Centerpinning - Day 2

What a difference 1 day and a little practice makes. Today's trip to the river yielded much better results in terms of my technique and the result. Having gotten a grip on casting, I was able to concentrate more on line control and my drifts.

We started the day on the lower part of the Salmon river. The action was good enough to keep us there for most of the day. At the first hole, this brown nailed my skein and nearly jolted the rod out of my hand.

















It was nice to get one early in the morning. Now I was getting my head into the game.

Here are a few more photos of steelhead I landed, and a few by my friend Aaron:

























I don't know that I'll invest in a rig just yet. It is very effective to say the least, but it is not as relaxing to fish with as the fly rod. Maybe it's just that I don't have enough time into it yet.

Going to give the SAlmon river a rest for now. It's possible I may go up in the springtime for drop backs. I can definitely use the fly rod then.

Centerpinning - day 1

Wow - what a learning experience. My new signature line for emails will be "Centerpinning is NOT easy!" I have a new appreciation for the guys who go out there with the CP reels and make it look so effortless. It took me half the day to figure out just the casting alone. Then, it finally clicked. Line and drift management are going to require some more time.

The thing with centerpin reels is that they are free spinning and have no drag. This setup just invites tangles and backlashes if you're not totally on top of your game (or have many days on the water working with this reel), or a complete greenhorn like me.

Aside from that, properly done, it is incredibly effective as my friend demonstrated to me today. He landed a bunch and I was lucky enough to land the one I did hook into. Thank God is was not a beast or I surely would have lost it. The other thing about it is the bait; skein sacks are really really really smelly and sticky. You get that smell on your hands and I think it could stay with you for days, if not weeks!

All said, I'm glad I tried it and we'll see what tomorrow's day on te river brings... hopefully some chrome or gold into the net.