A long rod for those that struggle with long rods.

[sam vimes]

For those that find most fifteen foot (plus) rods a struggle, give the 15' Drennan Acolyte Ultra a good coat of looking at. If you can't manage one of these all day long, you should probably pay a visit to a doctor.

I was fortunate enough to be able to give one a waggle in direct comparison to a 15' Hardy Supero and 15' Tri-Cast John Allerton Premier. I dare say that both would be far more capable of handling bigger fish and heavier lines, but both were way heavier in weight.

In a very short time, I've been impressed enough with the fifteen footer to buy a matching thirteen. I wouldn't consider the Acolyte Ultras to be big fish rods, but if you are fishing, trotting or waggler, for the smaller species, these rods might be right up your alley. In action I find them very reminiscent of the Shimano Fast Action rods. I guess that might have a lot to do with Alan Scotthorne's influence. However, the Acolyte Ultras are lighter in both action and weight.

 

[tigger]

I've got the acolyte float rods in 13 and 14ft plus models (had a 11ft carp waggler until recently, I swapped it for another 13 footer ) and I also like 'em Sam. I use them a lot for both river and still water fishing.
I also have the hardy specialist float rod and it is definitely a more powerfull rod and imo has better quality fittings and a classier feel all round than the acolytes, but then again it should do for it's rrp.
The normarks blow them all away ☺.

One thing I have found with the acolytes is when playing hard fighting fish my line gets chewed up and the length of line I've been playing the fish on needs changing after a few fish have been landed.
I,ve never used the ultra but it would be of no use to me, I've got more than enough rods for tiddlers lol.

Sam, did you ever get that pin?...be nice on your acolyte rods .

 

[Keith M]

I certainly wouldn't use my Acolyte Ultra for catching fish like Barbel on purpose but I have twice accidentally caught Barbel (like the one pictured below) when trotting for Roach and Dace.



It wasn't easy playing the Barbel on my 13ft Acolyte Ultra but the rod did perform a lot better than I expected and I must have aged quite a bit too during the fight LOL.

Keith

 

[Graham Elliott 1]

Hi Sam.

My favourite rod is my drennan 13ft IM9 classic. Used on the commercials and general chalkstream roach grayling chub etc trotting.

I have an older Daiwa 13ft x that I use for bigger rivers/fish.

I have now got the Hardy Supero 14ft match rod that will replace the Daiwa on some trips on bigger rivers ( Britford /Thames etc)

Interesting views on rod weights. I got a Drennan 13ft Specimen IM9 it felt really heavy and I couldn't imagine using it all day.....so much heavier than the classic of the same family.
The Hardy marksman Specimen 13ft however felt much much lighter.

 

[barbelboi]

I sold my old (mid 90's) 15' GTE last year (it was getting a bit heavy) and bought a 14' Ultra just before the LIF trip. Although I took it along I stuck with my tried and trusted 2000 Titan on the day. I gave it it's first outing on the crucian trip (how did you get on thread) last week and. apart form the crues, it handled gatecrashing carp to around the twelve pound mark on two pound line without any worry..........

PS The reel was a double handled beautifully coloured stradic Skip..............

 

[sam vimes]

Hi Sam.

My favourite rod is my drennan 13ft IM9 classic.

When buying the 13' Acolyte Ultra, I got to compare it directly with the IM9 Classic, IM9 Finesse, Matchpro Ultralight and Matchpro Float. I felt that the Acolyte Ultra was closest to the IM9 Finesse and Matchpro Ultralight. However, despite being rather fond of the 11' Matchpro Ultralight, I wasn't overly impressed with the 13' version. It's a little sloppy for my liking at the greater length. The IM9 Finesse was better but it didn't seem to have the tip recovery speed of the Acolyte, It was also a fair bit heavier (weight) and I'm not struck by the two six foot sections plus butt section.

I have to say, I find it amazing that Drennan have quite so many overlapping models without huge price differentials.

Acolyte Plus>IM9 Classic>Matchpro Float. The beefier versions.

Acolyte Ultra>IM9 Finesse>Matchpro Ultralight. The rods for lighter lines and the smaller species.

 

[Keith M]

The float rods that I currently use are:

For trotting for Barbel and Chub or float fishing for Carp and Tench I will usually use either my 15ft Hardy Marksman Specimen float rod, or my 13ft Drennan Tench float rod, or if I'm away on holiday I will sometimes take my Diawa Amorphous Whisker 14ft 6in stepped up float rod, or even the old Mitchell 12ft commercial float rod which I bought the wife for just £15 at a Thorpe tackle show several years ago. These will all handle the occasional Tench, Carp and Barbel.

For float fishing for smaller fish from a few ounces up to around 3lb max I will either use my 13ft Acolyte Ultra float rod or my 13ft Diawa Amorphous Whisker light float rod. These are both very light rods which can handle fine hooklengths and very small hooks.

When I need a much longer rod for float fishing in much deeper swims or for trotting a float tight up against the far bank on flowing streams and smaller rivers I will sometimes use my old 17ft/20ft Shakespeare Annexe float rod however this is a tad heavier than I would really like because of its length so if I can get away with not using a reel I will occasionally use a Pole or a 7 metre whip.

I do own a few older float rods but these now rarely see daylight..

Keith

 

[binka]

Were you over at Bobco Sam?

Agree 100% on the Hardy feeling noticeably heavier, I went through a few comparisons when I was there last year buying a long rod and thought exactly the same but as I wanted a heavier line rating and didn't necessarily buy it just for trotting alone it fitted the bill nicely.

I would really like to spend a full day with something like the Drennan, it sounds like a very nice rod to trot with... At first I thought that the Hardy would do a couple of hours maximum before it became a bit of a handful but once I got used to it everything was fine on long (time) trotting sessions.

If I were going for more of an all out trotting rod I think I would have gone for something other than the Hardy but it's perfect for the heavier tasks that I need it to perform.

Out of interest and as far as you could tell, apart from the rod weight what did you think of the Tri-Cast in general?

 

[sam vimes]

Were you over at Bobco Sam?

I was for the 15 footer. I was too impatient to wait for the 13. One of my locals always keeps the Drennan rods in stock and is prepared to haggle a little. The price difference made it that a May bank holiday drive out wasn't worth the petrol money.

I would really like to spend a full day with something like the Drennan, it sounds like a very nice rod to trot with... At first I thought that the Hardy would do a couple of hours maximum before it became a bit of a handful but once I got used to it everything was fine on long (time) trotting sessions.

I manage just fine with much heavier long rods. However, I've seen a few comments from people that they can't cope with 15 footers. If they can't manage with the Acolyte Ultra, there is probably something wrong with them. It really is lighter and easier to manage than many 13' rods.

I'm sure that a session or two can be arranged where you can have a proper play with the Acolytes. Don't go blaming me like you did with the reels though! Speaking of reels, I'll have something new to tempt you with on that front. The tackle trade must be delighted every time I'm working!

Out of interest and as far as you could tell, apart from the rod weight what did you think of the Tri-Cast in general?

The Tricast was a bit of an enigma. Not as obviously impressive in the shop, but I suspect that it may just be a delight to actually use. I took a reel with me to really check the feel of each rod properly. I've previously had reservations over the screw up reels seats on the Tri-Casts. However, the way I hold a centrepin means that the heel of my hand is on/just behind the bulbous bit of neoprene. It was far more comfortable than previous reelless waggles might have suggested. I was sorely tempted, but a slight sloppiness, big weight difference and fairly substantial price premium put me off. Still tempted to give one a whirl sometime, but it'll take a cash windfall or large scale tackle clear out for that to actually happen.

 

[peter crabtree]

Longer rods ie 14" and above have become lighter and less cumbersome with modern technology. However, ( rarely mentioned on this site ) Sensas, Milo and Garbolino have been making them for ages.
Puts on tin hat and opens crisps.....

 

[binka]

However, ( rarely mentioned on this site ) Sensas, Milo and Garbolino have been making them for ages.

Is that down to the continentals history of bolo fishing Simon, before it was imported and became popular over 'ere?

 

[sam vimes]

Longer rods ie 14" and above have become lighter and less cumbersome with modern technology. However, ( rarely mentioned on this site ) Sensas, Milo and Garbolino have been making them for ages.

I have a fairly longstanding "thing" for long rods. I'll gleefully pick up any I encounter, regardless of brand. Unfortunately, along with French Rive rods, which I've yet to see hide nor hair of, I've yet to encounter anything over 13' from those three brands other than Bolognese rods. Though I've been tempted to give a Bolo rod a go, I have grave reservations over the actions for the type of fishing I'm doing. Might be a different ball game if I were fishing slow, deep rivers for roach, skimmers and gonks. I've always had the distinct impression that most UK anglers are deeply suspicious of telescopic Bolo rods and the clip type reel fittings they often wear.

The usual suspects for long rods, ones I can actually get to see without traveling hundreds of miles, are Shimano, Daiwa, Drennan, Preston, Tricast and Maver. I'd be delighted if I could see more than these usual suspects, but I can't see it happening any time soon.

Though I have (or have had) around ten 15'+ modern float rods (various Drennan, Fox, Greys, Harrison, Shimano) and I've given offerings from Daiwa, Preston, Maver and Tricast a good waggle, no other fifteen footer comes close to being as light as the 15' Acolyte Ultra. The difference is very stark and obvious.