Shot pattern

Im new to the world of centerpin fishing and could really use some advice as far as shot patterns and setups go. I'm also not sure on the leader legnth coming from the barrel swivel. What do most of you guys use on lake erie's tribs? thanks
-Mike

Try a search on the steelhead site, quest outdoors, or floatfishing net and stand back. Your topic is rehashed on those sites fairly often, you'll get enough hits to confuse the heck out of you. After that pick one that seems reasonable and not overly complex, go out and experiment with different combinations of whatever tickles you. There's no absolutely right answer for all situations, anybody who tells you to use only one method (his) in all cases may be a fool, even if not, he's not catching as many fish as he should be. When you see somebody hammering fish, be nice, complement him on something or the other, and notice what he's doing. Most pinners will be happy to give a pointer or two.

Like some guys they like the swivels, i really don't care for them much or use them often. I run Siglon f line as my main the run a piece of fluoro about 3 ft i tie a triple surgeons knot connect the two lines together, i run alot of 4 ,5,6 gram floats and when the water is up i run a 8, 9 gram float. Shotting is a mystery to figure out i can have some times up to 15 pieces of shot on my line just have to play with it all water is different, depths, how fast ,slow water is flowing etc. You might be fishing a hole that is a big deep pocket and next your fish a 4ft pool then you have to keep moving your shot till you get the right drift and speed. If i am fishing high off colored water i fish my shot about 3 inches from my bait fly whatever, water is nice greenish flow it's about 18 inches from my offering, if it's gin clear i am fishing micro shot ,maybe as more than 24 inches from my offering and sometimes none at all. You just have to experiment to you find what works best for you.
 
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