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Daiwa air Z ags 14ft float rod

E

Edward Gilbert

Member
Hi,
Hope you’re all well, I’m a long time watcher of the site and thought it’s about time I posted.

I’m after some opinions on what any owners think of the 14ft Daiwa Air z ags float rod.(the latter alps reel seat version).
It’s a lot of dough. Are they worth it and would it be suitable for barbel?

Thanks.
 
Looking at the Daiwa website it states suitable for 3-10lb lines which seems a very wide range. Also described as being for "Mainstream" float fishing and I don't really get what they mean by that. £699.99 is a heck of a lot of money too!

The weight is 220 grams which puts it about the same as the original Free Spirit 15ft Hi-S power float rod (new version comes in a bit lighter I believe). The Hi-S is considered by many to be the benchmark barbel float rod. I have one and it is certainly my "Go To" rod.

Out of curiosity I bought a Drennan Acolyte Specimen 15ft which is a nice rod with a bit more "tippy" action but I still prefer the Hi-S. Further curiosity has also resulted in me buying a Cadence CR10 14ft No4 which only arrived a couple of days ago and has yet to see the water. I weighed this on our electronic digital kitchen scales and it comes in at 205 grams versus the website specification given as 270 grams. This has been pointed out to Cadence and they are going to check and amend the website accordingly.

At the price of the Daiwa I would need a lot of convincing and would want to actually try it out with my choice of reel and preferably on the bank with a fish on the other end.
 
Edward Gilbert said:
Hi,
Hope you’re all well, I’m a long time watcher of the site and thought it’s about time I posted.

I’m after some opinions on what any owners think of the 14ft Daiwa Air z ags float rod.(the latter alps reel seat version).
It’s a lot of dough. Are they worth it and would it be suitable for barbel?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
if I was prepared to drop £700 on a rod Edward, i would not be making that decision based on anyone’s recommendation on a forum.
That would need to be picked up and closely inspected in a tackle shop. It would be absolutely madness to spend half that on a rod that you havent physically tried out.
 
Thank you for the reply John.
The cost is factor is putting me off. However, I’d happily save for it, off the back of good reports from any users.
It also seems hard to find these top end rods stocked at a tackle shop, to have a waggle in person, so to speak.
I do wonder why it’s priced so highly compared to the Drennan Acolyte equivalents.
Would the carbon/fittings they use be that much better quality.

Thanks.
 
Richard Isaacs said:
if I was prepared to drop £700 on a rod Edward, i would not be making that decision based on anyone’s recommendation on a forum.
That would need to be picked up and closely inspected in a tackle shop. It would be absolutely madness to spend half that on a rod that you havent physically tried out.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply, I do agree, it’s a big outlay to go off recommendations alone. That said I’ve made a few purchases off recommendations and have been pleased with the outcome. Ideally I wanted to build a picture to first weigh up whether or not it’s worth the cost / travel to a specialist match shop that might have a rod in stock.

Cheers.
 
Hi Edward
Welcome to the forum.
Just my opinion but as £700 is a serious amount of money to spend on a rod , why not consider getting one built to your exact requirements for probably half the price.
I’m sure other members could offer advice on rod makers depending where you live.
Good luck .
 
Kevin Webb said:
Hi Edward
Welcome to the forum.
Just my opinion but as £700 is a serious amount of money to spend on a rod , why not consider getting one built to your exact requirements for probably half the price.
I’m sure other members could offer advice on rod makers depending where you live.
Good luck .
Click to expand...
Thanks Kevin.
That’s a fair comment, I’ve got a few various custom Harrison rods for carp and specialist style fishing and really enjoy using them.
I’ve never really thought about one of their float rods before in all honesty. I’ll take a look.

I think Daiwa got a bite off me with their sales pitch and their history in producing rod blanks that and mentioning it’s their most advanced match rod yet.

I’ll save the pennies and take a look at them, hopefully in that time the price will come down.

Thanks fellas.
 
The issue with custom building float rods is the blank restriction.
You’ve literally got Harrison GTI (imo a very over weight and dated Rod) or the offerings from mark Tunley (specialist float, dark carbon, free spirit hi s newer version) Which you might find you like.
The other issue with uk custom building now is the recent closure of Hopkins (main uk supplier of rod building components including Fuji)
We are now very limited to our options and going to be more fixed with what builders can obtain. It’s almost not custom anymore unless they have other suppliers abroad.

Trotting for barbel with cash on the hip is not difficult though. The acolyte specimen float is what I’d recommend. @Ian Woods has proved this rod suitable time and time again with hundreds of barbel under his belt caught on this rod.

I’d go for that particularly if buying blind. It’s tried tested not overly expensive and available quickly and easily.
 
Richard Isaacs said:
The issue with custom building float rods is the blank restriction.
You’ve literally got Harrison GTI (imo a very over weight and dated Rod) or the offerings from mark Tunley (specialist float, dark carbon, free spirit hi s newer version) Which you might find you like.
The other issue with uk custom building now is the recent closure of Hopkins (main uk supplier of rod building components including Fuji)
We are now very limited to our options and going to be more fixed with what builders can obtain. It’s almost not custom anymore unless they have other suppliers abroad.

Trotting for barbel with cash on the hip is not difficult though. The acolyte specimen float is what I’d recommend. @Ian Woods has proved this rod suitable time and time again with hundreds of barbel under his belt caught on this rod.

I’d go for that particularly if buying blind. It’s tried tested not overly expensive and available quickly and easily.
Click to expand...
Very good advice.
 
Richard Isaacs said:
The issue with custom building float rods is the blank restriction.
You’ve literally got Harrison GTI (imo a very over weight and dated Rod) or the offerings from mark Tunley (specialist float, dark carbon, free spirit hi s newer version) Which you might find you like.
The other issue with uk custom building now is the recent closure of Hopkins (main uk supplier of rod building components including Fuji)
We are now very limited to our options and going to be more fixed with what builders can obtain. It’s almost not custom anymore unless they have other suppliers abroad.

Trotting for barbel with cash on the hip is not difficult though. The acolyte specimen float is what I’d recommend. @Ian Woods has proved this rod suitable time and time again with hundreds of barbel under his belt caught on this rod.

I’d go for that particularly if buying blind. It’s tried tested not overly expensive and available quickly and easily.
Click to expand...
Hi, appreciate the advice.
I’d more than likely go for the FS rod if I went down the custom route, I’ve got a few of the es carp rods and they must be going on 25 years old now, and they’re still going strong.

I’ll definitely take a look at the specimen acolyte, I’ve got an ultra and a plus version.
Whilst I like them, I broke the tip on the ultra and it’s put me off them a little. The specimen is probably a different animal altogether.

Thanks.
 
Edward Gilbert said:
Hi, appreciate the advice.
I’d more than likely go for the FS rod if I went down the custom route, I’ve got a few of the es carp rods and they must be going on 25 years old now, and they’re still going strong.

I’ll definitely take a look at the specimen acolyte, I’ve got an ultra and a plus version.
Whilst I like them, I broke the tip on the ultra and it’s put me off them a little. The specimen is probably a different animal altogether.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
Don’t let acolyte tip breakages put you off…did this myself once, completely my fault having it bent at an acute angle whilst unhooking a fish. I’d suggest most acolyte tip breaks are down to user error, they are very capable rods when treated sensibly, the whole range
 
Alan Palmer said:
Don’t let acolyte tip breakages put you off…did this myself once, completely my fault having it bent at an acute angle whilst unhooking a fish. I’d suggest most acolyte tip breaks are down to user error, they are very capable rods when treated sensibly, the whole range
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I’ll definitely check out the newer specimen range, looks like it’ll be decent for some tenching as well. Hopefully, there will be a few different length versions at the big one fishing show to look over.
My ultra snapped on the strike whilst trotting for small stuff. I can’t recall doing anything different with it to put it under pressure at a particular angle. The new tips been ok so far though, when I have used it.
Just one of those things I guess, not the first rod I’ve snapped and I doubt the last.

Completely going off topic, I wonder why Drennan haven’t released an acolyte twin tip rod like the old specialist duos or the series 7s. That would be an interesting rod.
 
Edward Gilbert said:
I’ll definitely check out the newer specimen range, looks like it’ll be decent for some tenching as well. Hopefully, there will be a few different length versions at the big one fishing show to look over.
My ultra snapped on the strike whilst trotting for small stuff. I can’t recall doing anything different with it to put it under pressure at a particular angle. The new tips been ok so far though, when I have used it.
Just one of those things I guess, not the first rod I’ve snapped and I doubt the last.

Completely going off topic, I wonder why Drennan haven’t released an acolyte twin tip rod like the old specialist duos or the series 7s. That would be an interesting rod.
Click to expand...
I get the feeling some twin tip rods only get used with one tip, usually the quiver section. I must have 5 such rods including a John Wilson rod that has 4 tip sections. This means the manufacturer is pricing the rod at a higher price than say a "Quiver rod" or "Avon Rod" that comes with just one tip section.

This is exactly what Drennan have done with their new Specialist Specimen and Specialist Quiver rods although these are not a premium range like the Acolytes.
 
As Others have said there isn't a rod 14ft and above worth a custom build. The off rhe shelves are; so good? I'd like to see the old 15 ft Free spirit mandrel used with the new carbon from the new range. I think they tried to make them too thin in the butt and middle and lost lost it.....
 
I have the 13ft version, here’s what I can tell you.
First, the blank is great, the tip is soft and lots of power in the butt to stop any barbel. Very responsive, pair with a pin, it’s a joy to cast with it.

It’s not a light rod, the 13ft is 200g, but all the weight is on the butt section, the first two sections have them same weight as the drennan acolyte specimen rod, so holding it all day is not a problem at all.

The guides are very light and smooth, but for whatever the reason, these are not stand off guides, I did think they sent me a feeder rod when I first saw the rod guides.

The reel seat is bit fancy for my like but top quality and comfortable to hold with, the handle is a bit thin for my like, but again top quality.

It’s no doubt the best off the shelf float rod you can find, but very expensive, and may not be everyone’s cup of tea, especially the guides. So if you can, try feel the rod before you make the decision.
 
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