Where to buy? And more ???

[uptracker]

Where do you guys buy most of your rods and reels....except eBay and stuff like that? Is there a certain few centerpin only type companies out there?

Other than jigs and spawn, what are you guys using most under your floats?

What's your favorite float?

Are you using CP's on chinooks too?

Sorry, just curious, I may get into it in the future!

[quest32a]

Fishusa.com has a pretty decent selections of centerpin stuff, as does BPS and Cabelas. A lot of stuff though is bought through friends and private dealers. In MI unfortunatly there aren't many places you can actually go somewhere and "touch" the reels. You just need some friends that have different reels that you can try out. Seems like a lot of guys switch up there setups on a fairly regular basis.

I normally just fish bags under my bobber(float). Although somedays I use bare dressed jigs, or jigs and waxies or wigglers.

Floatwise for bigger water I like the 11 gram Drennan piker, and for smaller water I like the smaller 6-8 gram Blackbird, Gander, or Drennan clear floats. I normally don't fish bigger than 11 gram floats, as I really can't cast the heavier ones that much further and when I can cast them further I really can't mend them that well.

And yes I do use my CP on kings. Skein under a bobber is a lot of fun. Just watch your knuckles...LOL

This hen never ever even pulled my float under. Just nibbled at it like a little trout.
http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/531/john_hen3.JPG

[axisgear]

Aside from the usual spawn/skein or jigs/jigs and waxworms under a float for steelhead and salmon,there is a whole spectrum of opportunity to be had with a centerpin. You can try every conceivable concoction of bait under your float for an unlimited number of different species(If it swims,you can catch it!),or you can run dressed jigs for predatory pisces[marabou,bucktail,etc.]. Or......

....One thing I have found,while using a centerpin,is that you would be hard pressed to locate a better method for nymphing....PERIOD!(subsurface fly fishing for those not in the know;) ). Anything I can do with a flyrod while indi-nymphing....I can do better with a centerpin under a 6 or 7gm float.It's like mashed potatoes and gravy,they were made for each other. What used to be a chore of mending,roll casting and not-so-drag-free drifts is made easy with a smooth running 'pin and a 13' rod:fish: ! I tend to feel a strike "telegraphed" through the rod handle before I even see the float move!Try that with a fly rod or a spinning rod/baitcaster with a bobber!

[side note:Yes,using bait for little trouties is just plain cheating:p ,JK]

Some may say it's a fad,others may dismiss it as heresy;but one thing is certain.....I will be using my centerpin for all of my delicate subsurface presentations from now 'til the day I.....well,at least until someone comes up with a better method:lol: !

Give it a try,you just might like it.........Sam I am!

[oziedon]

Wha kind of nymphs do you use for steelhead?
Thinking about getting into it just for floating nymphs, don't know much about it yet though.

[uptracker]

Thanks so far!

As for nymphs, look at golden stones, green caddis, some black stones, etc. Pretty much all the nymphs I've looked at in some catalogs look good for steelies. They'll all pretty much look the same to me to an extent with a little variation in each.

[axisgear]

I would like to be more specific about what nymphs to use,but here's a blurry photo
ohttp://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=57172&size=big&cat=500&ppuser=22860

Just a few of the flies I drift for steelhead.I do have more,but time and camera constraints slow things considerably.Hex nymnphs and stone imitatators do well before the steel start spawning,but gold ribbed hare's ears work well all the time!And egg imitators work extremely well under a float!(as does anything else!)http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/552/medium/my_pictures_091.jpg

[oziedon]

Will these work in the fall also? I really don't like catching steelies during the spawn.

[uptracker]

O,

Nobody said you had to fish to spawning fish if that's what you mean. I don't like to either and stay a bit deeper and away from gravel.

Some of those will work for fall fish, but egg patterns are best for the salmon and steelhead run in the fall!

What's top left Axis?

[axisgear]

O,

Nobody said you had to fish to spawning fish if that's what you mean. I don't like to either and stay a bit deeper and away from gravel.

Some of those will work for fall fish, but egg patterns are best for the salmon and steelhead run in the fall!

What's top left Axis?

Exactly,uptracker! Those who choose to fish spawning gravel lack the confidence or skills to catch them when they can't see them(The sad truth is most fish taken off their redds ARE lined/flossed/force fed.JMO:rolleyes: )It's ethically and morally wrong:( . When eggs are flying in the fall after the salmon do their business I have found steelhead will attack anything that looks like roe or salmon flesh.

The top left? If you mean the white ones,they are rockworms(rubber band on a hook:lol: ). Those were my answer to the waxworms that everyone uses with much success. They too work well.

[uptracker]

Ahh, nice!:D