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After having allot of enjoyment fishing on the rivers, the time had come to upgrade the unwieldy 13foot float rod, to something a bit more friendly and all round for use.
As a new comer to fishing, I was looking for a rod that offered good versatility while not breaking the bank. After much reading, googling and comments on the Fishing Fools site, the decision was made to go with the Shimano Vengeance Barbel rod with 1.5lb Test Curve - at just under £80 this certainly wasn't the cheapest rod 
but read on to see the complete review.
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 01 June 2011 22:28 )
With a few successful fly fishing trips under our belts at some idyllic Hampshire trout lakes, I thought a quick post about a little gem of a book we've picked up, that we think is an asset to the tackle box. As you know we are complete novices here at fishing fools to fly fishing, the whole process of picking which Bobbie, Peacock, Buzzer should be used seemed liked a dark art, and was certainly a long way from the size 16 hook and maggot used on most course lakes 
We are no experts in what bait trout are feeding on at different times of the year, but with the aid of a little pocket book called "Pocket Guide to Matching the Hatch" by Peter Lapsley and Cyril Bennett, we have certainly started to try and have the right fly for the season 
. We like this book as it's very concise on what bait to use, nothing complicated and some good clear pictures - It's ordered by Month, and venue (lake or river) - All you do is select the month your fishing in, and the book suggests what Lava, Fly's and other temptations the trout are likely to be feeding on and then matches these to fly types. It's then up to you to select the colour, weight and embellishments - but for novices like us, it really helps and being under £10 won't break the bank either.
I recently managed to find time for a night fish on a lake. I' no expert in night fishing for Carp or anything else but I always enjoy those late night beeps and the feel that you have not slept for weeks. After much research I found that braided line was not allowed on the waters I was going to fish. This left me with Mono, I did some further research and found that mono doesn't always give you the best presentation. Further research pointed me to something called Flurocarbon 
This type of line according to the scientists is almost invisible under water and also has the the benefit that it sinks to the bottom. I decide to buy some of this line which was not all that cheap. when buying the main line I also found IQ Fluorocarbon which is a softer version which helps make better presentation of the bait on the hook link.
After a year of fishing and spending much of that time using float methods I thought it was about time that I purchased a centrepin. When you read all the books and magazines they all seem to say that if you enjoy trotting a float down flowing water then a centrepin is a must.
The problem with centrepins is they can actually cost quiet a lot of money so spending the correct amount for the correct reel is important. Now my idea of river float fishing is looking for Roach, Dace and if at all lucky Grayling.
After much research I found that the Grey’s Bewick reel may be suitable, but it was still around £150, after much debate I decide to spend the money and get one and what a good choice it was.
The reel is sized at 4.25 inches and is really light, and the spool easy pulls off from the main section easily by flick the switch. There is a switch to put the spool into another mode that stops the centrepin from spinning without putting weight onto the line. As a whole the reel looks very professional.
I've been fishing allot more on Rivers this season, and while trotting a float down stream with the bale arm open on my normal open faced real does the job... I've been told that to truly appreciate river fishing trotting you need to make use of the Centre Pin reel. With this in mind, and after much research I finally picked up the Okuma Aventa Pro Centre Pin in a very hard wearing bronze effect covering. The Aventa Pro is the 2 ball bearing version of the ‘Aventa’ Centre Pin - It is incredibly smooth and the most controlled float presentation I've ever managed ! Despite what I had been told about having to endure the cats cradle of tangles, I've actually experience very little tangles 
I've been using the "Wallace Cast", or my interpretation of it, to cast my float out into the river... in fact, using a centre pin i find the action of casting to be very enjoyable ! it's a very satisfying cast to get right, and it does seem to provide very good presentation and control over the float while trotting. I would say that you can definitely start trotting without investing in the expense of a centre pin - however If you fancy something a bit different, and more challenging then I can recommend giving one of these a go.
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