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Centerpin Reels: Selecting the Best Centerpin Fishing Reel

Writer's picture: John WielingaJohn Wielinga

Updated: Jan 27

Centerpin fishing has been a staple steelhead float fishing tool since the early 1900s, and by the looks of it, that doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon. They started getting popular in the Pacific Northwest and made their way into Canada and eventually the United States. The biggest appeal to Centerpin fishing isn’t just the trendy, good looking reel with a fancy face and paint job. They are extremely practical for float fishing and make it substantially easier to get the “perfect drift” all float fishermen strive for. Also, they have no built in drag system, which I would consider to be an advantage, giving you ultimate control over the fish during the fight. In the past, selecting the right centerpin reel was easy, as there wasn’t many options. That isn’t the case anymore, there is an endless list of options and quite frankly some manufacturers are doing it better than others. This article will cover everything you need to know to help you pick the perfect centerpin reel for you, including durability, sizes, weight and clicker strength. 


The most important thing I consider when I am buying a centerpin reel, I need a workhorse. I am very hard on my gear, as a full time guide I spend approximately 300 days a year on the water and most of those are spent float fishing for steelhead and salmon. Between my clients and myself still fishing on my days off, I need a reel that can take a beating day in and day out. In my opinion, when it comes to reliability and durability Colville Centerpins win the race by a long shot. I have had them covered in sand and mud laying in the water by a fish, I have dropped them, covered them in skein and spawn bag juice, you name it and I have done it. When I pick up my reel to fish the next day I never have a doubt that it will perform like it did the day I got it. The best part about all of that, I have zero maintenance on any of my reels. I have owned some of them for ten years and used them as a daily driver and have never done anything to them and never had any problems. 


Centperin fishing reels, centerpinning
Centerpin Angling

Having options is also nice. When it comes to sizes, designs and the ability to completely customize a reel Colville’s also have the largest selection. Having a good looking reel is great, but having a practical reel that fits your needs is better. They have reel sizes available from 4” to 6” and everything in between. Bigger isn’t always better! It is best to choose reel size based on where you are fishing, considering size of the river, how far you will cast, river speed, and how far you will likely be drifting. The point of this article is to simplify things, so all of that being said, I don’t ever go smaller than a 5.35” and I fish some pretty tiny water throughout the year. I do fish as large as a 5.95”, the line pick up is great especially if fishing a large river or taking really long drifts. For those who don’t know, the larger the reel the more line it picks up per every rotation. That being said, since owning a 5.65” it is very hard to put down, the line pick up is still great, it is very manageable in the hand, and still feels surprisingly light to fish all day. To keep this short and sweet, I would say the two reasons I would go 5.35” over 5.65” is if I fished the majority of small water with short drifts or in all seriousness, if I had smaller hands. Other than that the comfort and benefits of the 5.65” is really tough to beat. However, both reels are great for both smaller and larger river systems and I truly believe regardless of the situation, you would likely be happy with either one. 


With reel sizes comes the conversation of weight, regardless of the size of reel you have or are looking to purchase keep this in mind. It is easy to get roped in by all the awesome spool faces and pick your reel based on appearance. However, you ultimately need it to be comfortable and practical for a days fishing. That being said, I am looking for spools that are highly ported, meaning a lot of aluminum milled out, and also ported back plate. This is partially preference as depending on your rod, a little extra weight might help balance it. If you’re looking to buy a reel this would be a great conversation to have with Danny and the guys at the shop to get one that best fits your needs. Now let’s get into some of the bones of the reel. 


Colville’s have a hybrid ceramic bearing, they not only sound nice casting and spin like a dream but they also require no maintenance. They are meant to be run dry, meaning no oil or lubricant is intended to be added or put on the bearing. Besides no maintenance to keep them running smooth, the other great perk to that is being able to submerge it in water. Whether you got something in the spool and need to clean it out or lay it in the water as you deal with a fish, or just want to wipe the slime or skein off of it, being able to submerge it in water without hesitation is a huge bonus. 


The last point we will touch on is clicker strength, we are considering both durability and functionality here. The Colville clickers are the strongest on the market by a long shot. Both in durability but also the amount of tension or force required to get your reel to spin with the clicker engaged. This helps when bush whacking so every piece of grass or twig isn’t making a mess of your reel and rig as you tromp through the woods or down the river bank. It also helps when packing up rods and storing them, wether in the boat, your truck or on the rod rack at home. And lastly these clickers last forever, I haven’t seen one need replacing yet after years of hard use. 


This is by no means meant to be an article on Colville Centerpins. However, I have the most amount of experience with these reels personally and truly believe they are top- notch and second to none. However, if you are planning to go a different route that's okay, just consider the above factors when looking at different makes and models of reels. 


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John Wielinga

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