34 replies to this topic

[NADO]

Well i caught a nice rainbow on my friends centre pin yesterday and im suddenly hooked on centre pin fishing.

If anyone can give me some ideas on quality low cost reels that would be great. If i can get something that works for $50 that would be great if not im willing to spend up to 100 for now...i just dumped a bunch of money into my fly fishing setup.

[Majstor]

chepest one i know is matrix its 169$. u coud order one of those crappy one's from ukraine they are 35$ someone posted this a while back. From what i heard they dont spin in slow water so u probably will have to pull line with your hand if u are fishin east creeks lol. U always get what u pay for i have a few buddies that have matrix xl and they dont complain. if u dont have the money now i say u wait a little bit longer and get something decent.

[despotiko]

i agree with float drifter save some extra doh and get something better. or you could pick up a used okuma for around 100. Theres a guy on ff.net selling an okuma aventa for 150 obo. they are the best bang for your buck i can pm him for ya if youd like.

[NADO]

Thanks for the info guys, im from waterloo so a reel off a forum would probably be a little bit of a drive for me. My logic was that i would get something cheap like that reel from ukraine and just deal with it for the rest of the season until i can afford something better. I was trying to float with my spinning rod and it just wasnt nearly as good as the centre pin...and it was my first time using a centre pin too.

[efka]

check zen master reel, if you're into budget.
but a lot of guys from ff.net will ship the reel for you for extra 10 bucks.
don't waste money on cheap stuff, do it right from the beginning, invest at least $250 for used islander, kingpin, loomis or something similar.

[NADO]

My question to you is would you rather float fish with a spinning rod until you are ready to buy a good real in 2 seasons or so. Or would you rather fish with a low quality $35 reel until you can afford the good reel.

[efka]

stick with good spinning instead of cheap pin. but you already know you will buy one, so why wait. they will hardly cost less next year. just go for it, in 2 seasons you will learn a lot.

[staffman]

I agree stick to the spinning reel. Do not buy a cheap reel. You can float fish a spinning reel, you just have to let the float make short swings and move more often than a pin fisherman would.

[fishfight]

Being a Non-conformist and a diligent shopper, I bought the Ukraine made reel: http://i223.photobuc.../centerpin1.jpg

Here is the Ukraine made centerpin I got from ebay, works as perfect as any $300 reel. My Pinning buddy has a $300 Okuma reel, did some casting, floating and compared it with my $35 reel, he said nothing wrong with the way the reel spin, but for the money, it is amazing. It is lightweight compared to the more expensive models, the material used is not as thick, but equally strongly made, lighter material helps reel spins better. Might not spin for 3 minutes long, actually only close to a minute(Spinning for a long time is not a right way to test a Pin in fishing anyway) , Most important feature of a Pin reel, it has to freely spin (start-up)on slow moving water and mine moves freely and impressively with the price. Before I took a plunge on this Ukraine Pin, I consulted with many other buyers on ebay regarding this reel , and they all swear that it is a great buy and quality. The line and rod to be used is equally important. I am using a Siglon F floating line.

Too bad I do not get paid for promoting these reel! Just some good news to our members through my diligence in investigating new products and inexpensive pricing. I believe the other equally important aspect to float fishing also includes understanding the type of float and split shot distribution.

http://i223.photobuc...rpincloseup.jpg

Herer are other inexpensive $80 reel from ebay, this same reel sold with two different name, both made from china only sold in UK. These are amazing reel for the price as well, I also did my homework and consulted other previous ebay buyers feedback. They are selling by the hundreds in UK, they do not want to distribute it in America for now. Only one factory makes them in China, I would love to be a reseller and will investigate further . They cannot make enough to be sold within UK alone.
http://cgi.ebay.com/...=item2eb3cca525

http://cgi.ebay.com/...=item483d3c205a

Centerpin reel are easy to make, not a lot of parts involved compared to a baitcasting reel, China Centerpin reel will be penetrating our market just months from now. The bearings is the most important key to free spooling, If they can make the fastest Fighter Jet in the world that came out last month, faster than a US fighter Jet, making Centerpin reel is a breeze for them.

Sorry to disappoint those who paid a lot for their Pin in the past. Most North American consumers wanted inexpensive product within the past 10 years, only way to sell a pin cheaper is to get it made in China. UK or Japan used to look down and would not even touch China made stuff 10 years ago. Due to economy being bad, Now, UK cannot even keep enough PIN on their shelves. They are selling the Marco cortesi or Ikonix reel for only 30 pounds, they do not even want to sell me one directly. After I enquired, they have enough market seliing in UK and always ran out of stock. They wanted me to go through their other ebay resellers which sells for 45Pound, a much higher price.

I saw a rod and spinning reel combo at Dicks sporting goods USA a month ago sold for $10, the reel has 10 bearings, The rod is somewhat flexible for my taste. However, for a beginner angler , what they can buy today is far superior than what they can buy 10 years ago, for even less money. Quality in technology has reach almost its saturation point these days, meaning the less expensive stuff versus the most expensive stuff is not too far different these days, except the brand name.

[tonewhy]

hi can you give me the link from which you bought ur reel? I want to give this 35$ one a try.

[ganny guy]

Hi

There r a bunch on ebay I bought 1 for salmon and it worked well

Rick

[efka]

april 7-10 at gagnons, okuma sheffield on sale for $149 (sells for $250+)
i think thats a steal, so everyone that are thinking getting a pin should grab it without thinking.

[Garfield the Cat]

april 7-10 at gagnons, okuma sheffield on sale for $149 (sells for $250+)
i think thats a steal, so everyone that are thinking getting a pin should grab it without thinking.

Where is there a store location nearest to me ? I live in Markham east end

[FrankTheRabbit]

There's only one location that I know of that's out in Oshawa. Take the 401 east and exit Stevenson Road.

Gagnon Sports, 385 Bloor St W, Oshawa, ON L1J 5Y5, Canada from Googlemaps.

Some buddies scored some awesome deals at the Sportsman show a few weeks ago. You gotta do your detective work and use your bartering skills. They won't give you a good deal on the spot, you'll have to wheel and deal. My friend got a Matrix for $140 and another friend got his Sheffield for $150. Both float reels were taxes in.

[NADO]

Im looking to buy a house by the end of the year so i wont be spending 250 or even 150 on a pin real for at least 2 seasons. So in that case i might as well risk it with the cheap ukraine reel in the meantime, i can take a $35 hit if the reel is crap. Couldnt i just switch out the barrings if it doesnt spin well?

[Garfield the Cat]

Im looking to buy a house by the end of the year so i wont be spending 250 or even 150 on a pin real for at least 2 seasons. So in that case i might as well risk it with the cheap ukraine reel in the meantime, i can take a $35 hit if the reel is crap. Couldnt i just switch out the barrings if it doesnt spin well?

Your best choice would be $150 okuma as one guy said at Gagnon. For a total value of 250. Oh another thing is when you buy yur house, all yur money disappears. Lol

[davey buoy]

That's right your thinking two years from now,something will come up and all of a sudden there is no money.Do it now if possible,lol ,that same thing happened to me years ago.

[NADO]

ive seen two ukraine reels on ebay, one black and one silver. the silver one was $8 cheaper and i think it looks better. Does anyone know if there is a difference?

http://cgi.ebay.ca/N...=item33669c9433

[Fishheads]

ive seen two ukraine reels on ebay, one black and one silver. the silver one was $8 cheaper and i think it looks better. Does anyone know if there is a difference?

http://cgi.ebay.ca/N...=item33669c9433

Honestly you will regret buying the cheap real. Even the matrix reel which is 100 times better then the Ebay one, will need to be replaced when you really get the hang of centerpin fishing.
The Cheap reel will only impede your progression and make you not enjoy fishing i.e. NO FISH
Start Smart I paid 300 for my first reel and fished it for 7 yrs then sold it for more then half of what i paid for it. You couldn't sell the ebay reel to the "scrap yard"
TRUST ME YOU WILL REGRET IT
Mike

[Majstor]

put the house on hold and get an islander