| Reels are a piece of equipment that are chosen by preference, myself, I started out using a Mitchell 300 spin casting reel and used it for many years until I found I wasn't getting the proper drift or line control that I desired. I then graduated to the level wind or "bait casting" style of reel, these types of reels allowed me to get a natural drift on my presentations, but there was one further step to go. While fishing the Stave river one day with a fishing partner he introduced me to another type of reel, a centerpin style reel. Centerpin drift reels have been around for years and hail from England but the British Columbian salmon and steelhead anglers seemed to have adopted their use for the west coast style of float fishing. There are two basic kinds of centerpin reels, the bushing type and the bearing type, I own and use both styles but prefer the bushing type, they just seem to cast better in my opinion. Centerpin reels are fun to catch fish on because most of them don't have a drag system, the only drag is the palm of your hand pressing against the drum. But be forwarned, using a centerpin reel is alot of work because the casting retrieve rate is 1:1. But try one, the efforts are well worth the rewards. |
