The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

I have heard mixed opinions in relation to the fitting of line guards on centrepins. What are the pros and cons?

My Chris Lythe Aerial came with a line guard but I took it off as I cast from coils in the hand and I found it impeded the cast (my incompetence probably) and I now only have line guard free centre pins but the downside is the line can come off the side and cause problems. Overall I still prefer no line guard.

Pro:

Stops the line blowing off the drum

Con:

Makes Wallis casting a little difficult.

Really it boils down to whether you want to Wallis cast or not. If you're not going to Wallis cast then a line guard is of benefit. If you're going to Wallis cast then ditch the line guard.

I agree with Sean and I fish without line guards.

SeanM wrote:Pro:

Stops the line blowing off the drum

Con:

Makes Wallis casting a little difficult.

Really it boils down to whether you want to Wallis cast or not. If you're not going to Wallis cast then a line guard is of benefit. If you're going to Wallis cast then ditch the line guard.

Yes. I recall now I was trying to learn to Wallis cast so I took it off. I never learned to do it properly though.

It depends what I'm are doing.

For legering I use pins without line guards, for trotting I use Pins with line guards.

I find it much easier to trot a float using a line guard, as it stops the line going around the back less often.

The legering, once you have cast out, all you have to do is check the line has not gone around the back of the reel and if it has correct it.

Thanks guys. I certainly want to try the Wallis cast so I will avoid putting a guard on the reel to start with.
It is interesting to hear about line blowing off the drum and line going around the back. Would this be caused by over filling the drum? I have read advice on this forum that I should put no more than about 50 - 60 yards of line on the reel. Would these problems still exist with such a small amount of line on? (my reel is 4.75")

You'll still get line blowing off the drum Tony. It's a function of how deep the drum is, not how much line is on it as even with 100 metres of line on it the depth of the line will only be a few millimeters deep on a typical centre pin. Reels such as the Speedia are much less prone to wind-blown line as they have a deep drum. Match Aerials whth their shallow drums can be a pain in windy condtions. Personally I switch to a caged drum reel (think Rapidex) in the wind, there are very few trotting swims I can't cast to Nottingham style by pulling loops of line from between the rod rings.

The problem with a line guard for Wallis casting is that the line exits the drum at an angle when pulled by the free hand. The pull tends to be backwards and to the side, making the line pass over the edge of the line guard, the attendant friction upsetting the smooth flow of the line. Reels such as the Aerial Popular have no guard and the line spokes are set well back from the edge, so you don't have any trouble with line catching round the reel foot, whereas the Match Aerial has the spokes set close to the rim, causing the line to drop off the drum all too easily.

With a caged reel such as the Rapidex/Flick-Em design, the line cannot get where it shouldn't, and the cage does not seem to interfere with the cast quite so much as a line guard. I don't quite know why this should be, but it is. I can't cast as far with my Flick-Em as with the Aerial, but that I think is down to a combination of the former being less free-running and having a narrower drum; wider drums seem generally to be better Wallis casting reels. It would be interesting to see how a centrepin made on Aerial lines with a wide drum and a cage might perform.

I have seen, albeit only once or twice, aerial reels with round line guards, rather like Hardy Perfects. I am sure these have not been factory fitted; they looked just right for the job nonetheless.