How many of you are waiting for this long float rod?

[Jon Frisby]

Paul My experience says the complete opposite.

I had a free spirit 17ft power float and yes it was not a bad rod till you hooked something then it did snap ….. twice right through the middle of the tip section and the shop that sold mine told me I wasn’t the only one to return a broken one

Maybe they got better…. In fairness I did buy mine very early after release.

However acolytes i couldn’t disagree more
I’ve owned 5 of them and used lots more from very early ones to relatively recent ones and never broke a single rod.
Granted they are not my favourite rods and I do use rods I consider to be better but I’ll never take it away from drennan that they built a good reliable blank

Yes I’m sure they’ll break if mistreated but I’d trust an acolyte blank over the recent free spirit blanks any day of the week.

If everyone remembers free spirit discontinued their Hi S power float and the reason given for this discontinuation was that the carbon cloth was way too expensive for them to produce and sell at their current prices
All of a sudden a brand new range with 3 new models appears on the shelves and they look and feel completely different.

Make of it what you will

Oooh....

 

[Richard Isaacs]

Oooh....

I think they sorted them out Jon to be fair
I bought probably one of the very first to make the shops and that was replaced with no quibbles for another very early which again broke and was refunded no quibbles in full.

Since then I know people that have bought them and had big fish no trouble on them .

They probably flogged me and afew other early customers the prototypes

I think Chris has had afew nice tench on his no issues at all and he bought it quite a bit after me.

 

[Alec Hague]

I think they sorted them out Jon to be fair
I bought probably one of the very first to make the shops and that was replaced with no quibbles for another very early which again broke and was refunded no quibbles in full.

Since then I know people that have bought them and had big fish no trouble on them .

They probably flogged me and afew other early customers the prototypes

I think Chris has had afew nice tench on his no issues at all and he bought it quite a bit after me.

Smart tackle sent me a flyer for normark release this morning.First I have seen.

 

[Chris Jones]

I don't tend to tangle with barbel very often these days. Decent tench and grayling are my usual quarry for them, along with the occasional bream and carp. However, I've now put some much bigger bends in the 17'er. The rod will handle double figure barbel quite nicely. Just don't forget your 3.5m+ landing net handle.

 

[Luke Farren]

I had a waggle of the 17ft Accy Specimen the other day and I was impressed. Only the extra leverage in comparison to the 15ft version makes it feel slightly disappointing, but it's always gonna be so as the 15ft just feels so good. Balance wise they've done really well again, it feels good for a rod of it's size there's no doubt about that. The action is a little more 'through' than the 15ft I reckon and it feels more like it'd be sporting for silvers than the 15ft, yet there was definitely a lot of backbone there. I'm not convinced of a 17ft for barbel, what's marginally gained in float control will be severely compromised when it matters most, those final big lunges close in. That said, I would consider it for casting big bolos when roach fishing, it's a well balanced, light and crisp rod. I'd like to try it next to the 'normal' 17ft Acolyte.

 

[Richard Isaacs]

I don't tend to tangle with barbel very often these days. Decent tench and grayling are my usual quarry for them, along with the occasional bream and carp. However, I've now put some much bigger bends in the 17'er. The rod will handle double figure barbel quite nicely. Just don't forget your 3.5m+ landing net handle.

The original 17 has an action that differs from other float rods but despite this I’m actually a fan of it.
It sounds like you have given the new more powerful version some serious stick and are probably the best man currently to ask….. have they retained the original action while beefing the rod up for heavier lines or is it a completely different rod altogether?

 

[Chris Jones]

have they retained the original action while beefing the rod up for heavier lines or is it a completely different rod altogether?

I had a good idea of what to expect before the 17' Acolyte Specimen hit the shops. This time around, I consider the 17' rod to be simply a longer version of it's shorter siblings.

The 17' Acolyte Float remains a singular outlier amongst the Acolyte Float rods. The action of it is completely different to all the rest.

 

[Chris Jones]

 

[Richard Isaacs]

I had a good idea of what to expect before the 17' Acolyte Specimen hit the shops. This time around, I consider the 17' rod to be simply a longer version of it's shorter siblings.

The 17' Acolyte Float remains a singular outlier amongst the Acolyte Float rods. The action of it is completely different to all the rest.

Right ok. I did half expect it to just continue through with the rest of the range and just be another 2 ft longer. That confirms it then.

Yes I’m a fan of the original it’s a very unique deceptive rod with very much hidden capabilities.

View attachment 35970

Day ticket fiskerton??
How’d it fish?
I’ve struggled on the higher up sections to get much out worth a mention to be honest. It desperately needs a drop of water then hopefully it will pick up.