You can definatly catch fish on any rod....just depends on how you play it out. The centre pin reel w/river rod is a little more expensive than some, a good starter package may run you 350-400. BUT...You can spend that on a shimano baitcaster and loomis 1 pc rod no problem. Do you need to spend the money..definatly not.
A centre pin is used when drifting bait along the river. The reel itself is what makes the difference when drifting with the current. It allows you to keep the line taught, no slack in the line wether it is up stream,downstream or right in front of you. Thus... with little to no slack in the line, a hook set is that much faster,reaction time is faster, and with the use of a 14' rod, you are picking up a lot of line and fast...thats when you will hear the whipping sound of the rod when a good set is done. Now using 6lb line, which IS a must when fishing bows...they are very smart and see heavy line from a mile away....this is also a reason for the centre pin, with no drag you control it yourself..
You can fish for anything with any type of set up, some just works better than others.
Check out this video, My cousin in Ireland is a fly fisherman,,targets eveything from pike to carp..on a fly rod!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZaWojSz9es
Might be a little long, its a show on tv in the UK,..you can see all of the episodes on youtube.looks for alan hanna!
