Pinning for trout

[Kevin Campbell]

I'm a fly fishing guide on Lees Ferry in Arizona and have had a few pinners over the years. I would like to get a setup to get my feet wet. Since we only have rainbows 12- 22" in the Colorado, I will need a light rod. I have been using a 9' 3/4 wt. St Croix fly rod blank I built with spinning guides and a reel seat. I built the rod for dunking tiny jigs under slip floats for crappie, but it works pretty well for our trout. I have it paired with a 2000 size Shimano spinning reel and 8 pound Power Pro braided line for buoyancy and ease of mending/checking. When fished on the anchor, in what I would call moderate current, the rod is too limber to land the fish in a timely manner. It works well when wading and there is some slow water to land the fish in. Fishing the rig from the drifting boat works just fine as well.

I have the ability to get Berkley and Okuma products on their guide program.
I was considering a Berkley 10' 6" Noodle IM7 Air Salmon/ Steelhead rod for a starter matched with a Okuma 2002 reel.

Does anybody have any experience with this rod?
is it too heavy in the butt for trout?

[UBDSLO1]

I have that rod. It's a great rod for the price. However, if you're going to pin with it for trout, then it might be just a tad heavy. You could get by with it though. You can really put the brakes to a running King with the rod. I think I'd look at some other model if I were you.
What's your price range?
What pin are you going to use? 4", 4.5" 5"?
Just my 2cents.

[gomer]

or you could try one of the okuma aventa float rods. The 13'6" rod could suit your needs quite well. It is a pretty limber rod, but with the extra length you should be able to whip 12-22 inch trout no problem. You can get more controlled drifts with the longer stick also. Just a suggestion.

[Flyfisher]

Okuma Guide Select IM7 13'6" is limber enough to enjoy the trout but has enough backbone to land fish in heavy current and is lighter in weight than the Aventa rods. It also balances extremely well with either the Aventa or Sheffield reels. I agree with Gomer, extra length will be appreciated down the road.

[thousandcasts]

I agree with Gomer, extra length will be appreciated down the road.


Yep...Gomer and most women appreciate getting the extra length. Just sayin'.

[Flyfisher]

Yep...Gomer and most women appreciate getting the extra length. Just sayin'.
Hey wise@ss, why don't you go somewhere else and strip....STREAMERS;)

Steve, after you experience the long rod and centerpin reel, its hard to go back:lol:

[thousandcasts]

Steve, after you experience the long rod, its hard to go back

Dude, whatever you did in the joint should stay between you and your cell mate. I can't even stand a prostate exam, so...no, I'm good. But go ahead and do your thing. :16suspect :evilsmile

[Flyfisher]

But go ahead and do your thing. :16suspect :evilsmile
If we ever get any rain, it will involve steelhead and the aforementioned long rod. On an unrelated topic...are you refusing to take your meds again? You know that if you keep it up they are going to put you back in the white jacket and padded room.:evil:

[Kevin Campbell]

I'll look into the Guide Select. I saw the rod on the Okuma web site.
I plan to get the 4.5" reel.

Another question...

I mentioned I was using braid for my mainline because of its' buoyancy.
I haven't seen any mention of braid or Fireline used by pinners. Is this just tradition or is there another reason?

I also found a nice feature of the braid that mono doesn't have. When fishing deeper setups with my 9' rod, say 12'+, I was able to reel the Blackbird float right up to the tip top and with my left hand reach up to the first guide above the reel and gently pull the line through the rod and through the silicone sleeves attaching the float. This enabled me to shorten the rig and reach the fish to land it. I've tried to do this with mono, and the line sticks to the sleeves too much to pull line through the rod.

[Flyfisher]

I mentioned I was using braid for my mainline because of its' buoyancy.
I haven't seen any mention of braid or Fireline used by pinners. Is this just tradition or is there another reason?

I am surprised that you find braid buoyant as it will eventually absorb water between the fibers. That is the reason it is rarely used for steelhead, as it freezes quite readily in the winter.

8lb Ironsilk, 8lb Raven Mainline, or 10lb Siglon F should suit your needs if you want to try something other than braid.

You will have less problems running deep rigs with the 13'6" rod. But if you are fishing that deep, you may want to consider slip floats (like a Drennan 6gr Piker) and bobber stops.

And don't be afraid of livelining a shad under a big float for stripers in Lake Powell!!!

[gomer]

I ran braid on one of my Pin's this fall for Kings. After a while it does not have good buoyancy, but it does provide great hooksets on long drifts. However, I lost several floats due to the braid cutting through the tubing on my floats, but it was nice to run 30lb braid with 20lb leader and clamp down on salmon:lol:.

Like flyfisher said, the long rod allows you to run deeper with a fixed float and his suggestions on a slip float is a good one as well.

Good luck