Centerpin Reel

[spincaster22]

I am a brand new centerpin fisherman and i am looking to buy a new reel. I am also looking to spend 400+ any options or advice on a reel.

[BeWild]

I am not a pinner but I saw awhile ago that you were asking for someone to show you the ropes on the Grand regarding steelheading. Were you looking for someone to teach you around 6th or someone to teach you how to catch steelhead? If it is the latter you might want to wait on getting a pin and using a spinning reel until you get the hang of it. If not, the Okuma Sheffields aren't bad, and the Islander's are nice too.

[FishKilla419]

Honestly I would wait for the new arnold kingpin if it were me. It shouldn't be long.

[sport72186]

i would go with an islander or a mykiss if you can find one on the forums.. jw young has some real nice reals imo too..

[SpinFly]

Myself I have not CP yet cause of the casting but this past weekend I was on the river up here and an older gent was CP'n talked to him quite a bit about it.And he has been doing it for along time.gave me advice #1 have a rod built to your liken and,#2 He has always used Raven never a problem.And i'm takin him up on that .

[SpinFly]

Also for me to see the cast and him to show me diff. ones turned me on to CP.Thank GOD another great humanitarin in the world.

[Treven]

Spend your money on a rod, that really is much more important- GLX's then Raven's in order of performance.

Raven reels right now are the best bang for your buck, Both 4-3/8" and especially the 5" Matrix and the SST2. It's nice to run the high end expensive reels, but in order of importance of what tools will help you put fish on the bank, put money into the rods first. Unless you are running less than 4g floats on a regular basis then most reels will start-up with no problem nowadays. Be sure to look at strength, backplate porting, handle placement, etc. when you are looking into reels though.

Then again, I would make absolutely sure you want to use a centerpin set-up a lot of the time to be spending that kind of $$.

Just my humble experiences :coolgleam

[thesteelheadsniper]

Treven hit it on the head...your going to want rodS that perform over an expensive reel with a name on it....

I have to argue that my Mykiss HAS put more fish on the bank for me just cuz it's a Mykiss;) But I sappose my Raven XL hooks fish just the same.

[habs25]

I love my Raven SST ...and its 7 years old.

[Ron Matthews]

Here's 2cents worth-
I think the Islander is better casting off the drum than MOST others, Even a Mykiss2!
you can't beat the solid, imo

The lighter they are, the more prone people are to side cast it. A heavier spool is the way to go with Many casting styles.

I find it Very easy to teach with the Islander? OverRun City with a mykiss!
NoBody touches The Rest!!:lol:

[axisgear]

Here's 2cents worth-
I think the Islander is better casting off the drum than MOST others, Even a Mykiss2!
you can't beat the solid, imo

The lighter they are, the more prone people are to side cast it. A heavier spool is the way to go with Many casting styles.

I find it Very easy to teach with the Islander? OverRun City with a mykiss!
NoBody touches The Rest!!:lol:

Blaspheme!~!!!!!!:SHOCKED::SHOCKED::SHOCKED::SHOCK ED::SHOCKED: You shall go directly to hades for that which you have spoke about the Mykiss!;)

[Ron Matthews]

Oh I'm Not puttin it down! It's a Great reel, But not a daily runner for me.
More advanced technique in that reel than someone just starting out may be able to control.
I taught a few and the Islander gets the fastest results for me? I takes a little while to learn on the mykiss.. You want simple to start, Or frustration factor is what you'll leave with.

imo- something around 4 1/2 is better for most people. A little wider spool is easier to keep the line on w/some pull cast. Now, They'll want to move up after they "think" they have it. Give em the 2 and there hit for 1/2 a day:lol:
Once they got it on a 5"? There's NO going back!!

I'd think about trading it off for a 11'6" imx -ONLY-
It's A+ perfect! Box,Bag-2set's of bearings
pm me-

[Kory]

There is no way I would ever want to teach proper casting to anyone with an Islander if I had a choice to use another reel. I would much rather teach someone with a Mykiss or Angling Specialties reel. They can over run them, but you can over run any reel, and with the much better start up of these reels, they don't even have to really pull to get a good cast if they load the rod properly. I never had any issues teaching anyone with a Mykiss reel what so ever. Actually most people I have taught, looked at me and said "why do people make this out to be so hard?"....

In all reality there is only two reels I would not want to teach someone with and that is the Vectra SST and the Islander...

I guess if I was teaching someone to cast using a 14 gram float an Islander would be fine for them, but I prefer an 8 gram float as it is an easy amount of weight to work with for the beginning caster.

Just my thoughts on the matter....

[Ron Matthews]

Mines pretty old? I really like it! But your right Kory, It's Not that hard w/ some proper instruction.
I can't put the two in the same catagory, No way! But then a 1 and 2 are Totally diff also.

Well she likes an 11gr.:lol: Much easier on me!!

[Kory]

A WELL broken in Islander does make a huge difference and Mark has one with the upgraded bearings and it's a great reel. I can launch some casts with it, but a beginner, I don't know I just think it would not be the best bet.

A difference between a Mykiss I & II?

[Ron Matthews]

A difference between a Mykiss I & II?

Oh Ya!
right out of the box I noticed the 1 outperformed the 2, for me.. and i got to cherry pick?
I've got the germans in also.... My "Best" cast with a 2 can be beat by the first cast w/ the 1

My Islander is a touch over 12-original eveything, It really does perform well!! no issue at all.

[Kory]

Oh Ya!
right out of the box I noticed the 1 outperformed the 2, for me.. and i got to cherry pick?
I've got the germans in also.... My "Best" cast with a 2 can be beat by the first cast w/ the 1

My Islander is a touch over 12-original eveything, It really does perform well!! no issue at all.

Dude, it has to be the tensioning screw making the difference as there is no difference in the I & II except the backplate. Your II is probably a touch too tight. The porting in the backplate has nothing to do with how well a reel casts...

[Ron Matthews]

I'll mess With it? I couldn't get it any better?
It's third string anyway's:lol:

[Treven]

Dude, it has to be the tensioning screw making the difference as there is no difference in the I & II except the backplate. Your II is probably a touch too tight. The porting in the backplate has nothing to do with how well a reel casts...

It absolutely is, both reels (I & II)I cherry picked I had to tinker with the bearing pre-load to achieve the best start-up with no slop. I personally think most reels set screw is too tight out of the box to achieve best start-up.

[Ron Matthews]

My II Never did get the germans put in, Looked into that this afternoon.
So it's The way it was set out of the box.
Can't believe I never put those in that reel, But I haven't set the 1 down long enough to be concerned.:D

I'll give it a second chance-w/germans...

[Treven]

Honestly, the Germans didn't seem to make a huge difference in start-up I thought (I can't scientifically back this claim up!), they were quieter and smoother, but better start-up was marginal. After both Chinese and German bearings were broken in was this comparison was made.

Bearing Pre-load made the biggest difference in both reels' start-up. Takes generally 20 min. to find the perfect spot for me;) worth it though!

[axisgear]

I'll have to agree with Trev' on the bearing issue. I did not get mine from Brian,but I had a good friend of mine do the leg work in "der fader land" and source me a "few" ABEC #7 bearings for the Mykiss[I'm out,before you ask!]. They are smooth as silk and quiet as an isolation chamber,but startup was not improved substantially over the lesser "Asian" bearings that came with the reel.

Bearing preload is critical but,unlike Treven, it usually doesn't take me more than a few seconds to find the sweet spot.;) [sorry,had to]

[FishKilla419]

My Spahr dosen't have a tension screw. Just a set screw. This leaves some undesirable play in the spool. But what can you do(any suggestions). After degreasing the bearings I noticed a huge difference in startup. But i'm sure that is normal. I want to get my paws on a new kingpin.

[Treven]

Bearing preload is critical but,unlike Treven, it usually doesn't take me more than a few seconds to find the sweet spot.;) [sorry,had to]


Ha ha, I was exaggerating a bit, but the tinkering with pre-load, then screw the dust cover back on, go a little either way to make sure it is perfect, isn't an on stream quickie is more of what I was getting at. Guess I should have just said it that way. Just more of a pain in the butt than most reels are. Not complaining, just how it rolls;)