7 Centerpin Fishing Tips From A Guide That Will 10X Your Success
I still remember the day I was in a fishing store in upstate New York and was looking at all the Centerpin reels in the glass counter display. I think it was around 2011.
The salesman walks over and says, “Those are for Centerpin fishing. It’s a new way of catching steelhead, and it’s really effective. It was invented right here in New York in the last few years”.
That’s when I politely said, “Well, I hate to break it to you, but I’m from Ontario, Canada, and I’ve been centerpin fishing for over 20 years. It’s not new, and it wasn’t invented here.”
I’m not going to argue where exactly Centerpin fishing for steelhead started, because I don’t care. . . . but most or all the guys with more than 40 years of Centerpin fishing experience all seem to come from Ontario . . . Just saying
Regardless of where it all started, in most types of rivers, Centerpin fishing is the most effective method of catching salmon and steelhead, but, only if you know how to do it effectively.
I’ve stood beside thousands of centerpin anglers, so I’m not exaggerating when I say that 90% of guys Centerpin fish poorly.
You see, not only do I have over 35 years of experience fishing with a Centerpin reel, I think I was the first full-time guide in Ontario to offer Centerpin fishing guide trips, and I might be the first guy in the world to offer Centerpin fishing classes.
I’ve taught thousands of guys to centerpin fish better.
And, just so you know, it’s not really hard to fish “BETTER.” The problem is that most guys don’t know what to do to be better, and they don’t realize how much it can make a difference.
But I do.
This article will explain the 7 things I teach all my clients and students, and one bonus tip you MUST DO.
If you read through this and then realize you are not doing all of these things, I guarantee YOU ARE MISSING LOTS OF FISH.
There is a reason why the top anglers catch 5+ steelhead to everyone else’s one steelhead. What I’m going to tell you can 10X the amount of fish you catch.
I was on a guided trip with a guy and his dad. They had some experience with centerpin fishing, but they wanted to get better, so they hired me. (FYI, I am not guiding anymore so you can’t hire me)
We met at the road along the river at 9 am. Yep, I like to sleep in and start late in December… I explain why in another article. I think it’s either this article HERE or this one HERE.
Anyways, back to my story…
There were plenty of cars parked where we were, and my client commented, saying, “It’s really busy here today. Is that going to be a problem for us?”
I smiled and said, “Nope, 90 percent of these guys will miss 90 percent of the fish. Don’t worry, you’ll catch fish, and I’ll teach you how to be the 10% of anglers that catch all the fish that those guys miss.”
It’s not cocky guys, it’s fact!
We got to the river, and it was that perfect emerald green, what the local guys call “steelhead green, or slaughter water” because when it goes from the higher muddy brown to this green color, the fishing is usually fantastic.
The first two spots were full, with three guys on one bank and three guys on the other bank.
So I headed up around the bend to a large 180-foot-long pool that was about 50 feet wide and could fit 6 guys on both banks comfortably.
We got lucky; there were 3 guys on one bank, but only 1 guy on the other bank because there were three guys just leaving from that side.
As the three guys passed us, I asked them how the fishing was.
It seemed like each guy had caught two to three fish earlier but were leaving because the fishing had slowed down.
The one guy on the side we were going to fish said he’d hooked a few earlier too, but he also said the fishing had really slowed down in the last hour.
By now, it was around 10 am.
We moved to the head of the pool, and I said to my clients, “If you do what I teach you, and you do it well, you will out-fish all of these guys 5 to 1.”
I said, “Often, when the fishing is hot, even the guys that fish poorly will catch some fish. But when the fishing slows down, it’s even more important to fish well. So, let’s see if the fishing is really slow like they say, or if these guys just can’t fish well.”
The guy directly across from us watched closely as I demonstrated how I wanted the guys to cast, and where I wanted them to stand.
In the next hour, my clients hooked and landed 6 nice steelhead between 4 and 9 pounds, the three guys on the far bank hooked only 1, and the guy directly across from us hooked none.
We were 6 to their 1, and we were just getting started.
After my clients landed their sixth steelhead, I said to them in a quiet voice, “It doesn’t matter what bait those guys put on, if they keep fishing the way they have been fishing, they won’t catch many.”
I said, “Take a 5-minute break guys. I want you to watch the other guys fish for a minute. They know I’m a guide now because I’m not fishing, and I’m running back and forth between the two of you, teaching you guys, and then I’m landing all your fish for you. We’re catching all the fish, which is why they now all have the exact same leader length as you guys, and they all have the same bait, the same color, and the same size.”
“But they still won’t catch as many fish as you guys.”
We sat and observed, and I quietly explained all the things the other guys were doing that prevented them from catching fish.
My goal wasn’t to show them how bad most anglers are, my goal was to show them how important and how much of a difference it is if you do it right.
I have done this with hundreds of guys.
I have spent a day on the water with guys who have been trying for years to catch more fish, and after one day, they are 10 times better, catching 10 times more fish.
These guys will message me later, saying how much of a difference and how many more fish they now catch.
7 Things You Must Do When Centerpin Fishing
Guys, this is what you have been waiting for… These are the things you must do to catch 10 times more fish with a centerpin.
And, one of the tips I’m going to provide trumps everything and is the key reason why many times I can walk into a pool and catch more fish than the 5 guys combined.
1. Choose Your Bait Wisely, And Then Change It
There are dozens of baits you could use for steelhead, but I catch 90% of my steelhead on only 2 or 3 baits.
I explain in my article, The Best Baits For Steelhead, that there are two types of baits.
High Percentage Baits and Low Percentage Baits and the guides use High Percentage baits 90% of the time.
The problem is that most guys use 1 or 2 baits too; they just don’t use them wisely.
Here’s a guide tip for you.
Just because everyone else is using a certain bait, it doesn’t mean you should too.
I know guys who only fish spawn sacs. They fish them all the time, the fish them every day, in all conditions. Guys, this is bad.
I know from experience, from fishing 7 days a week, for months on the water, and for years.. That steelhead can turn on or off a bait from one day to the next or even from one hour to the next.
I’ve had days where the first few hours after sunrise, we smash them on chartreuse and pink spawn sacs. Then the sun comes up, the water clears or warms a bit, and then they won’t hit anything except for very small white or blue spawn sacs or beads.
I’ve also had times when I walk into a pool with 5 guys fishing, and they tell me “the fish were biting this morning but nothing for the last hour”.
I look around and see all of these guys drifting spawn sacs through the pool over and over and over again. I put on a small fly and smash 4 or 5 fish in 30 minutes. The next thing I know, all those guys have flies on the line.
But if I didn’t come in and show them what the steelhead wanted, chances are they would have relentlessly fished spawn sacs until they gave up and went home
As a guide, I change my baits often, I change them strategically based on all kinds of conditions such as light, water clarity, temperature, fishing pressure, etc.
I even know when to use low percentage baits, and I explain this in my article on the Best Steelhead Baits.. You should check it out.
2. Your Setup Matters
Your rod, your reel, your mainline, your float, and especially your leader setup can make a huge difference.
I’ve had way to many guys show up with a nice rod and reel and struggle to get a good drift becuase their mainline sucks.
They don’t even realize it until I hand them my rod and reel, which is often cheaper, and they see how much better it all works.
In my opinion, most average centerpin guys use lines that are way too heavy or are just not good for float fishing. I’ve tested just about every line on the market.
There are only a few I recommend, and it’s very important you use the right size of line based on the type of water you fish. I learned a while back and was surprised by it, but some of the best Centerpin guys I know are using 6-pound mainline for big Great Lakes Steelhead, and they catch 10 times more fish than most guys do.
These guys are very skilled at playing fish, but there is a reason why they go so light on their mainline, and I discuss this in my article Best Centerpin Lines.
Your leader setup is also critical to catching more fish. I can tell you stories of guys fishing and not catching a thing for weeks or months, or even years, and then I change their leader diameter, and they catch a lot of fish now.
Steelhead can be line shy, but also, your bait drifts differently with a light line versus a thick line.
Your hook also matters, and how you organize your split shots makes a big difference.
I have multiple articles on leader setups for shallow to deep fishing, and I even show you the exact leaders I use, and explain why some leaders suck and prevent guys from catching fish.
And guys, some months I’m netting over 300 steelhead, so these leaders work- see my leader setup at Steelhead Leader Setup: Centerpin and Float Fishing Leader
3. Understand Your Target
Steelhead are not always in the river, and when they are, they are not always where they are supposed to be.
You should learn when they run, the lines or travel routes they use, and where they hold when they are not moving.
Where they hold depends on multiple factors.
As an example, if you fish with me in October, you will catch 90% of the steelhead in certain spots.
If you come back out with me in mid-December, 90% of the steelhead will come in different parts of the pool.
In fact, spots I catch fish in October I’ll often ignore in December, and vice versa.
Understanding where steelhead hold and feed is important, which is why I have separate articles on fishing for steelhead in the spring, fall, and winter.
Guys, I find these spots by years of fishing them and learning where the steelhead are based on conditions. I also learn these spots by mapping out all of my spots. Which I’ll explain next.
You should also know where to fish, meaning which rivers to fish.
Last year, I got an email from a guy who claimed he fished all spring and never caught a steelhead. At the same time, I get a text from a buddy who told me he and his brother landed 60 steelhead the day before.
Guys, there are plenty of anglers who struggle to catch one or two after fishing an entire season, while other anglers are catching hundreds.
Good anglers know when to stay home, when to fish, and where to go when they do fish so they can maximize their limited free time to fish.
4. Depth and Strike Zone
The bottom of the river is not always the same depth.
There are trenches, holes, high spots, deep spots, etc.
This is why it baffles me when I see guys fish an entire spot with the same depth over and over again.
This is what I say to my clients when I’m teaching them to catch steelhead with a float. “Your first priority when fishing in a new spot is to find the bottom, then map out the entire pool.”
Guys, if you want to catch more fish than everyone else. Make sure your bait is in the strike zone more often. It’s not rocket science.
5. Speed
Guys, this is something I learned from guiding, and it is the MOST CRITICAL thing you can learn to do as a centerpin angler.
The story I told you earlier about my two clients out-fishing 4 guys in the same pool 6 to 1. The reason they caught more fish was because of speed and because of #10 on my list.
As a guide, most days I have two clients with me so I can compare many things, like different baits, hooks, and even presentations.
I noticed very often that one client would catch most of the fish, while the other client caught few.
This happened about 60% of the time, and it happened when we were fly fishing too.
Most of the time when this happened, my clients were using the same baits, my rods, my leader setup; in fact, everything was exactly the same.
At first, I thought the one guy catching all the fish is just lucky, or maybe he’s just a better angler, or maybe he just got his bait in front of the fish first, or maybe his bait was the better bait.
I even thought maybe one guy has an oil or scent on his hands the fish are detered by so he’s not catching the fish.
Most of the time…. all were wrong!
I finally determined that 99% of the time, the one guy catching all the fish was presenting his bait at a better speed that closely matched the speed off the BOTTOM CURRENT, in the strike zone.
And the other guy who was struggling to catch fish was dragging his bait too fast, or too slow through the strike zone.
There is something called “Trotting you float” or some call it “Checking your float”.
Call it what you want, but it is CRITICAL TO CATCHING MORE FISH, and you MUST learn to do this well.
I discuss this in detail and explain why many guys do this soooo wrong on my other website in my article Controlling Your Speed For More Fish When Float Fishing
6. Covering The Water
You need to learn to systematically cover the water so you do not miss putting your bait in front of every fish.
I cover the water in lines from the top to the bottom and from one side to the other, and I spread my bait out at a distance based on the visibility of the water- AKA water clarity.
Many anglers only focus on the obvious spots, and they make WAY TOO MANY drifts in the same spot.
My clients and I have caught many fish in spots they and other anglers would not normally fish.
Covering the water effectively can double the amount of fish you catch.. I discuss this in more detail on my other website in the article – Effectively Covering The Water When Float Fishing
7. Positioning
Centerpin fishing is a top-to-bottom method. It means you fish from the top of the spot to the bottom. This is why you must always try to get as far up the pool as possible, and you should try to be slightly upriver of where you are starting your drift.
You should almost never cast upriver and fish down towards you. You can NOT control you speed this way.
You should also consider your position and where the steelhead are, meaning stay as far away as possible so you don’t spook them.
One last thing.
If you can’t drift your float straight down the river, and if your float keeps slowly pulling toward your bank, it’s wise to adjust your position out into the river to get a better drift, provided you can do so safely and without spooking fish.
I discuss this on my other website in my article on How To Cover Water Properly
BONUS: MUST DO . . .
There is a saying: 10% of anglers catch 90% of the fish.
I remember the first time I heard this, and I dismissed it as just a dumb saying. But . . . . Now I realize it’s absolutely 100% accurate.
So, what is it that these 10% of anglers are doing so right?
The answer . . . Everything!!
Yes, they do everything right, and they do it right all the time..
The reason I called my company the Perfect Drift, is becuase I would watch guys drift their float down the pool 8 or 9 times and I could see that there was a low chance of them catching a fish on all of those drifts, then, one drift would be perfect, in fact so perfect that I would say, that drift is going to catch you a fish, and then they would here me yell “SET”
So many guys do one or two things wrong all the time, which is the weak link in the chain that breaks.
I spent a morning with a couple of guys and told them that almost every day I catch at least 4 fish in this pool. They fished it for 30 minutes and wanted to leave because they didn’t catch any fish.
They insisted there was no fish there, and I insisted that they weren’t fishing it properly, and I argued we need to stay until they learned how to fish it properly. In their eyes, they were fishing it well, but I knew better.
Before leaving, I said, “Give me your rod, and watch what your are missing.” My first drift was perfect, and I said, “In 3 feet my float is going down.” Then it did, and I preceeded to land a nice 4-pound steelhead.
The guys said they was just luck, so I made another cast and landed a second steelhead around the same size.
Then I did it again on third drift, and as I drifted my float down the river, I explained to them what I was seeing and what I was trying to do.
3 fish in 3 drifts is usually all it takes for guys to realize I know what the hell I’m I’m talking about. Not only did I know exactly where the fish should be because I fished that spot every single day for months, but I also knew exactly how to present my bait.
Think about it like this.
To catch steelhead, trout, and salmon consistently with a centerpin reel, you must have:
- The right hook
- The right leader setup
- The right bait
- The right rod and reel
- The right position
- An effective drift,
- The right depth
- The right speed
- You must cover the water effectively
- and don’t spook the fish
Now, imagine you have all of that perfect, but you got number 10 wrong… Yep, you guessed it: if you spook them, they won’t bite, and you get NO FISH.
Now imagine you got all of it right, but #2 is set up with a leader so thick the Steelhead all avoid it.. Yep.. NO FISH again..
Now imagine.. Nah, you get it…. right?
If your speed is off, everything else you do is near useless, and you get NO FISH…
If your bait is 4 feet over their heads or dragging across the bottom, NO FISH . . .
If you’re drifting big chartreuse egg sacks and they want small white single eggs or dime-sized light pink sacs… NO FISH . . .
It doesn’t matter what you do right if one or two things are WRONG.
This is the difference between a guy like me who catches 10 steelhead a day, when every other guy on the river is only catching 1 or 2.
Guys, I have plenty of tips and tricks and wisdom I’m sharing for free on this website and on my bigger website www.troutandsteelhead.net. So, don’t forget to check it out.
Tight Lines,
Graham
