info an a good reel

I would be curious about this too, and especialyl since setups tend to be a little more pricey. I'd like to get a dependable rig on the first shot.

I agree w 18andlife.  Drift fishing is an art much like fly fishing.  If your not catching fish with a noodle rod your probably going to have minimal luck with the centerpin.  I fish an 11 6 St Croix Wild river and loomis reel.  Although the loomis reel has been dependable I look back and realize I should've went with something else like an islander.  When I bought the reel the difference in price was fiarly substantial so I went with a dependable name that I knew more about.  Islander is probably the way I would go if your serious about getting into it and wanting to get a high quality set up of the start.  Rods are important but in pinning reels r probably just a little more important.  You have to remember that 13 foot of rod can be hard to get through the bushes and fish the smaller parts of Lake erie tribs.  The 11 to 12 foot range is all that you would need for PA tribs.  Get something you can hold all day also, these rigs tend to get alot more heavy than your traditional fly rod or favorite spinning rig.  As far as line that can in any direction, I like siglon in an 8 to 10lb mainline then running your basic fluro or mono lead.  Hope this helps you out!

Very good advice, you sound like the professional centerpin fisherman I met at the trestle pool last week. He explained centerpin fishing much the same way you do here. I however last week was spin fishing sacks using the typical rigging, barrel to leader and somewhat a couple of large (hand grenade size) split shots if you get my drift?.. but by understanding and applying his helpful advice in using the float method,I had much better success from then on drifting more water with less snags and most importantly getting the best possible drift presentation... Using my okuma guide select IM8 9'6' 6 to 12 lb rated steelhead spinning rod outfitted with 8 lb test mono on my shimano stradic 2000, i used a small #12 barrel to a lenght of #6 or #8  to a bronze #10 egg hook or which ever bait/lure hook size desired( the pros go as light as 2lb.test for those line shy fish days) be it flouro or ultra green maxima mono, I want to try and make my tippet lenght proportionate for getting the lure or bait to drift just off bottom of that stretch of pool I'm fishing. The sizes and amount of splitshot wt. is also important to get that perfected drift. All it takes is getting the proper drift by using just enough wt and leader material under a float to get that lure drifting just off the bottom in those pools. Centerpin rod/reel combinations offer hands down the best float method. The float method is better for any rod/reel you intend to use on the SR, be it regular spinning outfits or even nymphing with a traditional flyrod, there are many advantages in using floats on the SR. Not only do floats increase your chances landing fish,but by using a float you are likely to avoid the many snags in the river.  The float allows you to drift with less main line current drag thus giving you better control over more water and offering more drift with the required presentation for these smart fish. The key is leader rigging, the leader should have just enough number of small/tiny  splitshots spread out to keep that egg sack drifting low near bottom.You will know to adjust the amount of splitshot needed after a few drifts.The float is a great tool in that it features as a sounder for finding depth for proper rigging, a fish indicator  ummm ahh yeah okay!...and what I discovered as an attractor when two different steelies smacked my float like they would a J-plug .. What you want to do is make wt. adjustment to get that nymph or sack right in front of their noses . Alot less time/money waisted  re-tying snagged breakoffs too.

Good to hear you like the setup!!! If the 13 foot rods too much you can step down to the 11.5 in the wild river series, its got lots of backbone and still soft enough to fish lighter leads.  Good Luck!!!!