Broken rod - what next?

[Kevin aka Aethelbald]

Broke my Acolyte Plus feeder tip/carrier section today - not quite sure how it happened, but I struck against a 25g feeder, no snags and it snapped 6in below the feeder tip joint.

So, I either buy a new tip section, or throw the baby out with the bath water and buy a different rod. I do like the Acolyte, but as my first feeder rod, and having had nothing to compare it with, I quite fancy trying something different. (I might buy another rod and fix the Acolyte.)

I looked at an 11ft Freespirit CTX Feederlite today and LOVED the feel of it, but with a very slim blank and tips from 0.5oz to 1.5oz it seems to be aimed at small stuff... although they say the 12ft casts up to 40g feeders and is line rated at 3-8lbs... all of which suggests it'll handle big perch and middling chub.

Uses will be river only (99% Warwickshire Avon), feeder and free-lining for perch, chub and roach. Length either 11ft or 12ft. No match fishing. I have a 1.75lb Freespirit Barbel rod with a lighter quiver tip that I can use if targeting specimen chub.

Any suggestions? Budget up to £150.00.


Thanks.
.

 

[Aknib]

That's odd...

A Drennan Acolyte snapping in seemingly unexplainable circumstances

Baby and bath water spring to my mind considering the well documented history of such occurrences here on FM and, I have little doubt, maybe other fora too.

Of course there may well be those who might have been lucky with their vast arsenal of such rods and who are willing to ignore the seemingly high failure rate or dismiss it on an unsubstantiated popularity to failure ratio theory, but if you're on the thin end of the wedge, well...

It's very cold comfort.

Personally I'd be giving them a very wide berth, i'm not into quality control lotteries, if in fact that's the issue.

I can count on less than half a hand of the number of reports of other manufacturer's rod failures that i've read but...

I'd have to be Mr Tickle on steroids to count the Acolytes.

 

[Alan Whitty]

My major problems are carbon quivertips, in my opinion older rods with softer glass tips give superior bite detection, so I would be very much tempted by one of those, even a cheaper one....

 

[Kevin aka Aethelbald]

You reminded me, Alan, that one of the things I thought lacking in the Acolyte was the option of glass feeder tips. The Freespirit CTX Feederlite has two glass tips and one carbon as standard, plus more glass and carbon as extras. I liked the short handle of the Freespirit as well - I get the impression that this will increase the feel of the rod.

I think I've already decided to give the Freespirit a go, but I'll sleep on it and see if any suggestions arise.

Anyone know anything about the Drennan Series 7 Puddle Chucker Competition Feeder? It came with glass tips and carbon options. There's a 'once-used' one listed with a dealer.
.

 

[nottskev]

My major problems are carbon quivertips, in my opinion older rods with softer glass tips give superior bite detection, so I would be very much tempted by one of those, even a cheaper one....

Good idea - a classic top-end, mint "used" Daiwa would be my choice. Input from top anglers, lovely playing actions, big range of glass tips in all kinds of strengths and tapers. The Connoisseur 11/13 Stillwater makes imo a great feeder rod for medium size rivers. I'd be happy to use no end of other models that used the same tips and predated the commercial angler-targeted ones. They sold shedloads, so many good as new still come up. Shimano feeder rods of the same period would be just as good.

My view of Free Spirit rods is a bit jaundiced and based on two things. I used a mate's to fish for barbel for an afternoon, and thought the playing action was stiff and harsh. The same mate worked in a local ts. One afternoon with the shop full he insisted on showing me how amazing this little Free Spirit lure fishing creation was. Hold the tip down, he instructed, while he lifted into ... I don't know what he imagined he was catching. As he bent into his imaginary fish, the rod shattered into pieces, the shop went quiet and mate slunk red-faced into the office.

The only use I ever found for carbon tips - apart from barbelling in flows too strong for glass - was for infuriatingly fast-biting small fish like dace that live in streamy water.

 

[Alan Whitty]

I believe that unlike float rods feeder rods don't need to be super light or thin at the butt, what they do have to be is robust, plus the bite indication has to be right for your chosen species or venue, all this talk of long range stuff is garbage for the majority, because either these anglers aren't, or don't cast further than 60yds, or they simply haven't got the technique, for me I can chuck around 80yds if needed, maybe a tad further, normally though 30/50yds is it....

 

[Mark Wintle]

For feeder rods Daiwa all day long. If I can't break them they must be good!

My Daiwa Cavalier Quiver is 37 years old and still surviving... Nowadays I use my two Team Daiwa quivertip rods.

 

[Kevin aka Aethelbald]

...all this talk of long range stuff is garbage... for me I can chuck around 80yds if needed, maybe a tad further, normally though 30/50yds is it....

Agreed. Most manufacturers seem to think that we all fish 10 acres lakes with an island in the middle. If I chuck 50 yards on the Avon I'll be in the field opposite or, at Barton, on a golf course... which might be amusing... FORE!!!!
.

 

[steve2]

All fishing tackle these days is aimed at carp wether that be specimen or match outside of that there is not much else.

 

[Kevin aka Aethelbald]

All fishing tackle these days is aimed at carp wether that be specimen or match outside of that there is not much else.

I was amazed, when coming back to coarse fishing for the first time since I was a kid, how everything had become so carp oriented. But I was talking to a dealer yesterday who said that when he was a kid he'd see several hundred match anglers on the Gloucester Canal, whereas nowadays it's down to the dozens, and everyone else has migrated to carp fishing. Great, leaves the rivers (and canals) free for the more discerning fisherman!

I like(d) the Acolyte's (even though I'm now victim to one of the 'many' breakages) - and like the look of the Freespirit 'lite' rods - because they buck the carp trend. FS have a new website devoted to match fishing, but even the term match fishing seems like a catch-all for everything non-carp. The other easily identifiable non-carp coarse category is 'specialist', which seems to cover chub and barbel.

I guess it's easy enough to pick your rod for certain species by looking at the manufacturers reel line ratings and the types of feeder tips available, but this time last year I wouldn't have had a clue. This year I'm marginally less clue-less. The ideal is an Acolyte-type rod with plenty of glass tip options.
.

 

[alantherose]

All fishing tackle these days is aimed at carp wether that be specimen or match outside of that there is not much else.

Not all, but lots.

 

[riverman]

For feeder rods Daiwa all day long. If I can't break them they must be good!

My Daiwa Cavalier Quiver is 37 years old and still surviving... Nowadays I use my two Team Daiwa quivertip rods.

yes i've got a daiwa ninja 12ft feeder rod.only use it when i target the roach and skimmers with maggots in winter.as you say daiwa rods are top quality

 

[mikench]

I have about 12 feeder rods from 8’ to 13’ from Hardy, PI, Daiwa, Shimano and Greys. I like them all but my favourites are my Browning Sphere and Silverlite feeder rods particularly the latter in 13’. I’m more tempted by a feeder rod than a float rod these days. I know I will succumb - again.

 

[nottskev]

At the risk of looking like a man with grudge against Free Spirit gear, I deliberated at length before buying a 4m Free Spirit landing net handle a couple of years back, specifically to land and return fish from a high bank at low river levels. It looks cute with its classy finish and X weave, but the joints are really poor - the tapers mean the sections only grip over a very short space, and can pull apart in use. First time out the badly fitting end caps dropped off and down the high bank .... I do think some high end stuff can be triumphs of marketing rather than design.

 

[rob48]

I have about 12 feeder rods from 8’ to 13’ from Hardy, PI, Daiwa, Shimano and Greys. I like them all but my favourites are my Browning Sphere and Silverlite feeder rods particularly the latter in 13’. I’m more tempted by a feeder rod than a float rod these days. I know I will succumb - again.

Yes, I like the Browning rods. They do a combination of glass and carbon tips as well. Cadence are decent but I think they're all carbon tips now.

 

[Kevin aka Aethelbald]

At the risk of looking like a man with grudge against Free Spirit gear.... I do think some high end stuff can be triumphs of marketing rather than design.

Not all of the Freespirit gear is highly priced - the Feederlite's are £80.00 cheaper than the Acolyte's (although you could argue that the Acolyte is over-priced). But I do take your point - I was seduced by the look and feel of the Acolyte's, and felt the same when waggling the Freespirit Feederlite yesterday. On second inspection this morning, I'm not convinced about it.

Since a replacement Acolyte tip will cost £90.00, I'm going to check out Daiwa (and others) in the sub-£100 price range, as any further breakages of expensive rods will eventually hurt too much - although the irony of this one is that I sold an expensive Hardy fly rod on the same day, which somewhat softened the pain.
.

 

[Keith M]

My favourite feeder rod is an old carbon fibre Drennan DRX River Feeder rod which I’ve used for many years without any problems at all; plus it has four Glass Quivertips too and has handled some decent sized fish including river Carp.

I won or got placed in several team matches on the Thames with some nice bags of Chub; and on several stillwaters with bags of Bream and Tench using this rod.




Keith

 

[ian g]

Great rod Keith , I bought one second hand and use it a lot . I've managed to acquire a good mix of tips to fit it over the years , as others have said I almost always use glass over carbon.

 

[steve2]

I haven't bought a new feeder rod in years because I don't believe newer one are any better than what I already use. Lot count of how many fish I have caught on my Drennan medium feeder bought over 20 years ago..

 

[Richox12]

Broke my Acolyte Plus feeder tip/carrier section today - not quite sure how it happened, but I struck against a 25g feeder, no snags and it snapped 6in below the feeder tip joint.

Surely a new carrier section is only about £50/£60 ? It's not that long.

How long have you had the rod ? Never used it much ? And not caught anything of note ?