Recommend a 17ft Float Rod

[The Sogster]

I am searching for a 17ft float rod suitable for tench fishing on my local estate lake.
Ideally I would like it to meet the following requirements.

1) Suitable for 6lb+ mainline.
2) Full cork handle
3) Under £300
4) Capable of casting floats taking 8ssg+
5) Screw down reel seat. (No Tricast)

Does such a rod currently exist, or should I be looking second hand.

I've looked at the Daiwa Connoisseur Pro but don't like the dupion handle, and also the obvious from Drennan but I'm not sure it's up to it.

What say you?

 

[mikench]

I don’t have a 17’ but have only heard good reports about the Acolyte Plus at that length. 15’ is the longest I have and which I can just about manage. I reckon a Cadence 17’ would be good too. Both are well within your budget. As to second hand a Preston Carbonactive 15-17’ with the Asaki blank would be a good buy and cheap too. I have the 11-13’ and it’s a lovely rod.

 

[nottskev]

I've three 17' rods. Tricast Finesse 17'. Shimano Aspire 15'/17'. Preston Carbonactive 15'/17'. The first is definitely not suitable, the second may be, but I've not used it much yet. The Carbonactive is, imo, ideal. I've had one since 2002 and it catches hundreds of gravel pit tench every close season.

I mostly use it at 15', where it is light and balanced enough to hold throughout a session. 17' is fine, but I'd want a rest to drop it on if waiting for bites. It is rated by Preston for lines to 8lb and has a sweet, elastic non-lock up action. I'm still using the first, but I like it so much I bought a second off ebay a few years back in case I ever damaged the first. It's pretty well mint and cost £80.

It doesn't come with a full cork handle - it's got a Duplon foregrip and a short piece at the bottom of the handle. I paid a rod builder to replace it with full cork and sliding bands, but that's just me, and the original handle is a very good one of its kind. That range of rods were highly regarded and I've never heard a bad thing from a user.

 

[Philip]

I waggled an 18 foot Cadence which I think fits most of your wish list & is in your budget and that looked well made to me.

 

[The Sogster]

Thanks for the replies gentlemen.

The carbonactive sounds good, I can put up with a small amount of duplon and I don't think the weight will be an issue.

I'll have a look at the Cadence also. Edited to add. Just looked at the Cadence, too much dupion for my taste.

 

[mikench]

I too prefer a full cork handle but this one is to my taste and feels good in the hand. This is my feeder rod but the float rods are the same or the 13’ is.

Kev deserves the reward for recommending this rod to me and I have no regrets at all in waiting for a good example ( missing a few) . It’s as good as he describes .

 

[Richard Bartlett]

If it helps, the Drennan Acolyte+ is most definitely up to tench fishing. Whilst I can't vouch for the 17' job (don't have/need one), my 15' has caught me many many tench over the 5 or 6 years I've owned it. Fish averaging 5+ & up to 7+. Its also landed carp up to 17+lb, although I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for that!
I've also very successfuly used the rod for thumping big sliders out at distance - so far I've run it up to 10gm with no dramas.
If I recall correctly, Sam Vimes has several 17' rods, possibly including an accy+ - I'm sure he'll drop in before long!

 

[The Sogster]

Thanks Richard, the 17ft acolyte is rated to 5lb line not the stated 6lb+ strength of the 15ft acolyte plus. I'm not sure it's quite up to the job.
Aesthetically, as an aside I wish Drennan had stayed with the slight 'onion' style butt of the matchpro rods.

 

[sam vimes]

As Richard suggests, I have (or have had) quite a few 17'(ish) rods. There are only a handful of 17'(+) rods that might cope with 6lb+ mainline. Most will fall short of your parameters by being way too expensive (the new Freespirit Hi-S), too expensive even second hand (the odd Daiwa) or a bit too Tricast.

I currently have the 17' Acolyte Float, a couple of 15/17' Shimanos (Super Ultegra and a Speedmaster) and a curve ball Abu Suveran 16/18'. In a similar search for a long rod for tench/carp, I ended up with the Suveran due to the mainline rating of up to 8lb. It's a beast of a rod that you certainly wouldn't want to trot a river with. It works well enough if it can sit on rests most of the time. The Suveran is the only rod that I can think of that meets your criteria. The problem is that it's long discontinued and pretty rare to boot.

However, I don't tend to use the Abu a great deal as I'm not shy of putting 6lb line through any of my other 17' rods. This is despite none of them being rated for such. Even the Acolyte, that initially bends at the merest provocation, is a bit more powerful than most anticipate. I've certainly had tench over 6lb on mine. I can also get away with a 15' rod for plenty of the swims I prefer to fish on my tench water.

If you fancy a look at the four 17'(ish) rods I currently have, that can certainly be accommodated. I'm not expecting to work again for a while after Monday the 20th of March. If you are prepared to wait a few weeks for longer days and slightly warmer temperatures, I may even be able to throw a days fishing in to make the journey a bit more worthwhile. As the time is long overdue for me to drastically thin my float rod herd, and I've got a hankering for the stupidly expensive Freespirit, three of the four (17'+) long rods I own are up for grabs. They've all been in my "to sell" pile for too long.

 

[The Sogster]

Thanks for your reply Sam, I've seen your many posts on here and elsewhere regarding the ideal float rod and weights of said rods over the years and have stock in your opinion.
I'm not looking for a rod to trot or hold all day so don't mind a little heavier rod.

Very many thanks for the offer to meet and perhaps fish, unfortunately I don't drive, a lovely gesture all the same.

 

[sam vimes]

Very many thanks for the offer to meet and perhaps fish, unfortunately I don't drive, a lovely gesture all the same.

You're welcome, shame that you can't take up the offer.

I'm not looking for a rod to trot or hold all day so don't mind a little heavier rod.

Just be wary that, whilst the Abu ticks a lot of boxes, it's more than just a little heavy.
The Abu is 331g at 16' and 375g at 18'. As a most extreme comparison possible, The 17' Acolyte Float is 199g.

 

[Alan Whitty]

The thing is,there is tench fishing and tench fishing,one particular water I fish holds tench to 13lbs plus,now I've never had a double from there(or anywhere else)but I've had a few 5-8lb fish,the first tench I had was 8lbs on a match rod on 6lb line,I was super lucky,there are lots of bankside trees so now I fish with a Normark specimen match or a 1.25lb tc Normark Bob James barbel rod,I slider fish close in as it is a deep water,yet if I was fishing most waters a normal mid-actioned match rod would be perfect,I couldn't possibly advise on a good 17ft rod as I don't like them,especially for bigger fish which(and this will bring disagreement)I find make it difficult to apply the leverage to play fish at close quarters,which most of my tench fishing is,I hope you find your rod,although being picky as to the amount of dupion might make it harder...

 

[Keith M]

The thing is,there is tench fishing and tench fishing,one particular water I fish holds tench to 13lbs plus,now I've never had a double from there(or anywhere else)but I've had a few 5-8lb fish,the first tench I had was 8lbs on a match rod on 6lb line, I was super lucky,there are lots of bankside trees so now I fish with a Normark specimen match or a 1.25lb tc Normark Bob James barbel rod,I slider fish close in as it is a deep water,yet if I was fishing most waters a normal mid-actioned match rod would be perfect,I couldn't possibly advise on a good 17ft rod as I don't like them,especially for bigger fish which(and this will bring disagreement)I find make it difficult to apply the leverage to play fish at close quarters,which most of my tench fishing is,I hope you find your rod,although being picky as to the amount of dupion might make it harder...

It is hard to comprehend that a few decades ago a 5lb Tench was deemed a very very good specimen. In Barry Rickards and Ray Webb’s classic 1979 book ‘Fishing for Big Tench’ 5lb and 6lb Tench were deemed something really special.

But today 6, 7 and 8lb Tench are regularly caught, and even a double figure Tench is not completely out of question on some waters; like the water or waters that Alan and I know of.

To me any Tench is a great fish regardless of its size, with a 3lb or 4lb Tench being a really good fish; and I’ve had several days when I’ve had Tench of 6lb and 7lb plus.

NB: I would much prefer using a 12ft or 13 ft rod rather than a 17ft rod for Tench fishing for the same reasons as Alan cited; although I might change my mind if I were fishing a float in a very deep swim, as I’m not keen on using sliding floats.

Keith

 

[nottskev]

I'm always happy to come across tench of any size. I'm inclined to assume the OP has his own good reasons for wanting a 17' rod. I tend to associate them with, say, a need for line control on a river or very deep water close in or a swim where you want to hold hooked fish out from the bank. He might tell us a bit more about it. He mentions an estate lake, not usually very deep, and floats taking up to 8 swan, when most estate lakes can be floatfished with floats taking no more than 2 or 3 AAA. I'm curious what he has in mind.

Some of the sizes of tench mentioned reflect how different things are in different parts of the country. I've caught tench from all kinds of waters and expect to catch hundreds in the close season, but I've only seen one tench over 7lb and that was caught by someone else. The famous Mr Braddock caught it as I was walking around a small estate lake, day ticket at the time, but now run by a carp syndicate and no trace of it exists online.

 

[sam vimes]

Long rods are only a real problem at close quarters when used in conjunction with a landing net handle that's too short. If landing a fish necessitates the rod coming too close to vertical (or beyond), you lose all control. The same effect can be replicated with a shorter rod if you try to use a landing net handle that's inappropriately short. A trout style landing net or a bankstick used in an emergency will do it. If you use a 17' rod, a 3.5m landing net handle is a bare minimum partner. To cover more difficult situations, 4 or 4.5m is a good idea.

There's no particular problem landing decent fish on long rods, provided they have the requisite backbone, which some just don't. I've had tench to just shy of 7lb on the 17' Acolyte, which is hardly beefy. However, it's got more grunt than it's usually given credit for. I've also had carp to just shy of 20lb on a 17' Shimano Super Ultegra. The Abu Suveran at 18' has also had its share of decent tench and double figure carp.

 

[Alan Whitty]

I had big fish on long rods,carp to mid-doubles,barbel,chub etc,the trouble is ,if you are on a tightish venue with tree roots,lilies or the like side strain isn't an option,it's OK if you have plenty of room,add to that,you can land fish on virtually anything,I did,taped garden canes and had perch to around 2lbs many moons ago,it's what you fancy though,and what you prefer...

 

[sam vimes]

I had big fish on long rods,carp to mid-doubles,barbel,chub etc,the trouble is ,if you are on a tightish venue with tree roots,lilies or the like side strain isn't an option,it's OK if you have plenty of room,add to that,you can land fish on virtually anything,I did,taped garden canes and had perch to around 2lbs many moons ago,it's what you fancy though,and what you prefer...

The above post is a different explanation for your aversion to long rods than you gave in your previous post. It just goes without saying, you inevitably need more space to use a longer rod. You'll need at least 4' more for a 17' rod than you do for a 13' one. However, if you are fishing a parrot cage swim, a 13' rod is too long to fish effectively. It's not a reason to avoid all 13' rods. Rod choice is always a matter of horses for courses. I prefer to assume that the OP isn't stupid and has perfectly good reasons for wanting to use a well chosen, appropriate to task/venue, 17' rod. Most people buying long rods tend not to do so on a whim, they usually think about it first. It's not as if they are a common feature of every tackle shop.

 

[Alan Whitty]

I have no aversion Chris,lol,they just don't tick my boxes of what I consider is right,not to say that I am right,just my way round what I consider an issue,also when you net fish on an 11ft rod,or a 13ft rod you don't have to use a 3.5m landing net pole to net fish,more often than not I use my Drennan Super Specialist extending pole at about a foot longer than the collapsed size,so say 6-8ft,unless the banks require more,7ft more seems a lot just because you are using a 17ft rod,although I bow to your experience using these rods....

Another thing,when I initially saw long rods I jumped at one,the uses were endless,fishing pole gear for good fish on a running line,fishing small rivers tight to the far bank without casting under trees etc were just two,it wasn't until I used them that the uses I had for them were counterbalanced with problems of their own,a bit like using closed faced reels for quality fish,or trying to trot with a centrepin in swims with uneven paced/altering flows,yes it can be done,but sometimes a sewing machine(fixed spool)just does a better job,luckily,for my teaching,even in 11-13ft of water close in with trees hampering the cast can be done with a slider...

 

[sam vimes]

The Standard (1.6-3m) Drennan Super Specialist is usually fine for rods up to 15', provided it's not an awkward swim (long drop to the water etc). The small Super Specialist Compact (1-2m) version is a bit short for use with 13' rods, unless it's a benign swim. It makes plenty of sense on a small water using rods of little more than 11'. If you are going to use 15'+ rods on a regular basis, you'll be better served with the new Super Specialist Long Reach (1.9-3.5m). However, with 17'+ rods, you may need a 4, 4.5, or even 5m handle to avoid giving yourself a problem.

The vast majority of people I see or hear about having problems with long rods are down to them trying to use a landing net handle that's too short. The tell tale signs are rods angled back over shoulders, rods being held way above the handles, landing fish hunkered down on their haunches, holding a landing net by the very end of the handle and stretching. All of those things ultimately mean a loss of control which is even more of an issue with bigger fish.

A much smaller number are the dafties that use long rods in swims that are too crowded and then end up clouting tips on tree branches. However, that's not entirely exclusive to long rods.

 

[The Sogster]

I didn't intend to start a discussion on the rights or wrongs of long rods, or whether people like them. Nor indeed was it to be intended about tench fishing and your favourite rod.

Rant over!

I have had a couple of 17' rods before and am aware of their use, practicalities and bankside dangers, I am now in the market for a new one and wondered about peoples thoughts about current models or second hand models to look out for which may meet my strange requirements.