by Sean Swatsky 
Centerpin fishing, commonly known as float fishing,
has long been known as a “big water” technique in Canada and Europe
alike. However, over the past few years the curiosity of centerpinning
has grown significantly in the Great Lakes region of the United States
thanks to the world class steelhead fishery. Float fishing has since
moved onto smaller waters throughout the United States and its
popularity has grown immensely. The setting for a small stream is
generally small in width, shallow, pocket water type conditions, which
presents float fisherman with a unorthodox setting for their method.
Small stream fishing has always been accomplished by traditional methods
of spin fishing or fly fishing here in the United States, while across
the seas they were light-years ahead of us when it comes to technique.
In popular class “A” or “Blue Ribbon” trout waters throughout the United
States, many fisherman are now taking their float fishing gear along
with their fly boxes to target native stream trout wit great success. I
believed until recently that there were very proprietary techniques that
needed to be utilized when fishing small streams with a float rod and
centrepin reel, however after my experiences I’ve come to the conclusion
that as long as you understand the fundamentals of float fishing, the
technique can be applied in virtually any setting. Centerpinning on
smaller pocket water requires the fisher to utilize refined skill
because the drifts will generally be very short and your flies do not
have much time to impact the strike zone. The key to success trout
fishing is the ability to get your presentation into the strike zone as
quickly as possible, while maintaining it there for as long as possible.
Shotting, Shot Lines, & Shot Patterns
Unlike fly fishing where a split shot or two are placed on the leader to
get out fly down into the strikezone, centerpinner us a shot pattern.
The shot pattern is built onto the shot line which is generally the line
between the float and the micro-swivel which connects to the tippet to
your bait of fly. Each shot pattern will react differently in the water
column because of the different placement and size of each split-shot. A
standard shot pattern would consist of evenly spaced split-shot placed
on the shot line. The heavier shot is placed closer to the float and the
lighter shot closer to the leader. This techniques is used for a few
reasons but the most importantly because the generally the surface
current is faster that the subsurface. This allows your fly or bait to
reach the fish before all the terminal tackle does. To get your fly down
quickly, you will be bulk shotting for the most part, more or less
“dipping” and/or trotting your offering behind every boulder, nook, and
cranny in the stream. Bulk shotting is when you stack the majority of
the shot just above the micro-swivel which is just above the tippet.
More on shot patterns can be
found here.
I like to drop my heavily weighted terminal tackle (float, leader, shot,
and flies) on the water and trot it down to a boulder or pool and once
my presentation nears the boulder I let up on checking the float and
allow the speed to increase so the offering get down to the bottom.
This is perhaps one of the most simple, yet most effective ways to fish
these tricky situations. Most freestone and spring fed streams consist
of a fairly similar composition so a standard shot patter will suffice.
When you come up to an undercut or boulder you can just slide your shot
down the line and stack it above your swivel and effectively fish that
area. These are the subtle changes that can make a world of difference.
There are a few basic skills that will enable you to adjust to almost
any situation that can be learned via trial and error over a few solo
outings or one trip with an experienced centerpinner or centerpinning
guide. Once you learn how to fish a pool from the head to the tail-out
you can fish any pool, on any stream. Likewise, once you learn how to
fish different depths and current speeds—from shallow water riffles to
deep and slow frog water, you can take those skills to any body of water
and successfully use them.
Line Management, or lack there of?
One of the biggest challenges that a fly fisherman faces is
line control. Poor fly line management leads to unnatural fly
presentation, which results in fewer hookups, direct reflect of an
unnatural drift. Unnatural fly presentation, a result of constant line
mending upstream and downstream, causes line drag and opens the
possibility for an overall poor drift. High stick nymphing is very
effective while fly fishing, although the angler must be sure to
position himself close to, or even at times, in the run he wishes to
target. Utilizing proper float fishing techniques allows your terminal
tackle to effectively reach your target without necessitating the
complicated mends and adjustments found in fly fishing. The result is
“the perfect drift” which
every trout fisherman knows are required to
catch the most finicky fish. With virtually no drag between the rod tip
and the float antenna, and keeping the line off of the water’s surface
(thus the reason we use longer than usual rods), a drag free drift can
be achieved. Due to the fact the line used while centerpinning is a very
small diameter and has specialized floating properties, there will be
minimal drag in the event your line does lay in the surface during your
drift. Oddly enough under windy conditions it is common to see
experienced float fishermen adding a split shot above their float to
promote the line to lay on the surface so it is not affected by the
wind. Once you cast your line, the hydraulics of the water will
naturally push against the float while
pulling line from the spool. The precision (ball or bushing) bearings
of a center pin reel permit the reel to start “free wheeling” and feed
line out at the same rate the current is flowing while allowing the
float and presentation to move as one. However, one must retain the
notion that the surface current is almost always moving faster than the
streambed, thus the need to “trot” or “feather” the spool for a perfect
presentation. Trotting is to float fishing what mending is to fly
fishing—the subtle adjustment that often separates the anglers catching
fish from those who are not.
Trotting
The biggest key to centerpinning small waters is the fisherperson’s
ability to “trot” correctly for effective presentations. Actually,
trotting is one of the single most important aspects of float fishing
under any condition. Trotting is a term used to describe the technique
of controlling the speed of the spool by adding drag to the reel’s spool
with your finger as the line pulls off (thus slowing it down, as opposed
to letting the current peel off line without hindrance). Your goal is to
keep the presentation running at the same speed as the current at the
bottom of the stream. This all changes as the water depth becomes deeper
or more shallow at the head of a pool or a tail-out. Adding drag to the
spool will cause the presentation to rise upward into the water column,
which at times is critical, especially when you have a lot of weight on
your line because of the fast turbulent water. This technique is
especially effective in the tail-out of a pool where the water depth
continually gets shallower and the need to allow the presentation to
either raise or drop to the correct depth allowing your offering to be
properly presented to the fish that are present in that area of the
pool. In the reverse notion, the angler can also keep drag on the spool
at the head of a pool and slowly allow the presentation to speed up as
it enters the pool. This will allow the presentation to start dropping
“down” into the pool or strike zone as the water deepens. These tricks
or techniques are easily learned with experience on the water under
these conditions.
Small Stream Float Fishing Gear
Float fishing for resident and native trout in places such as
Pennsylvania, Idaho, Montana, and at 10,000ft in Wyoming has given me
some of my favorite experiences to date. I have had an enormous amount
of success using these methods—it has far surpassed other methods I’ve
tried on these very same waters. The technique of dead-drifting nymphs
and streamers, while utilizing a float fishing setup, provides fisherman
with a deadly combination on any trout stream. Most of the gear you use
for steelheading or smallmouth fishing will stay the same for the
exception of your rod. The lack of shorter length and lighter action
float rods pose a problem for a hardcore float fisherman that wishes to
make the conversion to centerpinning smaller streams or only fish small
streams. Most of the large manufacturers that have jumped on board
producing float rods are making long 10’6” - 15’ rods because of the
popularity of the Great Lakes Steelhead Fishery. These rods are perfect
for medium to large streams and larger fish, but not specifically for
smaller waters where your average size fish is 10 inches. Contacting a
custom rod builder is the best way to get a rod designed specifically
for small trout streams. The design criteria would include shorter rod
blank lengths, lighter blank weight and action, custom cork grips, and
multi piece designs handcrafted specifically for the conditions you’ll
likely encounter. A 3 or 4 piece rod in 3-4wt is about perfect. It
should range in the 7’6” to 9’ range dependant on what you are looking
for and the streams you will be targeting. For me, an IRC 9’ rod built
on a 4wt fly rod blank has been perfect. It will allow you to pack the
rod into a compact tube while bushwhacking’ or backpacking to your
favorite secluded area. Lighter fluorocarbon tippet is a must, while
smaller sensitive balsa floats and smaller test mainline would
complement these types of set ups nicely.
Reels and Mechanics – A couple things to consider
A heavier reel will take more “pull” to get the reel moving, however
once moving it will continue to spin easier because of the centrifugal
force and the weight of a traditional centerpin reel in the 4” to 5”
diameter range. On the contrary a lighter reel (of the same diameter)
will be easier to get moving but the ability to continue to spin is
reduced by a noticeable amount. Now, smaller diameter traditional
aluminum reels notoriously make it harder to maintain the reels ability
to free-spin on a drift when the reel--so your overall performance may
be downgraded slightly knowing these facts. In the worst case scenario
the angler may need to force the spool to spin effectively and to keep
giving line to the presentation so the drift may continue. Other factors
such as the number of guides, the type of guides, and the type of line
all play an important part in how well a reel can free-spin on the
water……
There are special rods and reels sized appropriately for fly
fishing, but for some reason the reel manufacturers have overlooked the
centerpinner’s need (want) for a smaller reel. There is a very limited
It is true the larger size reels work, but why not have a special reel
for us? Actually, there just vary well may be! The release of new carbon
fiber centerpins on to the market today by
HBE may have remedied this ongoing problem. The use of carbon fiber
allows the reel weight and size to be reduced dramatically while
maintaining the reels integrity. The
HBE carbon fiber centerpin reel comes in at a mere 2-2.5oz. One will
notice there is almost zero start up inertia, however the low weight
properties drastically reduce the reel’s ability to maintain a
“free-spin” scenario when the reel is spun in your hand. On the water
however, the wild card here is the fact the reel
is so light and the
inertia is so low, there is no need to be able to keep the reel spinning
under momentum as you would with a larger heavier reel. It is achieved
by the low inertia properties of the reel and the ease for the reel to
spin. Basically, the reel will start up quickly and easily keep going
due to the drag of water on your float. This makes it possible to
potentially have the best of both worlds, a small 3” diameter, almost
weightless reel…… I have been fortunate enough to have played with HBE’s
4.5” diameter reel as well as get this reel into the hands of a few of
the top pinners around to take it out and use it. All of us agree that
HBE is on to something with this new concept. Immediately after we
started showing off the new prototype carbon fiber centerpin reels there
was a negative feedback….. Funny thing is all the negativity was coming
from people that have never fished or touched the reels or concept.
There really have not been many new “breakthroughs” in the centerpin
reel industry for quite some time and sometimes change is hard, so I can
see why there was a little hesitation in a lot of minds out there. Being
the reel is a prototype it goes without saying there needed design
changes. I’ve received updated drawings of the new design and there are
better things to come. I’m excited to say there is a 3” design headed my
way for further testing.
A new design in HBE’s carbon fiber centerpin reels will help alleviate
the line tangle issue which was really the biggest issue we were faced
with. When HBE first contacted me about field testing their reels on
flyandfloatfishing.com, I was really excited. They sent us in the
4.5” model reel to test on steelhead which we did through January and by
some of the
pictures we have taken you can see it worked out pretty well.…. but
I really wanted a 3” model as well. After talking with Hanspeter, it is
finally coming within a week…. More Info and video of HBE’s 3” Carbon
Fiber prototype reel will be online within a few weeks when we get our
video and editing finished up. If you are looking for something specific
for small waters, there is one out there for you as well that can
potentially change the way we all look at centerpin reels…… more to
follow.
Ethics & Fly vs. Pin….
With the rapid growth of centerpinning has come the negativity toward
the technique because of a few individuals’ lack of respect toward our
fishery and other anglers. It is important to note that just because you
have the ability to drift a mile with a centerpin does not mean you have
to! Be courteous to other anglers on the stream, do not crowd them out
of where they were fishing and keep your drifts at a reasonable
distance. Anglers that have ignored these common stream courtesies
typically barge in on a section of water, and “over-extend” their
drifts. This problem is an “individual” and case-by-case issue,
unfortunately this generalization and stereotype has been extended to
the whole centerpinning community. It is each individual’s
responsibility to just be nice to others.
It is inevitable that issues like these arise as the art of
centerpinning increases symmetrically. It takes little common sense for
you to know to share the water with those around you so we can all fish
in harmony.
We recently asked Mike Durkalec, local long-time float fisherman and
Aquatic Biologist of the
Cleveland Metropark System why he thinks there is such a negative
image of the centerpinner by hardcore fly fishermen on the great lake
tributaries?
“Partly because they think it's a "bait" technique, and partly due
to having issues with the fact that it's so effective (in terms of
hooking fish). After all, I don't know many 'pinners who have issues
with fly fishing; ( Some view it as more "technical" than being an
"art", too, which I don't really think is the case after having fished
both a lot. Rude 'pinners who take 100 yard drifts where others are
fishing are also part of this negative image.”
Asked what is the biggest misconception of float fishing?
“it's an "easy" way to catch fish. You have to be a good angler in
general to begin with, a 'pin will only help you...it won't magically
make you a good angler.”
Some other arguments I’ve recently discovered when writing this
article about centerpinning negativity is actually mortality rate.
Elitist believe because the catch rate is so high, the mortality rate of
catch and release grow as well.. I don’t think we will ever fully come
to a civil conclusion just like with the “fly vs. bait” battle that has
been going on for years…….. But we can try. All we ask is that you treat
your neighbor with dignity and respect and make good choices….
For other great resources on float fishing including "how-to" videos -
click here
Sean Swatsky -
FLYANDFLOATFISHING.COM
You can email Sean by
Clicking Here
