New centerpin

Sweet I have been eyeing them up myself. What rod are you planning on running with it?

Dunno I tried out some guys and he had it on an 11'6" gander Mt rod  it surprisingly handled well and seemed like the right size for the tribs. Some of the guys with the 13'+ rods seem like they struggle some with the tighter stretches.

Man that reel is sweeeeet! I have handeled it and caught fish on it. Hope the mullet man did you right on it
 

You'll be real happy with the Kingpin they are nicely built pins. I've had my original series II for awhile now and don't really have any complaints and I'm sure the new series II are even better. Just don't plan on accessing the bearings. Unless they redesigned them, you can't get to where they are; got to send the reel back to Arnold. Looks like they got rid of the knurled edge on the new ones, which is nice cause the knurled edges will burn up your pinky on hard runnin carp.
 
If you plan on only using the pin on steel(which would be a shame, big carp and cats are fun on the pin too.) the St Croix wild river series have a bit too much tip sag and are too whippy in the longer models IMO. I fish a 13' ocasionally for steel, but stray away from it for those reasons mentioned before.
 
I fish a Fenwick Techna AV 13' but not sure if you can find them anymore. I'm sure Fenwick has a rod that is its replacement that will be similar to this.
 
Have you ever pinned before? If you haven't,practice your casting in your backyard, or open field, etc... before you hit the water if you can. It will save you a headache. Casting is not the easiest thing to learn with a pin. It takes some time and practice to do CORRECTLY. Anybody who said casting is easy.....well they are full of sh*t.
 
Good luck..........................

ORIGINAL: Carphead

If you plan on only using the pin on steel(which would be a shame, big carp and cats are fun on the pin too.) the St Croix wild river series have a bit too much tip sag and are too whippy in the longer models IMO. I fish a 13' ocasionally for steel, but stray away from it for those reasons mentioned before.

 
 
i think the wild river rods are great for erie steel.  good action, light, and balances out my okuma well. 
 
plus they're not 500 bucks.

ORIGINAL: Carphead

ORIGINAL: avidangler

i second the vote for 11.5 st croix wild river.  I have the sheffield 13.4 too and it wouldn't balance out well with the light Kingpin, it didn't balance out well with the ross flow so i put the loomis on it.  Congrats Paul!!!

I wouldn't clasify the kingpin as light. At almost 10oz, even the fully ported version is not exactly light. You want light, pick up a Bewick. They are not the prettiest reel out there, but once broke in they startup and spin nice. They don't run on ball races, but are true pins. I like it but perfer my other centerpins that run on bearings.

 
 
a few ounces makes a big difference when holding for 8 to 10 hours.

i was getting at the average pin probably weighs in anywhere from 12 to 14 oz especially when loaded with line.  Not dispusting that its a super lite reel just not as heavy as others on the market.

The reel I got is fully ported and weighs 9.5 oz.  For a 5" pin, thats pretty lightweight.

Best part about it is,.. it is bullet proof. You could dunk it in motor oil then roll it in kitty litter and it will still spin.
something you cant say about MOST reels.
 
I put mine threw hell and it still loves me

ORIGINAL: mxdad66

papinner sees that he will be cry'n,that is his dream.

 
Not crying more like drooling

ORIGINAL: Carphead

I never said it was super light, I was saying it was fairly heavy compared to some mass produced reels. I really don't think loading a pin with line adds much weight. Take your Ross for example, it weighs 8.8 oz according to the website. I doubt filling with line would add approximately 5 oz. or roughly a 1/3 of a pound. The kingpin series II weighs just shy of 10 ounces which I would clasify as on the heavier end of production reels.

 
I understand your point.  I don't want to make an argument over this but the ross flow with line weighs in at 11oz even.  Weighed it last night just double check  the loomis is around 13.5 to 14 loaded with mono no backing. 

Got the reel today....man is it nice!  Any suggestions on cleaning and such Carphead?  I did notice a little dust inside the back plate....how do you get to that?  Also wondering about any oiling necessary?  Thanks! 

I was thinking either the ugly stick or the South Bend 12' Surf rod.....Sorry, the yellow line stays....might actually get pink for this reel, it might match better.

I'm not a fan of a custom rod. anything happens to it (whitch happens alot) and you have to strip the entire thing down, send back the blank, and have it rebuilt.
 
Big fan of factory. Easy fix. I'm to rough on stuff and catch to many fish. Not trying to be conseded, just the truth.
 
I would just save your pennie's and get the GLX 3 power. I fished one the other day and WOW!!!!! Worth it all the way. Plus, lifetime warrenty.

ORIGINAL: ShutUpNFish

Got the reel today....man is it nice!  Any suggestions on cleaning and such Carphead?  I did notice a little dust inside the back plate....how do you get to that?  Also wondering about any oiling necessary?  Thanks! 

 
Paul, I have the original series II and have not seen the new ones with the spool removed. Any chance of you taking the spool off and posting close up pics of both the spool and the back? With mine when you take the spool off,(by unscrewing the locknut on the back) the back plate has obviously just the ratchet assembley(sp?). Be sure to give these parts some oil regularly, but don't over do it. The spool itself is pretty closed up. only a little bit of the actual pin is exposed with the end having the threads that the lock nut attatches to when the back plate is put back on. You can oil the little bit of the pin that is visible. The bearings are sealed up and the only way I know of replacing them is to send it back to Arnold. NEVER, EVER, try to take the gold plate on the front(center) off. All you will do is mar the finish and void any warranty that it might have. The design of these reels is either "I love it" or "I hate it" sort of deal. Personally I think its good because I like to tinker with my gear too much, and this helps prevent me from fudgin something up lol. This is how my reel is set up, but like I said, I haven't seen the new Series II disassembled.
 
As far as the dust, when you mean the back plate do you really mean in the holes on the spool? For that try taking the Canned air they sell for electronics and spray in it. Or you can blow it out with an air compressor. Also, try q-tips but don't use any harsh stuff.
 
Hope this helps..........