Centerpin Trotting, Masterclass Day.
The Grayling Society. Area 9.
Sunday 28th January 2024.
The River Wharfe, Ilkley. By kind permission of Ilkley Angling Association.

Following weeks and months of horrendous weather, storm followed by storm, gales and biblical
rain. Which pretty much made most rivers in our area unfishable, save for the sporadic day here
and there, certainly no two days alike. It was time to bite the bullet and at least make some final arrangements, for what had been a passing thought, “ a centerpin day”. Trotting a float was probably going to be the most successful
way of tempting the lady of the stream.

Final preparations made, good friend and Grayling Society member Chris Hosker, who has a
wealth of knowledge in the art of “the pin” agreed to part with his encyclopaedia on the subject.
The venue was confirmed and 10 willing participants enrolled. At this point I seemed to be
continually scrutinising the weather forecast and river levels.

The day started, “by the way, river level couldn’t have been better and the weather ideal”, with the
obligatory bacon / sausage butties and brew’s, along with a brief of the day along with the normal
H&S requirements, over to Chris.
We were all treated to the most informative presentation, from rod and reel to hooks, floats,
setup’s, tips and river craft. Gained from Chris’s many years as a “pin man”. I think I can speak for
all that attended, just how easy Chris managed to demonstrate and pass on his technique of the
“Wallis Cast”, that I for one have struggled to master, gone now are the wasted hours watching
Youtube videos, more time on the river for me now.

The afternoon was spent putting the new found knowledge into practice. Considering the short
window of time on the water, a healthy 19 fish were caught, unfortunately only seven were
grayling. The day was wound up at 3.00pm with a carpark debrief and exchanges of thoughts on
the day. Everyone was in full agreement that they had concluded the day with more knowledge
than they started.