Types of Reels

[Fishnwire]

I'm a bass/walleye/pike guy primarily. I've used spinning and baitcast reels...and like many learned to throw plugs on a simple closed-face spin-cast reel. I once owned a very cheap fly reel for ice fishing.

 

What I know nothing about are things like centre-pin, float and mooching reels. They look like fly reels to me...how are they different from one and from one another?

 

Does a guy who doesn't fish for salmon or trout, always from a boat, and rarely in any real current have any use for such setups? Am I missing something?

 

I just want to know the basics...thanks to anyone who can educate my dumb

[Ralph Field]

A centre pin reel is different than a fly reel because it has the ability to free spool line which cannot be done with a fly reel. A mooching reel is similar to a fly reel, but has a much greater capacity than a fly reel and is designed for mono and not fly line. Mooching reels are used mostly for trolling and I don't think that they are as popular in Ontario as they are out west. Mooching reels , like fly reels, don't give you the free spool option that centre pins give you. You could use a large arbour fly reel with mono as a mooching reel if you wanted, but you wouldn't want to replace a fly reel with a mooching reel because of their weight. For your fishing style you do not need these reels IMO.

[kickingfrog]

Staffman did a pretty good job of explaining things, but I'll add this:

 

Centre pin and float reel are two names for the same thing. Although an argument could be made that a moching reel is technically a "centre pin", I've never heard it referred to that way.

 

Reasonable quality fly and moching reels can be fairly economical (note qualifying words reasonable and fairly) because they don't require the same level of precise design that a float reel does.

Edited December 24, 2011 by kickingfrog

[OhioFisherman]

Just my observations, I also fished mostly for bass. The steelhead I have caught have been on bass tackle, it can be done. Is it the best equipment for the job? probably not, especially in a stream or river setting.

 

Since I don`t or didn`t make a practice of fishing for steelhead or salmon? I can`t picture the need for me to buy a center pin reel.

[spinnerdoc]

Just my observations, I also fished mostly for bass. The steelhead I have caught have been on bass tackle, it can be done. Is it the best equipment for the job? probably not, especially in a stream or river setting.

 

Since I don`t or didn`t make a practice of fishing for steelhead or salmon? I can`t picture the need for me to buy a center pin reel.

 

The float reel is at home at the rivers and streams since it's where it was meant for, productive...yes, the best?hmmm...maybe a lot of the old school guys disagree, I know a lot of guys fish for them with spinning reels via floats or hardware. Recently Solopaddler made a post of targeting steelhead on hardware with a spinning reel, so like you said it can be done with good results, from what he said it was the agrressive fish that he got to fool, mainly reaction strikes