reply :

On 11/13/2014 at 4:22 AM, J Francho said:
You really only need one reel, so guys that pin will often go high end.

just for looks and trying to be better than the average angler. Kidding Lol. A buddy of mine has 9 pins, you could say he has a problem.

J Francho reply :

Yeah, that's a problem. Most of the hard core guys have two or three. One for salmon, one for general use, and one smaller one for little tribs. I just switch the reel over to different rods.

ChrisWi reply :

On 11/13/2014 at 9:59 PM, J Francho said:
Yeah, that's a problem. Most of the hard core guys have two or three. One for salmon, one for general use, and one smaller one for little tribs. I just switch the reel over to different rods.

I'll probably only ever get one. I fly fish for salmon and inland trout

J Francho reply :

I used to fly fish, then I got pin. Once you turn to the dark side, there's no going back.....

BooyahMan reply :

On 11/15/2014 at 3:48 AM, J Francho said:
I used to fly fish, then I got pin. Once you turn to the dark side, there's no going back.....

It's funny because my friend is trying to convince me of the exact opposite. I'm still holding dearly to my pins haha.

J Francho reply :

Actually, when they are on the move, in the riffles, or actively hitting bugs on the top, the fly rod wins. In all other circumstances, the pin is a more efficient tool for putting meat and potatoes on the table. Plus, you don't have to brag how your fly was right in the fish's mouth to prove that you aren't a snagger, lol. Pretty tough to floss one on a float rig.

BooyahMan reply :

On 11/15/2014 at 5:50 AM, J Francho said:
Pretty tough to floss one on a float rig.

Unfortunately, that is not the case out here. Many people floss them here with float rigs either drifting through holes where they stack (and using a long leader) or picking them out of white water pockets. Spinning, baitcasting, centerpinning, fly fishing, they've all been proven flossing methods if the intent is there. If anything, the baitcasters and pinners have somewhat of an advantage as they can just keep drifting until their hook runs into a fish.

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