8 metre Drennan Acolyte Tele take apart whip.

[markcw]

I bought this at the end of march I think it was £300. The top 3 are telescopic, the rest take apart.
I removed the flick tip from one top 3 and put 6/8 elastic through the top top two, using a tensioner bung .Drennan supply bushes and bungs , but the bungs even though compact are for the number two section only, once in there is no way to tension the elastic if required .
For the flick tip I fitted a stonfo connector on the end instead of going down the double rubber route,
Took it out for the first time yesterday to a water that had plenty of various sized silvers and a few small carp.
The whip was light and responsive , I fished it at various lengths using the flick tip top 3 , changing pole rigs to suit the length being fished ,hence using the stonfo connector .
I caught numerous silvers from blades upto around 6oz to 8oz. It handled them perfectly, Bait was single and double maggot,
A change to the elasticated top kit saw me use it as a short pole at first, As expected it handled exceptionally, even with a manic 3lb carp on the end.Bsit was corn or a large bread punch .
I then changed pole rig and tightened the elastic up and used it to fish to hand . Again no problems . Bait was maggot.
Would I recommend it as a purchase .?
If you do a lot of whip fishing ...Yes .
It will be ideal for canal and river and pools that hold decent silvers.
If you only do occasional whip fishing there are other brands out there,
Daiwa do a connosouir system whip, this is around £200 again with a spare top 3.
It is not as slim or to me as light as the Drennan. And the action is not as good.
Middy and a couple of other brands do cheaper whips .
To me if you a fishing a whip continually for a few hours you need the lightest you can afford . To me the Acolyte fitted the bill without going into the realms of Tricast,Daiwa Air and Browning.
I have no connection to Drennan .

 

[rob48]

That sounds nice Mark. I've seen them but not fished with one. The all telescopic Drennan whips feel nice and light as well. Did you try the Browning Silverlite whip?

 

[Peter Jacobs]

I still use my Milo Luxury 8, whip and have done so for the last 25 years.

It is ultra light with a telescopic top 3 and take apart lower sections. I bought a new tip section for light elastic and kept the flick top for most of the time. It was not cheap when I bought it but to be honest I've never found a better example to replace it with.

 

[markcw]

That sounds nice Mark. I've seen them but not fished with one. The all telescopic Drennan whips feel nice and light as well. Did you try the Browning Silverlite whip?

I didn't see the Browning Rob , heard good reports on it but I couldn't justify paying the price .
Same with the Daiwa Air/Arity, good but just out of what I was prepared to pay .
I always like Daiwa tackle, but the Conny whip didn't do it for me .
Best thing is I only went in for a pint of maggots , some section end bushes for my pole .
I came out with those plus the whip , and an Advanta 50fd reel that comes with a spare spool, price around £24.
I have just spooled it up with Drennan Feeder Line and Guru Pulse.
Line lay was good , it has a 5.1 retrieve.
I bought it as a spare feeder reel.
My main one is a PI Inception 4000 that retailed around £140 , I didn't pay that , it was in a job lot of tackle I bought.
When i next go to feeder fish, I will use the Advanta and then do a review on it .

 

[markcw]

My 4.5 metre whip is a Shakespeare, packs down to just under 2' I think ,
I bought around 1987,
It had a piece of braid over the end of the flick tip, over the years the braid was getting a hole in it where the end of the flick tip is , So I fitted a stonfo on the end , It is pencil slim and a fast action. I have had over 15lb of silvers on it in a match when the F1's stopped playing ball. .
I have spare flick tips of various lengths and stiffness for it I have acquired over the years ,not Shakespeare just various brands. a light rub with some very fine wet n dry ensures a good fit with them .

 

[rob48]

I didn't see the Browning Rob , heard good reports on it but I couldn't justify paying the price .
Same with the Daiwa Air/Arity, good but just out of what I was prepared to pay .
I always like Daiwa tackle, but the Conny whip didn't do it for me .
Best thing is I only went in for a pint of maggots , some section end bushes for my pole .
I came out with those plus the whip , and an Advanta 50fd reel that comes with a spare spool, price around £24.
I have just spooled it up with Drennan Feeder Line and Guru Pulse.
Line lay was good , it has a 5.1 retrieve.
I bought it as a spare feeder reel.
My main one is a PI Inception 4000 that retailed around £140 , I didn't pay that , it was in a job lot of tackle I bought.
When i next go to feeder fish, I will use the Advanta and then do a review on it .

The Browning feels so light you hardly know you're holding it. It's got reinforced wraps at some of the pressure points and also has short protectors for the longer sections, but I rarely bother with those. Unfortunately for me, I don't ever use elasticated tops in my whip fishing, I just have spare flick-tip top 3s or 5s set up. I was about to buy a Silverlite whip but this comes with one flick-tip top kit and two hollow top-kits (which I would never use) so I asked if I could have two flick-tips instead. I was told that I could purchase additional solid tops if I wanted them but the standard package couldn't be changed. I thought that was a pretty ordinary response considering the price of the whip anyway, so I declined the deal and acquired a 6m Cadence tele/TA which compliments my 9m one and saved a few quid as well.

 

[rob48]

I still use my Milo Luxury 8, whip and have done so for the last 25 years.

It is ultra light with a telescopic top 3 and take apart lower sections. I bought a new tip section for light elastic and kept the flick top for most of the time. It was not cheap when I bought it but to be honest I've never found a better example to replace it with.

I've got one of these. There was some lovely rods and other kit available in the early 90s before everybody started making gear for commercials.
I don't know what yours is like but mine behaves a bit strangely when getting near full length. It's fine at 6m but when I put the 7m section on it seems to lose some rigidty and the action softens. When I add the final 8m section it seems to recover and stiffens up again. Really weird, but it's still a delight to use.

 

[Peter Jacobs]

I've got one of these. There was some lovely rods and other kit available in the early 90s before everybody started making gear for commercials.
I don't know what yours is like but mine behaves a bit strangely when getting near full length. It's fine at 6m but when I put the 7m section on it seems to lose some rigidty and the action softens. When I add the final 8m section it seems to recover and stiffens up again. Really weird, but it's still a delight to use.

I think that is a function of the ultra light wall thickness that stiffens at its full length.
If memory serves me it is a tad over 350g at full length.
I use Milo Alborella whips from 1,5 to 5m and those too are a joy to use.

 

[markcw]

I was looking at some on AliExpress UK earlier , All telescopic , may order one and see what it's like .
My grandson can have it if its any good.