Alec Hague
Senior Member & Supporter
Just a heads up as I read the above are popular. There is one on ebay today.
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Browning 13.6 river rod
- Thread starter Alec Hague
- Start date
Michael Brindle
Senior Member
Think it is the same seller who has 2 for sale on Facebook?
Chris Jones
Senior Member
Shame it wasn't collection only. That might have depressed the final price and it's only about 15 miles away. I really don't need another spare though.
Alec Hague
Senior Member & Supporter
I remember when home and ? in north east were auctioning these rods maybe 4 +years ago. Easy to buy at around 140/150. Another miss on my part, ha!
Michael Brindle
Senior Member
Home un Leisure? I won a 15ft 6 one from them on Ebay for about £200. They never delivered it and eventually I got my money back. Paid a bit more than £200 when I finally got hold of one.
Money well spent!Danny Moss
Senior Member
How do the brownings compare to an Acolyte plus and specimen?
Thanks
Thanks
Alan Rose
Senior Member & Supporter
Hi Danny,How do the brownings compare to an Acolyte plus and specimen?
Thanks
I’ve got a 13’ Acolyte Specimen and a 13’ 6” Sphere, so I can tell you how I experience them. I fish exclusively with centrepins if that makes any difference to how you construe my comments.
The 13’ Acolyte Specimen is almost the same weight as the 13’ 6” Sphere (in my case both rods weigh 167g I think), but it’s way, way stiffer. I use it for barbel and chub in fast water or where I need to “hit and hold” and it is excellent. I would not use it for smaller species, although it would technically work although a tad unsporting for smaller stuff. The tip is fast, the middle powers up nicely and there’s silly amounts of power in the butt. Wallis casts like a dream.
The 13’ 6” Sphere is a different kettle of fish (no pun intended). The spliced tip is lovely and fast but also cushions lighter hooklengths well. It’s nowhere near as stiff as the Acolyte and not as powerful. I would be happy using it for chub in fast water, but it’s certainly not an out-and-out big fish tool. Where it is simply stunning is fishing for grayling. It easily hits bites at distance and the transition from spliced tip to hollow section to mid section is very smooth so you don’t tend to lose many. When you do get a good fish on (think 4-5lb chub) there’s plenty of power lower down, and it feels superb. Also Wallis casts very nicely indeed.
If I had to have just one, it’d be the Sphere. I had a 15’ 6” but I massively prefer the 13’ 6” model. I’ve never struggled to control the float with that length, apart from the odd time when the conditions really weren’t conducive to float fishing at all! I tend to use a 4” Trudex II with the Sphere because I like how the narrow drum feels in my hand. I use a Triton True-Pin on the Acolyte for tackling bigger stuff.
Hope that helps Danny, feel free to PM me if you want to ask anything more specific
Danny Moss
Senior Member
Hi Danny,
I’ve got a 13’ Acolyte Specimen and a 13’ 6” Sphere, so I can tell you how I experience them. I fish exclusively with centrepins if that makes any difference to how you construe my comments.
The 13’ Acolyte Specimen is almost the same weight as the 13’ 6” Sphere (in my case both rods weigh 167g I think), but it’s way, way stiffer. I use it for barbel and chub in fast water or where I need to “hit and hold” and it is excellent. I would not use it for smaller species, although it would technically work although a tad unsporting for smaller stuff. The tip is fast, the middle powers up nicely and there’s silly amounts of power in the butt. Wallis casts like a dream.
The 13’ 6” Sphere is a different kettle of fish (no pun intended). The spliced tip is lovely and fast but also cushions lighter hooklengths well. It’s nowhere near as stiff as the Acolyte and not as powerful. I would be happy using it for chub in fast water, but it’s certainly not an out-and-out big fish tool. Where it is simply stunning is fishing for grayling. It easily hits bites at distance and the transition from spliced tip to hollow section to mid section is very smooth so you don’t tend to lose many. When you do get a good fish on (think 4-5lb chub) there’s plenty of power lower down, and it feels superb. Also Wallis casts very nicely indeed.
If I had to have just one, it’d be the Sphere. I had a 15’ 6” but I massively prefer the 13’ 6” model. I’ve never struggled to control the float with that length, apart from the odd time when the conditions really weren’t conducive to float fishing at all! I tend to use a 4” Trudex II with the Sphere because I like how the narrow drum feels in my hand. I use a Triton True-Pin on the Acolyte for tackling bigger stuff.
Hope that helps Danny, feel free to PM me if you want to ask anything more specific
Danny Moss
Senior Member
Hi Alan
Well that certainly explains my question,
I have both the plus and specimen in both 13 & 14ft but do like the look of the sphere and wondered the difference.
Do I really need one, no by the sounds of it,
But would I like one, well I did but sounds like I’ve not the need and just being the tackle tart we can be,
but sounds a cracking rod.
There is one on eBay I’m looking at but looks as if it will go over the £300 mark so I’ll give it a miss and enjoy the acolytes instead for the time being.
Really appreciate your thoughts and saving me a few hundred quit,
For now
Thanks
Danny
Well that certainly explains my question,
I have both the plus and specimen in both 13 & 14ft but do like the look of the sphere and wondered the difference.
Do I really need one, no by the sounds of it,
But would I like one, well I did but sounds like I’ve not the need and just being the tackle tart we can be,
but sounds a cracking rod.
There is one on eBay I’m looking at but looks as if it will go over the £300 mark so I’ll give it a miss and enjoy the acolytes instead for the time being.
Really appreciate your thoughts and saving me a few hundred quit,
For now
Thanks
Danny
Last edited:
Alan Rose
Senior Member & Supporter
Fair play Danny, they are certainly a financial commitment. I would not have bought mine if I’d had to pay the full RRP for it a few years ago.Hi Alan
Well that certainly explains my question,
I have both the plus and specimen in both 13 & 14ft but do like the look of the sphere and wondered the difference.
Do I really need one, no by the sounds of it,
But would I like one, well I did but sounds like I’ve not the need and just being the tackle tart we can be.
There is one on eBay I’m looking at but looks as if it will go over the £300 mark so I’ll give it a miss and enjoy the acolytes instead for now.
Really appreciate your thoughts and saving me a few hundred quit
Thanks
Danny
Nothing wrong with your acolytes— enjoy!
Richard Isaacs
Senior Member & Supporter
The sphere river rods blank is quite special. I own both the 13’6 and 15’6 and I have used the 15’6 loads. (More so than my other rods)
Caught hundreds of big chunks on it and I’m very taken by the characteristics of the blank. It doesn’t matter what other float rods do what, there are things you feel and experience using a sphere that set it apart.
It gives the illusion of quite a soft rod when you first set the hook into something like a 12oz chub or a 1/2 pound perch or graying and it’s not just the spliced tip that makes it seem this way as the rest of the blank progresses easily with moderate sized fish on.
Ill admit I was a little shocked at first by it thinking its a rod I’m going to hit the limits on too prematurely for my liking but this is where it gets a bit clever and a bit special too because the blank seems to adapt to what’s pulling back.
The only other rod I’ve ever used that also seems to do this to is the original acolyte 17ft. The actions are very different but there’s this adaptive characteristic in the blank that makes everything you hook feel like good fun. Not under or over gunned…… it’s clever.
Hook A 1lb chub on a sphere river rod and you genuinely feel like it was a good enjoyable scrap.
Hook a 6lb chub and take it a bit further and the rod doesn’t just accept it but it almost lives for it and as you pull against the carbon bending it feels like there’s this unlocked bit of power coming in to accommodate the larger fish…….
But it wasn’t there a minute ago when that poxy 1lb chub had the rod doubled over and gave you an enjoyable battle. I’m not just talking about a typical Progressive action here it is different, these blanks are different.
It’s not all positive from me though because I can think of several things they could have done better.
Blank…… amazing…… the best of the best.
But I don’t really rate the splice to be that brilliant. I’ve got several spliced tip rods where the splice and the tip and the whole transition is better than the sphere.
The spheres spliced tip works better on the 13’6 but it’s still too short and too soft at the back end to be what I would consider a very nice job. It’s not bad but especially on the 15’6 it should have been re designed specifically to suit that rod better. I think if the blank wasn’t as good as it is the actual rod would probably be terrible. I think the brilliant blank compensates for an average tip job.
The handle I love but again I don’t know why they decided to use the exact same one for both models. It’s a bit long for my taste anyway but you could accept it on the 15’6 in terms that aiding balance a little but a handle that length on the 13’6 is unnecessary
You could easily lose 3-4 inches off the back and probably another 5-10g as well off that little rod and it would be so much better.
The reel seat is awesome. It’s actually a spinning rod reel seat originally but it works so well. Especially with a pin.
I wouldn’t part with my spheres ever, but i would love to get hold of a 15’6 cheap with a broken tip. I reckon i could do something wonderful with that blank…… and a bit of trial and error
Caught hundreds of big chunks on it and I’m very taken by the characteristics of the blank. It doesn’t matter what other float rods do what, there are things you feel and experience using a sphere that set it apart.
It gives the illusion of quite a soft rod when you first set the hook into something like a 12oz chub or a 1/2 pound perch or graying and it’s not just the spliced tip that makes it seem this way as the rest of the blank progresses easily with moderate sized fish on.
Ill admit I was a little shocked at first by it thinking its a rod I’m going to hit the limits on too prematurely for my liking but this is where it gets a bit clever and a bit special too because the blank seems to adapt to what’s pulling back.
The only other rod I’ve ever used that also seems to do this to is the original acolyte 17ft. The actions are very different but there’s this adaptive characteristic in the blank that makes everything you hook feel like good fun. Not under or over gunned…… it’s clever.
Hook A 1lb chub on a sphere river rod and you genuinely feel like it was a good enjoyable scrap.
Hook a 6lb chub and take it a bit further and the rod doesn’t just accept it but it almost lives for it and as you pull against the carbon bending it feels like there’s this unlocked bit of power coming in to accommodate the larger fish…….
But it wasn’t there a minute ago when that poxy 1lb chub had the rod doubled over and gave you an enjoyable battle. I’m not just talking about a typical Progressive action here it is different, these blanks are different.
It’s not all positive from me though because I can think of several things they could have done better.
Blank…… amazing…… the best of the best.
But I don’t really rate the splice to be that brilliant. I’ve got several spliced tip rods where the splice and the tip and the whole transition is better than the sphere.
The spheres spliced tip works better on the 13’6 but it’s still too short and too soft at the back end to be what I would consider a very nice job. It’s not bad but especially on the 15’6 it should have been re designed specifically to suit that rod better. I think if the blank wasn’t as good as it is the actual rod would probably be terrible. I think the brilliant blank compensates for an average tip job.
The handle I love but again I don’t know why they decided to use the exact same one for both models. It’s a bit long for my taste anyway but you could accept it on the 15’6 in terms that aiding balance a little but a handle that length on the 13’6 is unnecessary
You could easily lose 3-4 inches off the back and probably another 5-10g as well off that little rod and it would be so much better.
The reel seat is awesome. It’s actually a spinning rod reel seat originally but it works so well. Especially with a pin.
I wouldn’t part with my spheres ever, but i would love to get hold of a 15’6 cheap with a broken tip. I reckon i could do something wonderful with that blank…… and a bit of trial and error