I've center pinned for about 20 minutes total, all side casting. So no expert here but.......


17 lb. Suffix Siege in Optic Orange is a sweet mainline. I switched all my drift fishing baitcasters over for the native steelhead season.


Stuff is dog salmon tough & has ZERO memory, & I can see the water contact point move before a fish farts on my junk.


c/22

Suffix Siege is not a "floating" line. The term "floating" is somewhat misleading with mono anyway. Some lines are designed to ride higher with greater surface tension, but mono does not inherently float, although it does not sink as fast as fluorocarbon either. Siege does have a nice slick hard finish that mends easily and keeps it cleaner for greater surface tension and a higher ride though. If floatation is a big issue or needed for hero drifts, try cleaning line or treating with floatant or fly line dressing to increase surface tension.

Even so, I've found "floating" line quality, while desirable, to be more of an issue with spinning reels, and not as much with a center pin reel due to the greater line control and direct connection the center pin reel provides, especially when used with rod lengths you are talking about.

Speaking of rod lengths, 13' is getting on the loooong side for many of our steep gradient, tree-lined NW rivers, especially if you beat the brush or fish from a boat. I have some wonderful 13'ers, but I find them claustrophobic and not as effective on most of the peninsula rivers I fish. IMO, 11'3 or 10'6 are generally more manageable and consequently more fun on most westside coastal streams. Unfortunately most stock "CP" rods at these lengths can be a bit underpowered for big salmon and large native steelhead. Good news there are alternatives available now and on the horizon if you want more power in a shorter rod with good castability. Consider switch blanks in higher powers if necessary or wait for returning NW archetypes like Sage 3106 or 3113 to reappear. Hopefully more choices will come as center pinning continues to increase in popularity.

Forward nod:

Milner Kingfisher, Raven Matrtix, Kingpin Imperial

CP specific rods between 11' and 13' with 6#-12# minimum line rating
CP builds using 6-9 wt. spey blanks

Quality foam floats
Concentrated weight

Swinging effective lures


Sideways nod:

Reels of open spool/back or excessive porting design, handles too close to rim, under 4-1/4" or over 4-3/4"

Rods under 11' or over 13' with line ratings less than 6#-12#
ALL rod manufacturers still ignoring the PNW/BC need for 1444

Novelty plastic and mini-floats
Split shot

Dragging baited yarn jigs


Like all other methods, many ways to do it but only a few to get it done.

I would put a Paine Falls reel against any mentioned...

In a field of great reels, Paine Falls bearing and Milner bushing reels are at the top of their class for sure.
Adam and John are not just highly skilled and conscientious craftsmen, they are two of the most accessible and finest gentlemen you will ever meet in this industry.

thumbs up for John Milner

Not a tip or a tactic, but center pin news all the same.
Kingpin just announced a new R2 reel that is basically an Imperial with Regal porting for faster flick retrieve, which ought to make Kingpin fans and Sky-Guy happy.

Sweet reel no doubt, but it's going to cost you as much as a custom.

Click for more details.

Sounds like I'll be skipping the suffix and going strait to siglon ff, thanx guys

Pm sent...

Looks almost like my "Mykiss I" reel.... Very close.

I'm looking for a nother center pin setup if anybody has one they want to part with let me know

Then you'll be pleased to hear (if you haven't already) that PFC recently acquired design rights for Mykiss and Hanson reels.

Yup, I knew that.

An original Mykiss is still an original Mykiss though.

Leon Hanson did it right.

Adam does the Paine Falls right, I just hope that they stay seperate.

Ok, so I am a little biased...

Crikey. Nice quiver Corey!

Read online that p-line hydrofloat was made for pinning so I'm giving it a try, so far I'm liking it, put it on my reel last week and have tested it on on 5 native steelies soo far soo good. Blood knot 5-10 feet of 15# mono to the end and run your float and shot on that then your swivel and presentation, works as a shock obsorber and probably won't spook fish as the bright yellow hydrofloat isn't connected to you leader directly. Seems to cast fine and feels like I can set the hook harder and put more pressure on the fish than I could with 12# main down to the same 10# leader that I'm running with the hydrofloat

Has any of the coating on the line started chipping off? I have never used the line but I have heard thats the main complaint about it.

Don't use Hydrofloat myself, but it should be fine in these here parts. The problem with the line as I understand it is due to freezing conditions, which breaks down the line quickly. This hasn't endeared the line to the float fishing community back east, which is a much bigger market and where you'll hear most of the complaints.

ALL P-LINE PRODUCTS SUCK @SS! Hydrofloat will split on the yellow coating and start to fill up with water and sink. If it freezing out you better go home, that stuff will freeze the guides up quick. 15# Izor...is all you need on a pin setup.

Quite a few problems with the hydro float in my very brief experience with it.

1. The one that has been mentioned most often, the coating is not durable. It comes off and bunches up when tying knots, bobber stops, etc. It can also be encouraged to shrug off by sticks, rocks, gunnels, undoing backlashes, and other things that tend to abrade a fishing line from time to time. The strength of the line seemed significantly reduced without the coating.

2. Even though it was quite buoyant, it seemed very sticky to me. For some reason it doesn't seem to break the surface tension of the water nearly as well as braid or even mono and i found mending it quietly and accurately less than ideal. Again, braid = far superior with regard to mending characteristics.

3. The diameter of the line is quite large when compared to braid. It is still thinner than most mono's of a similar strength rating, but it is nearly twice as thick as braid of the same poundage. I didn't do the math, but I remember getting a surprisingly small qty on my viento.

4. I found that when the line was put under tension it tended to cut/wedge into the line on the spool causing it to bind up. I know this can be a problem for some with braid, but I have only had it happen a couple of times, usually when pulling on snag and using the spool to hold tension on the running end rather than my hand.

I can't think of a single good thing to say about the line really. It sucks.