Drennan Acolyte Specimen Rod

[Alan Rose]

Hello chaps

I know there’s a thread or two that has discussed the above rods (weights, measures, first cousins etc) but I thought I’d post a brief review as a user this season so far.

In short, it’s brilliant. I have the 13’ model and it is light and brilliantly balanced—as you’d expect an Acolyte to be—and is a match made in heaven with my Triton centrepin.

This morning I caught barbel and chub with it in fast, shallow water. It will do “Hit and Hold” and it even coped with a barbel that had managed to wrap the line around itself (not fun getting it to the net as it sat there stubbornly, horizontal to the current!)

This evening the same set up was used to catch small dace, roach, chublets and gudgeon with a light stick float.

So it will do basically anything you want it to do (obviously with the caveat that this is the 13’ model I’m talking about). I should say I’ve not tried fishing a waggler with it and probably should for thoroughness. 98.5% of my fishing is top and bottom floats with centrepins, and it passes that test with flying colours.

So…

Is it light? Yes.
Is it strong? Very.
Is it stiff? Yup.
Does it have a fast tip? Yes.
Does it break on first use? Oh come on!!

If you’ve been on the fence about buying one, then jump off quick and raid your piggy bank.

 

[Barry Peck]

Thanks for the review Alan .. I've yet to use mine . I've got the 15ft version

 

[John Newman]

I have the 15ft Acolyte Specimen and I am a bit mixed with my views. This may be due to the fact my "go to" rod is a Free Spirit Hi-S Power Float rod also at 15ft (original version not the current model)

The Acolyte has a faster tip which is great when casting lighter floats but as my barbel fishing is mostly done with 8 gram floats this is not so much of an issue. Line pick up is better I would say especially when windy.

I almost find the lightness of the Acolyte a problem because in the back of my mind I wonder how much pressure I can apply when needed. I know what the Hi-S is capable of and perhaps I need to use the Drennan more to assess its full capabilities. As expected from Drennan the finish is very good and I like the screw down vs. screw up reel fitting and I notice the latest Hi-S has adopted a screw up fitting. With the Free Spirit being £425 and some reviewers commenting it is not as good as the original the Drennan looks like a good buy.

Over the winter I used the Acolyte for trotting for chub and it coped admirably but having said that I was possibly overgunned and an Acolyte Plus would have given a better experience.

 

[Paul Richardson]

I have the 14’ and have had both barbel and chub to 5-12 on a DH speci waggler
Might sound a bit daft but as soon as I’m into the fish it reminds me very much of my lighter 1.25 Torrix rods
I love it

 

[Richard Isaacs]

I have the 15ft Acolyte Specimen and I am a bit mixed with my views. This may be due to the fact my "go to" rod is a Free Spirit Hi-S Power Float rod also at 15ft (original version not the current model)

The Acolyte has a faster tip which is great when casting lighter floats but as my barbel fishing is mostly done with 8 gram floats this is not so much of an issue. Line pick up is better I would say especially when windy.

I almost find the lightness of the Acolyte a problem because in the back of my mind I wonder how much pressure I can apply when needed. I know what the Hi-S is capable of and perhaps I need to use the Drennan more to assess its full capabilities. As expected from Drennan the finish is very good and I like the screw down vs. screw up reel fitting and I notice the latest Hi-S has adopted a screw up fitting. With the Free Spirit being £425 and some reviewers commenting it is not as good as the original the Drennan looks like a good buy.

Over the winter I used the Acolyte for trotting for chub and it coped admirably but having said that I was possibly overgunned and an Acolyte Plus would have given a better experience.

Yeah I wasn’t a big fan of it myself when you bought it chubbing but that wasn’t a fault with the rod at all, it was only because it felt too brutal and almost unsporting for what were essentially 2-5lb winter fish. My hi S rod (exactly same as yours) would have received the exact same complaints if I took that winter chubbing as well.

It’s definitely a cracking float rod suitable for big powerful fish and if it behaves anything like that TSI does taming a double then it’s going to be brilliant.

Personally as good as they all are i cannot stop my self reaching for the HiS 15’ power (original version).

There’s something about that rod that for me and I’m guessing for John too that makes it better…. Don’t ask me why or what because perhaps on paper it shouldn’t be but on the river doubled over into something that isn’t stopping for nothing, that’s the rod I want to be using to try and stop it.

I would like to try that acolyte of yours again John. Maybe next time we go barbel fishing I’ll have a trot and get a better idea of how similar to the tsi it really is.

 

[Barry Peck]

I had the original Acolyte at 15ft and Feeder rod . I sold them as in my opinion they were far too soft . I bought them specifically for chub fishing and found that when a chub typically went for the margins and under my feet they were spineless ..

 

[Alan Rose]

I almost find the lightness of the Acolyte a problem because in the back of my mind I wonder how much pressure I can apply when needed

You’d have to go some to bottom out the 13’er.

 

[Kevin Steele]

I almost find the lightness of the Acolyte a problem because in the back of my mind I wonder how much pressure I can apply when needed.

I've had accidental pike and carp into mid-double figures on my 14ft Acolyte Plus, without much fuss, so I wouldn't worry about it... literally 'I' wouldn't worry, as I've just ordered the 14ft Specimen.
.

 

[Kevin Siddle]

I have the 15ft specimen and have had carp to 16lb on the float from a snaggy pond and been very impressed with the power. By the same token perch to about 2lb are still pleasurable though the rods power is very evident. I have a 14ft acolyte plus which I look forward to using for chubbing.

 

[Kevin Steele]

Maiden outing for mine (14ft) today on the Avon and first time trotting in any serious flow. Got a 5lb chub second cast, followed by half a dozen smaller ones. Very hot, difficult fishing, but it was good to get a feel for the rod with a decent fish on it. Does what it says on the tin - a stepped up Acolyte Plus - still pleasant enough for 1-2lb fish.

If I'm being honest, I need to land a sizeable barbel to really appreciate it, otherwise I dare say my 14ft Plus would cover 90% of my float fishing. But I knew this before I bought it.
.

 

[Jonathan cooper]

Hello chaps

I know there’s a thread or two that has discussed the above rods (weights, measures, first cousins etc) but I thought I’d post a brief review as a user this season so far.

In short, it’s brilliant. I have the 13’ model and it is light and brilliantly balanced—as you’d expect an Acolyte to be—and is a match made in heaven with my Triton centrepin.

This morning I caught barbel and chub with it in fast, shallow water. It will do “Hit and Hold” and it even coped with a barbel that had managed to wrap the line around itself (not fun getting it to the net as it sat there stubbornly, horizontal to the current!)

View attachment 30915

This evening the same set up was used to catch small dace, roach, chublets and gudgeon with a light stick float.

View attachment 30916View attachment 30917View attachment 30918

So it will do basically anything you want it to do (obviously with the caveat that this is the 13’ model I’m talking about). I should say I’ve not tried fishing a waggler with it and probably should for thoroughness. 98.5% of my fishing is top and bottom floats with centrepins, and it passes that test with flying colours.

So…

Is it light? Yes.
Is it strong? Very.
Is it stiff? Yup.
Does it have a fast tip? Yes.
Does it break on first use? Oh come on!!

If you’ve been on the fence about buying one, then jump off quick and raid your piggy bank.

Hi Alan,
I'm wondering if you (or anyone else on this thread) have any direct experience of the Specimen float versus the Acolyte Plus? I'm specifically targetting chub and barbel on larger rivers such as the Wye and Severn. I have a 13ft Plus which is a beautiful rod and delight to use but definitely undergunned for larger barbel in strong flow (as has been highlighted many times elsewhere on this forum). I plan to either upgrade this rod to a 14/15ft Specimen Float or look at other options but I don't want to upgrade to the Specimen if the step up from the Plus is marginal.
thanks, Jonathan

 

[Ian Woods]

I've been using the plus specifically for barbel and chub for years and found it to be great.
I have been using the specimen model since it was released and it is a more powerful rod. You can definatley put more pressure on a fish with the specimen rod. I posted on the chasing chub thread about using the specimen float rod when I got it, maybe that's worth you having a look at before you buy one?

 

[Kevin Steele]

I posted on the chasing chub thread about using the specimen float rod when I got it, maybe that's worth you having a look at before you buy one?

JC, I'll second that. Ian gave me valuable advice, not least in terms of the comparison with the Plus (that I already had), before I bought my Specimen. With that and other comments I found online, I concluded that I didn't 'need need need' the Specimen, but was prepared to buy it anyway, with my eyes wide open.

I do like Acolyte's though - and if they did a 1.75lb barbel version I wouldn't have bought a Free Spirit, with it's skinny handle and irritating up-locking reel seat.
.

 

[Richard Isaacs]

The sad thing is we’ve only really got the acolyte now as a viable true specialist float rod. Unless you can find your other desires second hand there’s not much else that’s decent.

 

[Kevin Steele]

I was looking at a video the other day, of a chap promoting a JW Young centrepin - the £460.00 Triton. He had it on a Korum Glide. Make what you will of that.
.

 

[Richard Isaacs]

I was looking at a video the other day, of a chap promoting a JW Young centrepin - the £460.00 Triton. He had it on a Korum Glide. Make what you will of that.
.

At 12ft it’s a manageable rod and I’d have no real issues using it if I was ever to get excited about 12ft rods but at 14ft it’s pretty awful imo. Very nose heavy. It’s a strong rod but it’s not a particularly nice one to hold and trot floats with. I’ve paid a lot less for better second hand ones.

 

[Tom Casey]

Anyone tried a Diawa Powermesh Specialist float rod ? It's line rated to 10 lb .

 

[Richard Isaacs]

Anyone tried a Diawa Powermesh Specialist float rod ? It's line rated to 10 lb .

That’s the Rod Andrew’s knots fella uses when trotting for barbel in 15ft.
I would imagine it’s a beast to be rated to 10lb line. Never used one. They seem to be pretty thin on the ground

 

[Jonathan cooper]

I've been using the plus specifically for barbel and chub for years and found it to be great.
I have been using the specimen model since it was released and it is a more powerful rod. You can definatley put more pressure on a fish with the specimen rod. I posted on the chasing chub thread about using the specimen float rod when I got it, maybe that's worth you having a look at before you buy one?

Ian, thanks for the steer to the other thread, very useful.

Can I ask what line strength you are using with your Plus, and Specimen?

I've been using the plus specifically for barbel and chub for years and found it to be great.
I have been using the specimen model since it was released and it is a more powerful rod. You can definatley put more pressure on a fish with the specimen rod. I posted on the chasing chub thread about using the specimen float rod when I got it, maybe that's worth you having a look at before you buy one?

 

[Kevin Siddle]

Gave my specimen a workout yesterday, 7 barbel including a double from a pacey swim. I did lose a very big fish after a 25 minute battle, I saw the tail only and it was huge. To be honest having gone all over the river it eventually sat down stream of me and I just could not budge it, simple physics I guess large mass in heavy flow against a 15ft float rod. I dont know that any rod of that length would have shifted it. What I did learn is that the rod is powerful, will bend through to the butt and stay there without locking up, everything has it limits and finally that my age has caught up with me more than I thought!
I’m not likely to encounter this situation on a regular basis if ever again so am not looking for an alternative rod and to be quite honest dont know if there is a float rod that would have performed any better prior to my 8lb hook length going two inches above the hook.