UPDATED: Caught me a Steelhead on the Centerpin (Vid/Pic)

[instapump416]

[OldTimer]

(10-24-2013 11:50 PM)instapump416 Wrote:  

Nice fish! Great Catch.

Thanks for sharing.

Regards,

OldTimer

[shawarma]

Insta, what did you catch it on?

[instapump416]

^^^
Salmon eggs in a sac

Thanks OT

[shawarma]

do you need a centerpin/float setup to be able to effectively use salmon eggs in a sac, or would it work just as well with my spinning rod? Hope this question makes some kinda sense.

[MuskieBait]

Spinning rod + spinning reel can work just as well. There is certain advantage with a longer rod (>10') compared to the typical 6-7' rod though. A longer rod allows you to control your drift much more effectively, and it allows you to extend your drift much further WITH CONTROL.

Often times, it is not the gear. Rather, you can pick the spot that most fit your gear, and then it is how you read the current and seams, how you set your shot patterns and rig, and how your control the drift and cover the area. People often say you need a natural presentation, a drag free drift...etc...but it's not as simple as that.

You often don't need 70 feet long drifts...despite what everyone seems to say and think. The only real advantage for float reels is in a really slow long pool or if you need to drift your rig across complicated current areas on the far side of the bank into complicated structure like log jams or undercut bank.

Just ask Michael whether my float rod + spinning reel was less advantageous than his float rod + centerpin We were fishing head to head in the same stream in the same pool. I even had him fished a spot for a while without hooking up...and once he gave up, I made some drifts and caught a few from the same pool.

[OldTimer]

I agree with Muskiebait on this.

While float rods and reels are the latest fad and are quite stylish perhaps,.... but "really really" - they are not necessary. They've only been out a few years.......... and guess what?............. we ALL caught LOTTSA fish prior to them being dreamed up (actually all them.......smile).

And yes - A longer rod is nice and will aid in wupping a wow size fish in close quarters, but there is a limit to what is manageable and simple. I find my 9' Ugly Stik rainbow/salmon rod just dandy, and I can use my regular spinning reels on it to boot.

Cheers,

OldTimer

[MuskieBait]

I bought a float reel last fall...used it twice...didn't find a real advantage and found it was more hassle than necessary...and subsequently sold it. I don't need to stand at the head of the pool and try to drift 75 feet down the pool, around the corner and past the tail of the pool into the riffle. If I need to work the different areas, I would much rather do a bunch of "focused" shorter drifts in the prime areas.

Here's my reasoning why you don't need 70 foot long drifts...

Take you typical GTA east trib. Most pools are fairly small...a 50 foot long pool is a pretty long one. For each pool, you can divided it into the head, mid (bowl) and the tail section.

The head of the pool usually has a riffle as an inlet. The riffle is usually shallow and filled with gravel, rocks and maybe some boulders. Then it dumps water into a deeper area at the head of the pool where water is more turbulent, but subsequently settles down.

The mid section of the pool is usually slower in current, with a current seam or two, and perhaps a log jam or two or perhaps a boulder or two or more...but the depth is usually consistent.

The tail section of the pool is usually shallower, much slower, muddy or silty (this is where sediments settles) and much clearer.

For one, you cannot drift with the same length of leader through the head, mid and tail section with equal effectiveness. The depth at the head and tail is too shallow if you adjust the leader suitable for the mid section...or vice versa.

Second, you cannot adjust your shot pattern effectively for all three sections. The head is too turbulent and requires more shots closer to the hook (a reverse pattern) to punch the bait deep quickly and to keep it closer to the bottom. The mid section has a bit off current but not enough for the reverse pattern...so your float will always drift ahead of your shots and leader if you do that. The tail section is too slow...and you will ALWAYS drag bottom with a reverse pattern. In order to fish the head, mid and tail section properly, you need to adjust your shot pattern for each section. So using one rig and one shot pattern to drift all 50 feet of the pool is not effective at all.

Third, the speed of the current also plays a role. The head of the pool has very fast current...so you need to trot your float and rig much less, but you need better control. In the mid section, you need to trot more...and in the tail section...well, the fish that sits at the tail section sometimes behave differently. Sometimes they like a very natural, drag free drift...but sometimes, let's just say they will surprise you. If you have 50 feet of line (usually more) drifting a tiny float down the pool, you will have very little control of the drift at that long distance.

Lastly, fish sits at different depths depending if they are at the head of the pool, in the mid section, tail section or under a log jam or undercut bank. You need to adjust the leader based on the depth of the fish.

If you drift the same pool with a poor presentation over and over, fish will smarten up and see the flaws in your presentation. With any given drift, you only have everything just right for a very short time and for a very specific situation...a Goldilocks problem...

So...if you are only drifting 20-30 foot distance, there is little difference in the factors mentioned above, you really don't need a float reel. With a 10' rod, you essentially have about a 9' reach to extend the drift. Add to that 9' reach is another 10' or more in front of you where you can drift your rig by following the drift with your rod...you can work 20-30' easily...and up to 40-50' with a bit of experience. The best thing is, you will drift with a very tight line most of the time and be in complete control of your float and rig so you can trot effectively, and guide the rig into the right current seam properly.

Personally, I like my 12'6 rod even though I do fish some pretty tight quarters at times...but the reach allows me to sneak up on fish and present my rig on a very short and tight line. When I find finicky fish, usually it will require that much control using tight and short line, and absolutely 100% guidance with the rod to present to the fish.

I felt like I've explained this back in the spring...but if not...well, there you have it.

** Some of my expert steelheader friends, who BTW, fish all winter and regularly catch multiple steelheads in any given morning, are adamant spinner reel users. They see no need for a float reel in the small east tribs that they fish.

[shawarma]

That was an amazing amount of information from you guys so thanks for that!

I have a 9' ugly stick that i was using earlier during the salmon run so I'll just rig that up and find some roe and try my luck at some steelhead.

Now I'm excited!

[instapump416]

Lots of great info written.

Thanks MB and OT.


Today's update...went 3-5