First, which model to buy

Surprising too that few of the modern reels surpass the quality of their pre-war counterparts. I suspect though that many of these reels, old or new, never see the riverbank, being safely tucked away in either a cupboard, or a collection. It is very difficult to part with a centrepin, even if you never use it; somehow I can’t imagine anyone getting emotional over a fixed spool. Since that marvellous series “A Passion for Angling” was televised, many more anglers are buying centrepins, and I presume, using them. For the angler contemplating buying, or using a centrepin reel, there are two problems to overcome. First, which model to buy. There is precious little guidance on choice of reel, either in magazines or books. I did cover this subject in detail in a Coarse Fisherman article in 1991, and for those of you interested to read that piece and who don’t have a copy of that issue, most of the article was reprinted in John Bailey’s book “Perfect your Tackle”. I don’t wish to cover that ground again though I may at times repeat the more relevant points. The second problem is how actually to use the reel. It is not possible to write an article dealing with the proper use of the centrepin without mentioning the Wallis cast. Each time I do make mention of this, I get a flood of letters asking me how this cast is performed. I have only seen it described in two places – one is in the marvellous and evocative (for older anglers anyway!) “Mr. Crabtree goes Fishing”. Well I don’t know what dear old Bernard was thinking of when he described the Wallis cast in that lovely old book, but that is definitely not the Wallis cast! I was first shown the cast by Paul Boote some 20 years ago, shortly after he wrote what must be the definitive piece on the subject in “Angling” magazine in 1979 (it is not only latter day Mahseer anglers who owe a debt to Paul). Paul in turn was taught the Wallis cast by a good friend of his, who himself was actually shown the cast by F.W.K.Wallis on the banks of the Avon. Although some anglers doubt that Wallis did actually invent what has come to be known as the “Wallis” cast, I think we can safely say that the cast I will attempt to describe in this article is as near as you will get to the genuine version! More important – it works! I’ll come back to choice of reel later, and this is important, as some reels Wallis cast far better than others. But first I’ll do my best to describe the Wallis technique. Assuming then that you have removed any line guard from your centrepin, loaded it with about 50 yards of line, and fitted it to a medium action rod, such as an Avon or light carp rod of around 10-11 feet in length, let us begin. I would advise that initially you use rather heavy line to practice with, as you will inevitably be getting into many tangles, and the thicker the line the easier it will be to straighten them out – something like Drennan Specimen 12lb b.s. would be a good choice. Have the line coming from the bottom of the reel, not from the top as some people do. Don’t tie too heavy a weight on the end – surprisingly you will eventually find it easier to cast lighter baits than heavy ones. Use a “lead” of about 1 ounce, and don’t, at this stage, tie a hook on, or you may be put off centrepins for life! There are two basic positions for the Wallis cast – the side cast, and the underhand cast. There is an overhead variation (good if it’s windy), and indeed various other twists and turns that may be performed. I won’t go into any of the more obscure techniques here, but once you have mastered the casts described you will find it reasonably easy to adapt to the others and may even find your own variations to suit conditions. The actions you will perform in getting the reel to pay out line are virtually the same for each cast, but as you will probably have gathered, each one requires the rod to be held in a different position. I’ll deal first with the side cast, which is the one to use when you are not restricted for space on the bank. In the right circumstances, of the two techniques I will describe, it is the one that will give you the most distance. These instructions will assume that the angler is right handed, that is, holding the rod in his right hand, and reeling in with his left. Imagine then that you are standing on the bank of a river or lake. Stand sideways on to the water with your right foot about two feet in front of your left. Hold the rod at a comfortable arm’s length, parallel to both the bank on one plane, and the ground on the other (see photo **). At this stage the reel’s ratchet will be off, and you should be preventing the reel from turning with one of the fingers of the hand holding the rod. Some people use their little finger for this, but I think you will find it better for applying pressure to a strong fish if you get used to using your ring finger. With the left hand, you need to do two things, which are much easier to demonstrate than to write about! First, with your left hand pointing roughly towards the ground, position the line as it runs between reel and butt ring in the fork made by your thumb and index finger. The line should press lightly against the inside base of the thumb. Do not close your hand on the line – it will need to run through the open “V” between finger and thumb. Have enough line out so the lead will reach just beyond the reel if the rod were held upright. Now, keeping the line in the fork of finger and thumb, with that same hand grip the other end of the line (as it comes down from the tip ring), between the thumb and index finger, about three inches above the lead. This is clearly shown in the photo. As you become more experienced you may adjust this distance, particularly for different types of end tackle, but for now this is a good starting point. You will now be making a circle with your thumb and index finger with the line coming from the reel at the top of the circle, and the line just above the lead held between those same two fingers slightly below the line between reel and butt ring. What is very important to realise at this stage is that in performing the Wallis cast, you do not actually use the rod as a casting tool as you would in other forms of fishing. The speed that is imparted to the end tackle comes from the motion I am about to describe, the rod merely following the direction of the tackle. This again is difficult to describe in print, so I hope you will bear with me! With the left hand, you pull down on the line you are holding in the fork between thumb and index finger by bringing the left hand down and in a slightly backward direction from the reel, straightening the left arm (see photo **). This sets the reel spinning. At the same instant that you start the downward motion with your left hand, let go of the terminal end of the tackle while simultaneously bringing the rod round and up until it is pointing in the direction you wish the cast to go. The rod should finish up lifted about 35 – 40 degrees from the horizontal. Once the end tackle is going where you want it to go, bring the left hand back up to the reel, lifting your left arm back to its original position beneath the reel spool (photo **). The movement of your left arm should always be directly downward or upward from the spool of the reel – if you go too far to the left, the line will wrap around the reel handles, whilst going too far right will result in the line getting round the reel seat. Returning your left hand to its original position during the cast will have the effect of feeding the line back to the reel, and the line will now continue to flow direct from the reel. As soon as the lead hits the water, stop the reel by means of pressure from the ring finger, which should have been poised over the rim of the reel during the whole of the cast. That’s all there is to it! Photo ** shows the finishing position. It may sound complicated, and I confess that it is a cast far easier learnt when shown than when read about. But as there are not that many anglers who can actually perform this cast, you may have some trouble getting someone to show you! Don’t rush things – at first perform the whole procedure very slowly, perhaps only casting a few yards. You will then begin to see the principles of the cast, get a feel for it, and you can gradually build up distance. The Wallis cast can be performed with all manner of rods and end tackles so initially do try different rods and weights until you find one that suits you. When you become proficient, you will find you can cast stick floats on match rods, as well as half herrings on pike tackle. While talking about pike tackle, I’ll make a couple of observations. Before attempting a Wallis cast with a pike bait ensure that the bait is securely hooked – if it comes off as you cast you won’t be able to avoid getting a massive over-run and your hooks will probably end up in the nearest tree! Also, for heavier baits, you will probably find it advantageous to delay in bringing your left hand back to the reel, letting the line run through the fork between thumb and index finger longer than you would with lighter end tackles. You may find you get some line burns when doing this, but once you get it right, that shouldn’t happen too often! The underhand cast is essentially the same as the side cast, but is designed to enable you to use the Wallis cast when space on the bank is restricted by trees or bushes (or other anglers !?). It is probably more accurate than the side cast. This time stand facing the water (photo 1), again with your right foot positioned a foot or so in front of your left, and with both hands as before, hold the rod so it is pointing in the direction you wish the cast to go. Lower the rod tip to point down at the water, and as the cast is performed, again bring the rod up to a rough 40 degree angle with the water, stopping the reel as the bait lands. The actions of the left hand are the same as have been described for the side cast. As you gain experience, you may find you can dispense altogether with gripping the line just above the terminal tackle and can start the reel spinning while gently swinging the tackle out. This is a particularly useful technique when you are trotting and wish to re-cast immediately you have retrieved the float. However, whether necessary or not, holding the line does give you time to compose yourself before going for the really big one! So having mastered the Wallis cast, what can you expect to achieve with it? Well obviously you are not going to achieve massive distances, and the more you practice, the better you will get. In my heyday, using a Speedia in ideal conditions (no cross or head winds!) I could probably put float or leger tackle about 20 – 25 yards using the sidecast, with perhaps the odd fluke to 30 yards, which is a lot further than most people think. That would enable you to fish the far bank of medium size rivers, such as the Kennet or Avon in most places. Often you won’t want to cast half as far as that, and a comfortable underhand cast will get the bait in position far more discreetly than a big side cast. I promise you that once you can carry out the Wallis cast, you will find it immensely satisfying, and on slow days may even spend half your time on the river just casting! I promised to come back to the choice of reel. Unfortunately some of the best reels for Wallis casting are no longer made. These are the Allcocks Aerials (and some of these are better than others), and the Speedias. Both of these types are becoming more and more difficult to obtain, and I doubt there can be many really good ones that will again become available. Fret not though for there is a man making excellent centrepin at a price you can afford, and they Wallis cast very well. This is Dave Swallow of Ibsley, designer and maker of the “Swallow” centrepin. Dave fishes the centrepin regularly, Wallis casts himself and knows what is required of a reel to perform that task. His reels come with several different options of handles, ratchets and drag systems, and the design is constantly being upgraded as and when Dave deems necessary. They are great reels for trotting, as well as legering and come as standard in the specimen hunter’s favourite colour of black. You can also buy spare spools for them, which is very handy. The prices range from about £90 – £120. Who knows, if you buy one from Dave and collect it personally, he might even show you how to use it (?). You can contact Dave Swallow at his tackle shop on 0425 461038. Also at the budget end of the market are the Leeds centrepin. I haven’t fished with one, but have handled them. They are very free running and feel as if they would Wallis cast very well. I think the range starts at around £50. The Adcock Stanton is a lovely looking reel, again very free running, but a little heavy in the spool to be a top Wallis caster. Again, this reel is very reasonably priced, at around £100.

If money is no object then there are one or two other people making high quality centrepin. The first I knew of was Dave Plowman, though I don’t know if he is still making reels. I have never used a Plowman, but have had the privilege of playing with one belonging to that star of the small screen, Bob James. I tried to hide it in my tackle bag, but Bob spotted me! Basically, Dave Plowman used to make copies of anything you wanted as well as designing some lovely reels of his own. The reel I handled was based on the Allcocks Aerial – only better. A superb reel that would at that time have set you back at well over £200. If you can’t afford it, then I’d advise you not to look at one! Unfortunately, I’ve lost his phone number, so you’ll have to hunt him out for yourself! Richard Carter is rapidly making a reputation in the manufacture of quality centrepin. I have one of his Avon Perfection reels, a beautiful reel based on the early Aerials. Not cheap though at around £280, and I had to sell one of my pre-war 4-inch wide drum Aerials to buy it. Some might consider that a retrograde step, but I do find the 4-inch wide drums just a little too big for much of my river fishing. I still keep some in reserve should I wish to use them. But don’t think just because you have obtained one of these pre-war reels that you have the ultimate Wallis caster. In A1 condition maybe, but there are not many that become available in that most desirable state. Whether it is because I hardly read the angling press at all, or mix very little in centrepin circles I don’t know, but I know very little of the reels made by Paul Witcher, and have never seen one. Their reputation for excellence in all respects is however slowly filtering through and I guess it won’t be too long before I have to seek him out! I hope in the above I have been able to describe the Wallis cast well enough to enable you to learn it for yourself. The photos should help, the video clips certainly will. As you will see, I’ve used thick string instead of fishing line so it shows up more clearly (got some strange looks on the riverbank at the time though!). Good luck, and may the spirit of Wallis be with you!