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17/18ft float rod

Further to the above, this is from a Drennan FB post from Feb of this year:

Drennan’s Mike Davidson has recently returned from another memorable grayling session up on the Scottish rivers whilst putting a prototype 17ft Acolyte through its paces.

He told us” I’m so glad I was committed to using it as the river was a metre higher than usual and the extra length and power enabled me to control a 6g float through the pacier swims. Trying to strike through these bigger bodied floats at range and get a good hook hold, requires a rod with some serious power and my initial impressions were good as the first bite I had on it was from a big old warrior of 3lb 4oz!!! What a way to christen a rod!

Unfortunately, the first day’s fishing was cut short as the weather rolled in and the river started rising. The only saving grace was that the rain was due to stop overnight and being quite a small tributary, it would recover quickly enough for us to fish the following day. The second day was very windy and didn’t produce many bites, but the quality of fish was incredible, with fish of 2lb 7oz, 2lb 11oz and a mesmerising joint PB of 3lb 8oz. I measured this giant as well for reference and it came in at a whopping 55cm. That’s now my second grayling of 3lb 8oz from 2 different Scottish rivers.

The last day was perhaps the best as far as conditions go and I ended up with 7 fish with best three going 2lb 11oz, 2lb 12oz and 2lb 13oz. All fish were caught in exactly the same way, by bait dropping down maggot and running big 6g Avon floats over the top. At the business end, Acolyte Fluorocarbon in 3lb was tied to an Acolyte Maggot Plus hooks in a size 14.

All in all, another great trip north of the border and so nice to use this rod for the first time. The standout features for me were how well it handled in the wind, being much crisper and also the control I had playing these special fish in some serious flow! Can’t wait to put it through its paces again!”
 
Chris Fogg said:
Thanks Alan, yes definitely need 17/18ft.
Standing in the Wye waist deep fishing the far bank with my 14ft acolyte + the extra 3 or 4ft would have been alot easier.
Edging towards the connoisseur, need to find somewhere in stock to go have a waggle.
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Chris, have you considered the difficulties and potential for breaking a tip of using such a long rod with large powerful fish in heavy water when it comes to netting them, especially when wading the tip will be bent so tightly unless you use a very long net handle which itself becomes a hinderance when waist deep. I have used the connoisseur 15ft in those circumstances and caught chub to 6lb but really struggled at the net when they just sit in the flow, mouth wide open. I don't think id have the bottle to stress a rod that long and do wonder if my 15ft acolyte specimen would be safe with a really large fish or very heavy flow though it is undoubtedly stronger than the Diawa
 
Kevin Siddle said:
Chris, have you considered the difficulties and potential for breaking a tip of using such a long rod with large powerful fish in heavy water when it comes to netting them, especially when wading the tip will be bent so tightly unless you use a very long net handle which itself becomes a hinderance when waist deep. I have used the connoisseur 15ft in those circumstances and caught chub to 6lb but really struggled at the net when they just sit in the flow, mouth wide open. I don't think id have the bottle to stress a rod that long and do wonder if my 15ft acolyte specimen would be safe with a really large fish or very heavy flow though it is undoubtedly stronger than the Diawa
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It’s a solid point.
You need a minimum of a 3m net handle for a 17ft rod from the bank and ideally a bit more to be safe but in the water this could be a bit less.
Believe it or not I’ve bought 5-6lb barbel straight to the hand quite regularly with 15ft rods in fast water but i wouldn’t encourage it. There is a technique, ideally it’s done at or slightly above waist depth and you need to know your rod well.
I’d not even dream of attempting it with a 17ft rod but you could probably get away with a 2m handle in the water at waist height.
 
Richard Isaacs said:
It’s a solid point.
You need a minimum of a 3m net handle for a 17ft rod from the bank and ideally a bit more to be safe but in the water this could be a bit less.
Believe it or not I’ve bought 5-6lb barbel straight to the hand quite regularly with 15ft rods in fast water but i wouldn’t encourage it. There is a technique, ideally it’s done at or slightly above waist depth and you need to know your rod well.
I’d not even dream of attempting it with a 17ft rod but you could probably get away with a 2m handle in the water at waist height.
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Same, I hand the majority of my Chub and smaller Barbel with my 14ft acolyte when wading so don't think I'll have too much bother with a net and an extra 3ft rod. The only thing is what to do with a net whilst wading, usually it's in a tree behind me and I just carefully walk backwards to grab it for bigger fish.
 
Chris Fogg said:
Same, I hand the majority of my Chub and smaller Barbel with my 14ft acolyte when wading so don't think I'll have too much bother with a net and an extra 3ft rod. The only thing is what to do with a net whilst wading, usually it's in a tree behind me and I just carefully walk backwards to grab it for bigger fish.
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I wouldn’t take any fish to hand with 17ft personally unless they are swingers an extra 3ft is a long way.
 
Richard Isaacs said:
It’s a solid point.
You need a minimum of a 3m net handle for a 17ft rod from the bank and ideally a bit more to be safe but in the water this could be a bit less.
Believe it or not I’ve bought 5-6lb barbel straight to the hand quite regularly with 15ft rods in fast water but i wouldn’t encourage it. There is a technique, ideally it’s done at or slightly above waist depth and you need to know your rod well.
I’d not even dream of attempting it with a 17ft rod but you could probably get away with a 2m handle in the water at waist height.
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interesting topic, Ive caught lots of barbel and big chub when wading in fast flows and I never use a landing net, for the barbel I just wade back to shallower water and unhook them in the water, to be honest Ive never even considered the strain on the rod tip !!
 
Cliff Turner said:
interesting topic, Ive caught lots of barbel and big chub when wading in fast flows and I never use a landing net, for the barbel I just wade back to shallower water and unhook them in the water, to be honest Ive never even considered the strain on the rod tip !!
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Yes I do it a lot myself with 15ft rods fish up to 6lb ish maybe 7 at a push just glide them to the hand. I find it a lot easier in deeper water personally. I’m always mindful of the rod tip and use a net if it’s a bit bigger

I wouldn’t do it with rods any longer than 15 though personally.
The strain on the tip increases dramatically as the rod gets longer at close range
 
Richard Isaacs said:
Yes I do it a lot myself with 15ft rods fish up to 6lb ish maybe 7 at a push just glide them to the hand. I find it a lot easier in deeper water personally. I’m always mindful of the rod tip and use a net if it’s a bit bigger

I wouldn’t do it with rods any longer than 15 though personally.
The strain on the tip increases dramatically as the rod gets longer at close range
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yes Im only using 15' rods in that situation.
 
I'm in a similar situation in a particular area, where I can beach the barbel in 8“ of water when possible, depending on how much I've bullied them. The odd one needs a net but have had a few over 14lb that I've unhooked in the water without the need for a net.
In a similar peg it's hit and hold with the 10ft hi s, but still beaching the barbel..
 
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