• You need to be a registered member of Barbel Fishing World to post on these forums. Some of the forums are hidden from non-members. Please refer to the instructions on the ‘Register’ page for details of how to join the new incarnation of BFW...

Centrepins for barbel.

P

Philip Howes

Active Member
Hey everyone.

Ive always fished using eggbeaters and multipliers when i used to go seafishing but Im now after a Centrepin and dont really know where to start :confused:

Im after something for touch legering and freelining big baits. To hold 10/12lb line, no line guard, a really light clicker. I tend to abuse my tackle and its for fishing not for polishing and keeping clean so I need something that will stand upto a bit of abuse.

I dont mind spending £200+ for something thats right, so anyone got any suggestions or considerations I may not have made?

Cheers
Phil
 
A second hand Match Ariel or a Speedia. The Match Ariels go for less than £100 in good condition and the Speedia's for less than £50. Last a life time or two.
 
Your Speedia has a foot? I bet it would be worth a fortune on ebay.
 
I'm not a pin expert so this is a second-hand opinion, take it as you will but I thought I'd thow it into the discussion anyway. Alan Roe, who did the Wallis demonstrations at the Barbel show, uses a rare Browning worth around £800 - but he had a couple of Marco Cortesi reels for teaching others. He expressed the opinion that in terms of actually using it, the Cortesi is pretty much as good as the Browning.

I tend to abuse my tackle, and I bought the Cortesi as my first pin - I don't worry about putting the reel down on a gravelly surface and it will probably end up scratched to hell. But it's cheap so it doesn't matter. I may get tempted by a facier reel for trotting where it wouldn't get so abused, but for roving the banks for barbel, the Cortesi seems just the job. And of course, if pin fishing doesn't suit you, then it hasn't cost you much. If you really enjoy it, you can always upgrade, and you'll have a better idea of what you want from a pin then.

The ratchet is a bit noisy though ;)
 
I bought a couple of Fred Crouch Jets (wide drum) and have used them exclusively so far this season. They're anodised nowadays and super reels. The ratchet might be a little noisy for you.....though IMO noise equals effectiveness with ratchets, i.e. I don't want the drum to turn too easily.

I also have an Ikonix (same as the Cortesi, apart from the colour) and rate it pretty highly.
 
Bill Walford said:
Got to be a better sound when a Barbel rips off down stream than some electronic gizmo though !!!!!:D
Click to expand...
Have to agree with that, although so far my barbel on it have come when holding it in the hand. It is loud though ... it makes me jump every time a big bit of of debris hits the line! My baitrunners are just loud enough to hear - but not loud enough to frighten the life out of me on a quiet night:eek:
 
Richard Parsons said:
though IMO noise equals effectiveness with ratchets, i.e. I don't want the drum to turn too easily..
Click to expand...
From my experience so far, I'd agree with that. If fished the Severn with a few feet on, and it was strong enough to hold against the flow when the rod was in the rests. Most of the time, the ratchet is off anyway.

I have got to get into the habit of putting the ratchet on as soon as I've wound in though. A few times I've put the rod in the rests, spent only a few seconds baiting the hook, then looked down to see 10 yards of birds nest balled up around the reel.:eek::D
 
Speaking of ratchets, my ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE ALL ROUND CENTREPIN would be a Youngs Bob James or Bob James lightweight. I prefer the ratchet mechanism for ease of access, mine are 4 1/2 inch versions (not sure if they do them in other sizes) and are as smooth as silk. you are looking at around £160 for a second hand or £220 for a new one.

They do tend to keep their value though.

For the money, i would agree with others that a good speedia is a sound investment.

Regards,

Jeff
 
Must say that the Cortesi does impressive cartwheels. Although i thought of them as a bit chav like initially, my recent purchase of a brace no less has made me re-think. For £30 they are not hard to beat but bloomin' impossible! I will admit that i will only be using them for static fishing though.

I have just aquired a Bowler pin too - one of those cheap (!?), ones from Climax. I personally can not see what the fuss is about as i find it no better than an Okuma Aventa Pro and in actual fact possibly worse as the finish on the reel does not feel as smooth. The weight difference appears negligble too.:(
 
Maybe there's an app for that Adrian?;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top