Centerpinning

I guess I have a few questions on the subject.

First, how is Centerpinning actually done?  I've seen the rods and reels and assume it is a drift type presentation, but how do you cast?  Do you just lob it out there?

Second, why do so many people hate Centerpinners on the streams?  I've never fished near someone who was using a centerpin set-up, but there are a lot of posts in other forums that hate these guys.  Just wondering why.

I love standing downstream from them

AAAHHhahahahahahaaaahah!!! Bout time we've had some good action in this forum! Please keep this going.

Hate or envy?

ORIGINAL: ShutUpNFish

AAAHHhahahahahahaaaahah!!! Bout time we've had some good action in this forum! Please keep this going.

Hate or envy?

Sorry ShutUp. I found something almost as fun as messing with pinners elsewhere. I must return to my roots though.

pinners need to fish larger rivers LIKE OUT ON THE WEST COAST lol lol i too can replicate a long drift with my 10 ft noodle and sedona 2500 reel but on erie tribs usually you dont need a long long drift jus sayin

Its effective on ANY moving water.

You're right KK, you can certainly achieve pretty much the same drift using your spinning outfit, if you're making 50' drifts that is...I try to seek out water where I can cover more water per drift and theres lots of it where I fish, including Erie - just gotta know where and when. I will say though, my favorite place to fish is on the rivers right here at home. Virtually NO people and plenty of great fishing opportunities.

I have played around with a centerpin set up over the years and it can be very effective, but on the streams in PA with the number of people fishing the larger drifts, it is really not the best idea.  As mentioned, there are guys who will hit the head of a hole and drift the entire hole basically drifting in front of everyone.  That is the behavior many find offensive.

I will say however if you are careful, watch your drift and be sensitive to the others around you, you can get some good drifts. 

Learning to cast a centerpin set up has a pretty steep learning curve.  It takes a lot of coordination, good timing and practice. 

As far as I am concerned, if you want to give it a try, find someone who will take you out and show you how to do it.  That will save a lot of time in the learning process.  Also, if you do decide to get into centerpining, get a good quality reel.  The reel is the heart of the technique.  The cheaper ones will work, but the better reels will give you less problems and a better drift.  The whole idea is to get the line out with a float onto the water and to let the water take the line off the reel.  This way you get a very natural drift.

There are some other issues that help to refine the technique like choosing the right float, putting the right amount of shot on the line to get the bait or fly out in front of the float, choosing a good drift, etc.... 

To completely honest unless you want to drop some serious money on a set up that has limited use on the tribs, you may want to use a good noodle rod and spinning reel.

I have fished aside 4 centerpinners at a time without missing a beat and everyone catching fish....explain that? All these comments about hero drifts are funny and common stereotypes while the bottom line is that its all about each individual's courteousness. You ever fish next to a swinger? Probably not, because most of them won't fish around you, but I had one come right up next to me on Elk last year and whip a fly about a foot from my eye! "Common Courtesy" And the notion that centerpinning is even remotely a "bad idea" in Erie is comical too, but whatever. I have rarely had a hard time finding a place to fish and NEVER not found a place for it. I know some guys who fish the method on small feeder streams and hammer fish simply because they're not standing right over them. This is, once again, another matter of "to each his own". However, IMHO, there is NO more effective way to present a more natural drift presentation on moving water than with a float rod/reel set-up.

it's quite funny... the spey/switchers cry about pinners taking up room, yet swing 60 feet arcs on the reg...

waiting for input from swinger here.

I love that F-ing video!!! LMAO

I once used a spey rod and a HUGE woolly bugger to get a guy out of my back pocket.  I was fishing the Manchester hole...  I know, I know with a spey rod???  Actually, there was only a couple of guys there that day and I had the upper part of the hole to myself.  After a couple of hook ups, some dude comes and plants himself next to me and starts casting exactly where I was casting.  I got to talking with the fella and told him I was pretty new to spey casting and it might not be such a good idea to stand too close... He basically did not seem to get the message so I let one cast go that put that big woolly bugger about a foot from his head at about 100 MPH.  He seemed to understand that message pretty well.  He moved on real quick...

From Ford Fairlane. Kinda catchy....WF

can't we all just get along??? that's all my point ever really is... just go fishing and to each their own... go ahead swinger, bash me hard with that long rod of yours; better watch it though cause i've got one too... a stiff one and a wet noodle so watch it...

Some of my best friends are Pinners. But if one wants to move in nextdoor or marry my daughter thats a different story.

So, I have been fly fishing for many years and still do, for trout, and stripers. I also carry my flyrod with me most of the time when I fish for steelhead, with 2 reels, one for swinging and indi, and one for bottom bouncing. But, last year I got a centerpin and was amazed at how cool it is to use. It gives great drifts, with excellent presentation, and in the time I have been using it I have only landed one foul hooked fish. Under most circumstances it is much more effective, and offers a real interesting way to approach the fish, with the ability to use the long rod, and different weight patterns to put whatever you are fishing (bead, bag, fly, or jig) in the zone. My landing % is also higher, probably due to less foul hooks, and a longer softer rod.
I never realized there was such a wide divide between fly guys and pinners, and find it amazing that so many people spend so much time worrying about what other people are doing. The whole idea of steelheading for me is to live in the moment, focus on the drift, learn new water, it is kind of a Zen like thing. If there are people around doing things that bother me it is much easier to move on than to worry about it. Rude people are rude people. Trying to change them is like trying to teach a pig to dance, it won't happen, and it annoys the pig, so why not just leave them to themselves, and go find fish. It is funny, in some areas Canadians are the bad guys, in some it is the Russians, but on the interweb it seems to be pinners. So far I find pinners more willing to help and teach than fly guys, maybe because they catch more fish, and are not quite as serious about it, less traditional or something. I am sure there are the same % rude pinners as there are rude fly guys, and spin guys, and noodlers (well maybe not noodlers...), and I am sure I will meet them the next time I am out. Now, driftboats, those guys **** me off.....