
Paine Falls' DeMarco 5" Centre-pin Reel

Features:

Classified as a 5” Center-pin, technically it is 4.950” / 125.7mm.
Spool width 21/32” / .650” / 16.51mm.
Spool depth 3/8” / .375” / 9.53mm.
Overall width
from palming rim to back of back plate: 1-1/16” / 1.0625 / 27mm.
Mass: 10.1 Oz. (286.33g) Overall weight with 4.9 Oz. (138.91g) Spool
weight.
Fully rounded palming rim for increased comfort.
Back plate domed and corners rounded to ensure maximum ergonomics and user
comfort.
Available with stainless or brass accents for handles hardware, dust cap,
and clicker lever.
Various color options (solid or mix and match reel component parts):
Black, Clear, Grey, Blue, Slate Blue, Red, Bronze, Copper, Green, Violet,
Turquoise, Fluorescent Yellow, Olive drab.
Available in LH & RH Retrieve
(LHR Clicker
placement 4 O’clock and RHR 8 O’clock from spool side of reel)
ABEC 7 Stainless Sealed/Shielded Bearings.
Acrylic Tapered handles (available in a number of color patterns including
black and marbled)
Currently available in true 4.5” and 5” sizes.
Price is $550 USD shipped anywhere in the world.
Contact Adam DeMarco of Paine Falls
at
ademarcoreels@gmail.com

Inherent in all finely crafted merchandise is the ability to exude quality
either visually or tactilely. Manufacturer's spend thousands
(sometimes millions) of hours and dollars to make sure their products
appeal to as many of the senses as possible. Sometimes this would
include the sixth sense as you may just know that what
you're observing or touching is high quality even before further
investigation is begun to confirm this opinion. There comes a point,
as more experience is gained, that not only can the quality and refinement
of a product be visually witnessed but also the invested time, love and
attention to detail as well. I think Paine Falls has produced an
extremely strong competitor in a very limited segment of the upper echelon
centre-pin reel market with this reel. I made this conclusion long
before I was able to test it on the river and during battles with angry
fish, in short...I just KNEW!

The "new" DeMarco centre-pin reel by Paine Falls oozes a "raised bar"
attitude and higher standard of construction. Through its smoothed
surfaces and curved edges, that have been painstakingly machined, it is
obvious that what you're holding is a "one-off" reel, but you'd be wrong!
This reel is available to many, not just a limited few or even one,
although the amount of custom choices certainly permit the buyer to make
it uniquely there's. The wall thickness, porting, clicker and a host
of other areas of the reel are impressive to say the least. Was there
skimping in any area of this reel's manufacturing? The answer would
be no, not that we found!

The size, weight and overall design fits and balances well with the 11'6"
- 13'6" steelhead / salmon float rods that were used during testing.
We felt this length of rod would apply to most of the float fisherman
considering this reel. The distance or "stand off" between the reel
and the bottom edge of the reelfoot was found to be perfect. It
wasn't too tall or too short as do some do absurd variances amongst makers
seem to qualify as an afterthought. The convex nature and
curved rims on almost all edges allowed the reel to seat properly within
the hand and permitted our fingers to easily reach and feather the spool.
We found the clicker engagement lever to be positioned in the best
possible place to be both functional and out of the way when not in use.
The strength of the clicker has always been a topic of discussion and
Paine Falls delivers a robust mechanism that doesn't disappoint in its
ability to hold the spool steady. When disengaged and while trotting
down a river swim, the reel spins effortlessly and has enough mass that
over-run was never a concern. Some will argue that the amount
of time that a spool spins is an indication of quality and while we agree
that a better bearing will always spin longer...some emphasis needs to be
placed on the mass of the spool and how well the bearings and spool mass
work together to produce an evenly paced drift. If trotting
respectable distances is your goal, this reel will not disappoint!

Casting the reel with proficiency took little effort. Whether you
prefer to reel in line via finger flicking the holes of the spool or by
way of the handles, you'll find either option works extremely well.
The handles are coned shaped and of the appropriate length to allow a
positive hold but at the same time shed the possibility that fishing line
will coil around them. Note: We were unable to test them with
gloves as it was never cold enough to force the issue of having to wear
them. The diameter and width of the spool bed were more than ample
to facilitate the placement of 20# dacron backing, intermediate budget
line and yards of premium floating monofilament. We made every
attempt to keep the reel out of dirty water and the grim associated with
sandy riverbanks, but the inevitable is inevitable...Since the reel does
not feature a quick release mechanism, in lieu of a plate with four
philips machine screws, it is important to note that cleaning of a
disassembled reel streamside is not likely. The tolerances of the
reel's design are tight, but not tight enough that removing dirt through a
quick dunk in cleaner water wouldn't be able to adequately flush it out
and return it to free running functionality. Just makes sure that if
you must employ this technique, to give it a proper cleaning once you've
returned home.

Let's review what Paine Falls is offering the centre-pin enthusiast with
the DeMarco centre-pin reel: For $550 shipped, you receive a well
balanced, smooth running reel, unique handle and anodized color options
(at an additional cost) produced with a small shop attitude, built in the
USA by a company intent on leaving a legacy long after an initial mark is
made. Combine the above with compassionate customer service and
professional business practices and Paine Falls makes a very strong case
that it should, at the very least, be considered as one of the few leaders
of the pack. While this new reel design was a loner for the review,
there is no question that a purchase of a fully customized DeMarco reel is
in FFC's future. Now, will it find a place on the trophy shelf of
collectable, quality centre-pin reels or strapped to my everyday steelhead
rig to be beat on this fall? Maybe both!
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