I am the proud owner of a wonderfully machined aluminum Islander Steelheader Center Pin Float Reel. How on gods green earth do you cast this thing, more than once an hour? It is unlike anthing that I have tried in the past. Any users? Of Float reels? Can I use it on a spinning rod or fly rod?

You have a great reel and will learn to love t IF you take some time to learn it. The big trick with centrepin reels is to release the tension on the spoon an instant BEFORE you begin your forward motion. The reel needs a millisecond to begin spinning. It does not like sharp jerky casts, instead try smooth flowing casts.

I believe the centrepin is the absolute best reel for fishing floats, as the large diameter spool and exceedingly well machined design allow an almost drag free line release. A few years back all top B.C. steelheader had centrepin reels, some costing as much as $1,000. There were a number of small boutique manufacturers who made small quantities of very fine centrepin reels. Fred's Custom tackle in Vedder Crossing has an excellent collection of rare centrepins.

Enjoy!

P.S. Many Canadian rods are designed for centrepin reels. They feature extra long cork below the reel.

Lamiglas used to make them as well.

Surecatch is right, don't over power your cast. Line comes off real easy. The proper rod makes casting cp reels a lot easier. Sage makes rods for center pin reels. Good luck finding one in the states.

Chum Eater: If you need a rod, I have a very nice Lami designed for the centrepin. I would sell it pretty reasonably. OR go fish the Vedder, stop at Freds and buy one of his. He has a big selection of centrepin rods.

This site will have everthing you need to read.
http://www.floatfishing.ca/cgi-bin/floatfishing.pl/

Centerpin rods have a softer action that helps prevent reel overruns.
You won't find many rods south of the border, but Ted's in Lynnwood may have them, or access to them.
If you want to make a road trip (particularily if you're going to fish the Vedder) try Fred's.
HTTP:/freds-bc.com

Another great tackle shop is Berry's.
www.berrysbait.com

Centerpin combos are a fun way to fish floats, but are not as efficient as level winds for bottom bouncing.

Here is a good link that has tons of info on float fishing www.floatfishing.net As far as casting goes it quite confusing explaning it over the web. Someone tried explaining it to me, and ended up digging my self in a hole. Find someone who uses one and watch them for a while. It will take a while to get used to it, but once you do it becomes second nature. My only recommemdation is start off with a side cast, that is casting the line off the side of the reel. While this cast is very easy it creates huge amounts of line twist. After you get the feel for the pin, start praticing a BC swing cast, or casts that involve getting the spool spinning while you are casting. You won't have probs with twist with these casts. The islander you got is awsome, its probably the best mass produced reel on the market. This probably doesn't help much just making you more confused

Downtime,

Nice web site. It looks like there is a lot there.

FS