We managed to get all of our morning chores done by 0630 and decided that after coffee, we would run down to one of the local lakes so she could fish while I practiced casting the centerpin reel.
We are so sick of this wind and there is nothing we can do about it. Day after day of 20+ mph winds gets really old. And it didn’t help with me trying to learn the Wallis cast and the BC Swing cast. I’ll have to wait for a calm day or drive 2 hours to the river to practice.
My original plan was to just cast lead weight to get a feel for this centerpin reel but I opted to rig up a float, some weight and a hook baited with earthworms and go fishing.
First cast and I hooked into a very healthy Bluegill that put up a great fight. The only rod I had that was close to a float rod was a 10ft Crappie jigging rod which didn’t work out too well, but I managed to catch 11 fish on it.
Mrs. Velox Seeker caught 8 Crappie and 1 Largemouth bass on her spinning setup. We were both constantly battling the wind as well as weeds. I managed to catch 6 Largemouth bass and 5 Perch, all of which were fun on the rod and centerpin reel. After the wind picked up with gusts over 30 mph, I switched to a spinning setup but couldn’t catch a cold. Zilch, zero.
All in all, I was impressed with the potential of the centerpin reel and the ability to make long, controlled drifts. With a legit centerpin rod I think this will be a highly effective method to fish a river for Smallmouth bass.
Velox Seeker 
Forgive me for not looking it up myself but what’s different about a centerpin reel? I’ve never heard of it.
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There’s no drag on a centerpin reel and theny generally have ABEC 5 or 7 bearings so they spin like mad. When fishing in current that’s generally enough to pull line smoothly off the reel so you can get an optimal drift. It takes some getting used to, especially casting. I’m not an expert by any means but thought it would work really well in the rivers I tend to fish. I literally couldn’t buy a bite today on my spinning tackle but easily caught 11 fish on the centerpin setup just by casting it out and letting the wind push the float along the edge of the shore. Hope that helps.
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