New Drennan Rod

[Alan Whitty]

I would be Mark, lol, having fished with adjustable length handles for more years than I can remember, having a set length(s) handle doesn't sit well with me, out of preference I would prefer around 6ft, but swims and circumstances decide what length I need, a 4m handle would be used on very rare occasions in my angling, but everyone has their preferred option... (and at £138 I'd be very sad indeed, lol...

How stiff is it, as many match landing net poles are too bendy for me...

 

[nottskev]

I only use the Drennan telescopic for big fish. It's useful to be able to close down the handle when drawing a fish in, lifting it out or taking the net/fish to a mat. I'm very rarely on the type of bank where you can just reach down and lift the net frame. Take-apart handles are harder to manoeuvre/move without taking them apart. The Drennan's also more compact if you're moving swims.

 

[Philip]

I think Drennan have just copped out of sorting a decent locking mechanism, the Darent valley handle is much cheaper and guaranteed for life I believe and it works for a lot longer...

I had a DV handle and quite liked it. The locking mechanism was based on the old style plastic cone that basically pinches down to grip the pole as you tighten it. It worked well enough while I had it but the issue for me was the handle itself was a bit too thin for my liking so it twisted in my hand too easily in a current.

I replaced it with a Drennan....jurys still out for me on that...I get where people are coming from about the twist lock...mines still going but I can see it screwing up some time soon. I dont mollycoddle kit so I am probably part of the issue but I do expect a net handle to stand up to reasonable abuse.

Sure I recall a thread on here in the past about people being able to get replacement new gromets from their tackle dealers for free.

 

[Mark Wintle]

I have the Drennan one. I over tightened mine and it needed a new grommet which my dealer got me for free. I've learnt my lesson.

 

[chevin4]

Conoflex produced a handle which was similar in design to the Tackle Box model. It was stronger and the mechanism worked well. Sadly Carroll McManus (Conoflex) stopped trading a few years ago.

 

[sam vimes]

The Drennan Super Specialist needs minor maintenance to keep it working after lots of use. Using it properly will eventually see the widget wear. If it didn't wear, the carbon of the handle itself would wear more quickly. The widget is designed to wear in much the same way as a brake pad is designed to wear.

Cleaning the carbon dust, sand and grit that accumulates over time and use is the bare minimum of maintenance required. I clean mine about twice a year unless I fish somewhere with especially filthy water. Sooner or later, the four locking faces of the widget will wear enough to render the lock inoperable. At that point, you either get on to your local Drennan dealer for a spare, or you resurrect the old one by painting the locking faces of the widget with something. I use basic clear nail varnish. I've invariably got a reconditioned old widget on the shelf ready to go as a spare so that I won't ever be stuck for a landing net handle. Only overtightening the handle lock and stripping the internal thread of the widget will lead to the widget being totally beyond redemption. Eventually, the carbon tube of the handle will wear and get too thin. At that point, I'll retire the old handle and switch to the spare I bought several years ago.

P.S. I had the Lone Angler handle that was reputed to be similar to the Powerstretch. Way too heavy and bulky for my tastes. If I fancied using a landing net handle as a war staff, it would be my first choice. I also still have the Gardner Specialist. I managed to crack the tube on that one when gripping the handle drawing back a fairly modest size fish. In a way, I hope that it had been damaged in some way that I hadn't noticed. However, the dirty great metal collar that's part of the locking mechanism made the handle overly nose heavy for my taste.

 

[markcw]

I would be Mark, lol, having fished with adjustable length handles for more years than I can remember, having a set length(s) handle doesn't sit well with me, out of preference I would prefer around 6ft, but swims and circumstances decide what length I need, a 4m handle would be used on very rare occasions in my angling, but everyone has their preferred option... (and at £138 I'd be very sad indeed, lol...

How stiff is it, as many match landing net poles are too bendy for me...

Light and stiff , it's a 3 piece , has 2 threaded sections . I've had 15lb carp on it .
I and a few others looked at the top end Daiwa handles , and they are not as good as the Drennan .
Plus it matches my 8 metre Acolyte whip .

 

[Alan Whitty]

I had a DV handle and quite liked it. The locking mechanism was based on the old style plastic cone that basically pinches down to grip the pole as you tighten it. It worked well enough while I had it but the issue for me was the handle itself was a bit too thin for my liking so it twisted in my hand too easily in a current.

I replaced it with a Drennan....jurys still out for me on that...I get where people are coming from about the twist lock...mines still going but I can see it screwing up some time soon. I dont mollycoddle kit so I am probably part of the issue but I do expect a net handle to stand up to reasonable abuse.

Sure I recall a thread on here in the past about people being able to get replacement new gromets from their tackle dealers for free.

Sorry Philip, do you mean the diameter, or the thickness of the carbon, as the Drennan has a smaller diameter the the DV, the only fault for me is the DV's varnished finish, which in the wet can be slippery, I dare say I could buy some shrink tube, or maybe push a bike inner tube over the bottom 2ft...

 

[Philip]

I dont have the two to compare Alan as I lost the DV in the river. I got the impression it was thinner in diameter...but you may be right the issue could be just that varnished finish....if I ever got another one I would wrap some grippy tape round it or as you say shrink/inner tube would do the job... it needs something.

 

[S-Kippy]

I’ve never had the slightest problem with either of my Drennans ( standard and compact) but I do clean them after use and I couldn’t honestly say either gets a lot of hammer.
I’ve also got a DV handle ( I’m a sucker for handles) and I don’t like it one bit. It’s heavier and thicker than the Drennan imo. I can’t say what it’s like in use as I’ve never used it ! Frankly, I wish I’d returned it as I really don’t like it at all. A typical spontaneous purchase that backfired.

 

[mikench]

I have had no issues with mine and neither has Gordon. I have never touched mine save to dry it and clean it. I too am a sucker for landing net handles and have several but the Drennan is the best. I gave a Daiwa handle to Markcw as I didn’t like it. The NGT ones are rigid but not too heavy and seem well made. I have a 2m and a 2.2m . They are very inexpensive.

 

[markcw]

I have had no issues with mine and neither has Gordon. I have never touched mine save to dry it and clean it. I too am a sucker for landing net handles and have several but the Drennan is the best. I gave a Daiwa handle to Markcw as I didn’t like it. The NGT ones are rigid but not too heavy and seem well made. I have a 2m and a 2.2m . They are very inexpensive.

I passed the Daiwa on to a friend after a while , he needed a long reach handle ,
He is pleased with ,especially the removable short top section for easy unhooking in the net

 

[Alan Whitty]

I’ve never had the slightest problem with either of my Drennans ( standard and compact) but I do clean them after use and I couldn’t honestly say either gets a lot of hammer.
I’ve also got a DV handle ( I’m a sucker for handles) and I don’t like it one bit. It’s heavier and thicker than the Drennan imo. I can’t say what it’s like in use as I’ve never used it ! Frankly, I wish I’d returned it as I really don’t like it at all. A typical spontaneous purchase that backfired.

I use both, mainly the drennan I have two, but the DV is good, it is heavier and thicker, but not by much, plus it is cheaper and less liable to go wrong and trust me, when it does you will curse it's existence unless you carry a spare, I went barbel fishing on the Thames near Abingdon one winters day, I'd been waiting for a small rise in water level and some colour for weeks, the swim is unfishable without a 3m plus landing net pole due to a high cliff like bank, I turned up set up and extended my landing net to full length and it wouldn't lock, for love nor money and I cleaned it out on the bank, still nothing, so I had to pack up and go home, wouldn't have happened with the DV.... it took a fair while for it to go wrong, but it did and I knew not to overtighten it then, I had chatted to a Drennan rep about them, pretty landing net poles are of no interest to me, it's got to be rigid, strong and functional, if it's not, it's gone...

 

[Keith M]

I bought a great landing net pole from Leslie’s of Luton just before they closed a few years ago. The guy didn’t know what make it was so he sold it to me for £30 it has ‘Pole Master Mega Carp Net Pole’ printed on it so I assumed the company who made it was called ‘PoleMaster???’ Although the colour and style of the text is very similar to Drennans so it might possibly be made by Drennan????

It is a great telescopic net handle which is not heavy but is quite strong; and it does ‘not’ have a ‘twist lock’ and has been in regular use ever since I bought it with no problems at all (famous last words ).
I particularly like it because it has a short 12inch put over end section that comes apart to allow you to carry a fish to the unhooking mat easily.

I’ve often wondered what make it is as I haven’t come across ‘Polemaster’ before.




Keith

 

[sam vimes]

I bought a great landing net pole from Leslie’s of Luton years ago. The guy didn’t know what make it was so sold it to me for £30 it has ‘Pole Master Mega Carp Net Pole’ printed on it so I assume the company name is PoleMaster’.

It is a great telescopic net handle which is not heavy but is still strong and does ‘not’ have a ‘twist lock’ and has been in regularly use since I bought it with no problems.
I particularly like it because it has a short 12inch put over end section that comes apart to allow you to carry my fish to the unhooking mat in the net.

I’ve often wondered what make it is as I haven’t come across ‘Polemaster’ before.




Keith

It's a Drennan, though I'm surprised it doesn't say so explicitly. It does hint at it with the logo running through the word Polemaster. Polemaster branding was applied to various Drennan pole related tackle for a time in the 90s (I think). The only remnant I have is a small pinkish plastic box of Polemaster Olivettes.

 

[Keith M]

Thanks Sam

Keith

 

[riverman]

love drennan rods.for my birthday my daughter bought me a 13ft drennan red waggler rod.light as a feather and strong as an ox.

 

[Aknib]

I've not used the Drennan but my regular fishing mate has one and, as already mentioned, the widget went and he received a new one from Drennan F-O-C and you can't knock that.

My single landing net handle, which I unashamedly use for everything, wouldn't be entertained by anyone i'm sure. Not least because it's relatively very short but also because it's my own Heath Robinson concoction but I just like it.

Historically the best handle I've ever owned was a Daiwa, I can't remember whether it's three or four piece but it's long.

I still have it and use it regularly but not for its intended purpose, it's too late to go into the garage and take a picture but I will (if I forget would someone please remind me) and it's enjoying an afterlife with regular alternative use although there are often occasions when I could have really done with it on the bank lol.

Of course that was back in the days when anglers didn't need twist locks because they wouldn't raise their landing nets at a vertical or near vertical angle so the joints would't come apart... I can't ever remember that happening to me back in the days when I used one regularly.

Hang on a minute, can of worms...

Only joking

 

[S-Kippy]

I’m not blessed with the arms of a silverback so lightness is a big deal for me. The Drennan SS is not the lightest handle I own ( that is a one piece Korum power stick which I adore but it’s not really for lumps) but it’s a reasonable compromise and I have great faith in it….so far.

On posing days I dig out my Hardy Marksman handle but it looks way better than it performs.

 

[Ray Roberts]

I have the DV handle and after a couple of years use it still works fine. Next time I’m in the Tackle box I will ask if they have some shrink wrap as the gloss finish is a bit slippery. I also have an extending handle which I believe is a Conoflex. I’ve had it for years and it’s bomb proof. I mainly use it for carp and pike as it’s a bit heavy for roach and smaller species.