Opinion's Please

[chipbuttee]

I was given for a special birthday a new center pin last year but have yet to decide on a suitable float rod to use it with preferably 14ft I will be using it on my clubs natural waters which contain Bream, Rudd, Crucian carp Roach, Perch, Tench consisting of three lovely pits and two big ponds. I want to match it with a good Quality rod and there's the rub what to look at . So can You help to narrow it down ? price is a factor but I am not afraid to spend if needs be.

 

[peterjg]

I have used a 14ft Drennan Acolyte Ultra for a few years now with no problems with it at all. It has a nice action and is light. I use it for roach but have caught several carp to double figures on it.

 

[steve2]

One of those questions that as so many answers.The only thing I would say is you don't need to spend big money now to get a good rod. There are many below £100 that don't have the right name on the butt.

 

[Keith M]

As you are only intending to fish ‘still waters’ with your centrepin then a 14ft rod is not really a necessity and you might find that you’d be better off with a 13ft rod like one of the two piece 13ft Drennan Specialist X-Tension rods which are less expensive than the Drennan Acolyte and still a great rod to use, plus it can be carried ready made up if you want to.

However if expense is no problem for you then I’d use either a Drennan Acolyte ‘Plus’ if I was expecting to catch decent sized fish like Tench & smallish Carp up to double figures etc.; or a Drennan Acolyte ‘Ultra’ if your mainly targeting smaller fish like Roach and Rudd etc.

NB: if you were also intending to use your pin for trotting on rivers then a longer rod of 14ft or 15ft might be better for you.

There are other makes of rod that would also be fine of course; but apart from Drennan rods I have only used older Hardy, Greys and Diawa rods that are no longer sold; so I can’t really recommend any of the other makes of rods,.

Keith

 

[chipbuttee]

Thanks for the feedback Drennan is a name that we associate with quality at a fair price ? and I have heard of Cadence but know nowt about them. As for Daiwa I am not familiar with their latest float rod range etc. Food for thought is the point made regarding still waters.
Thanks once again.

 

[wetthrough]

I have a Cadence 15' #1 (#1 as the main reason for buying was fishing sliders) which I've been very happy with. Nice action (for me) well made. Haven't had anything massive on it, biggest was around 9lb but suspect it would handle much bigger and it's also fine with small stuff.

 

[Kevin aka Aethelbald]

14ft Acolyte Plus or 13ft Daiwa Connoisseur Pro.

 

[nottskev]

14ft Acolyte Plus or 13ft Daiwa Connoisseur Pro.

Neither tbh. All the Daiwa rods I've bought have been keepers, but I'm not sure this model is up with some of the older ones. Decent enough reviews, no reason to think it doesn't have the chief Daiwa characteristic of good fish-playing action. I like the look of the cork-shrouded reel seat - but not the foam blob fore-grip. A bit heavy compared to the Acolyte, but from your posts I'd say you're more after bigger fish than fishing like a Dervish for a bag of bits, so a bit of meat in a rod is no bad thing. I fished with a friend's 15' Acolyte for a day and was glad to give it back - imo weird feel in the hand, although light, peculiar action and un-loveable looks. Plus, dare I say, at the very least a case against them for tip fragility. If this is to be your main river float rod, I'd think you could do better and I'd be considering an older used rod.

 

[Kevin aka Aethelbald]

Tbh, after fly fishing for 40 years, I don't have any knowledge of coarse fishing rods down the ages and went straight in with a 14ft Acolyte Plus. While you could definitely say I don't know any better, I'm pretty happy with the Acolyte and for me ignorance is bliss... plus, I'm happy catching tiddlers under 3lb (although I've played double figure pike and carp with the Acolyte only to be broken through my own incompetence).

The 13ft Connoisseur (sold last week to my best friend) balanced exactly as the 14ft Drennan, about 3" in front of the reel, so there's no 'apparent' difference in weight (which is why I didn't mention the 14ft Daiwa, as like-for-like, because that does feel heavier). The Connoisseur is a softer rod - more through-actioned - must admit it feels more alive than the Acolyte. I might have done the wrong thing by selling it, but at least I'll get to use it when we fish together.
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