• You need to be a registered member of Barbel Fishing World to post on these forums. Some of the forums are hidden from non-members. Please refer to the instructions on the ‘Register’ page for details of how to join the new incarnation of BFW...

lighter float rod

Cliff Turner

Cliff Turner

Senior Member & Supporter
what are the recommendations for a lighter float rod, say max line strength 6lb, for silvers and chub ? Id like a minimum 15' but might go as long as 16' or 17'. Contenders so far are the Acolyte Ultra 15', Acolyte 17' and Cadence 16' no. 1, was also looking for the Maver Signature Pro Classic in 16' but looks like its discontinued ? Appreciate to hear what you chaps are using ?
 
Yeah I would probably say the same as Paul. The Acolytes have your requirements covered perfectly and they are an exceptionally light, slim, blank with a beautiful action. Up to 6lb line your probably looking at the plus models to be honest.
They are perfectly fine with silvers as well as better fish.
 
I use a 16” cadence #2 for chub and summer barbel - lovely rod and was about £100 cheaper than a 17” Acolyte which for how often I use it made up my mind and got me a CS10 reel to go with it and some change
Fuji rings and reel seats and although a thicker blank , relatively light for a long rod
But I know people swear by the acolytes
 
Maver Signature Pro Classic is excellent, I use my 15ft version for everything from roach to barbel. Very light and progressive power down the blank.
 
Love my 13ft Acolyte Plus - a joy to play fish on and handles everything from silvers to lumps and weighs zip . . .just wish I'd bought the compact version . . .
 
A bit "off piste" but for lighter float work I use a Drennan IM8 Superstick which when launched in the 80's was a very expensive (£200) rod but can now be bought on ebay for a fraction of the cost and apart from the reel seat which reflects the time it was launched (can be replaced for a reasonable price) it is a fantastic rod ;)
 
Keith Humphreys said:
A bit "off piste" but for lighter float work I use a Drennan IM8 Superstick which when launched in the 80's was a very expensive (£200) rod but can now be bought on ebay for a fraction of the cost and apart from the reel seat which reflects the time it was launched (can be replaced for a reasonable price) it is a fantastic rod ;)
Click to expand...
Incidentally, I paid a mere £5 for mine a couple of years ago 🧐 😁
 
I owned a acrolyte plus but never used it on the rivers (15ft) I personally found it a bit under gunned that said in was catching carp. Into low double figures so probably not the tool for the job! I would say as a chub rod it'll do the job nicely.
That said as mentioned the diawa 15ft connoisseur I used for chub at the weekend dealt handsomely with them. Again harder to get hold of now. Let us know what you get either way. A few maver signature pros come up on ebay but usually smaller than your after.
 
Is this going to be a rod for stillwater waggler fishing, river trotting, or a bit of everything? When you say "lighter", do you mean the weight of the rod or the power/action?

You'll struggle to get a lighter weight rod than an Acolyte without a lot of effort and expense. The only rods I've come across that are significantly lighter are by Rive and very difficult to get hold of. I don't recall seeing a hint of them in 15'+.

The Maver Signature Pro Classic is slightly heavier than an Acolyte and well worth shortlisting. They are closer in power to the Acolyte Plus than the Ultra. The snag is that they are discontinued.

Similar story with the Browning Sphere Match rods. Lighter than the Acolytes in the same lengths, discontinued and only in 13/14'. However, if you want a rod purely for trotting, the Browning Sphere Spliced Tip River rods (13'6" or 15'6") are fantastic. I've used them for barbel down to gudgeon and all points between. It's not a rod to put 10lb mainline through though.

Amongst plenty of other float rods, I own and use Acolyte 17' Float, 15' Acolyte Ultra and Plus, Maver Signature Pro Classic 15' and the 15'6" Browning Sphere Spliced Tip River.
 
Chris Jones said:
Is this going to be a rod for stillwater waggler fishing, river trotting, or a bit of everything? When you say "lighter", do you mean the weight of the rod or the power/action?

You'll struggle to get a lighter weight rod than an Acolyte without a lot of effort and expense. The only rods I've come across that are significantly lighter are by Rive and very difficult to get hold of. I don't recall seeing a hint of them in 15'+.

The Maver Signature Pro Classic is slightly heavier than an Acolyte and well worth shortlisting. They are closer in power to the Acolyte Plus than the Ultra. The snag is that they are discontinued.

Similar story with the Browning Sphere Match rods. Lighter than the Acolytes in the same lengths, discontinued and only in 13/14'. However, if you want a rod purely for trotting, the Browning Sphere Spliced Tip River rods (13'6" or 15'6") are fantastic. I've used them for barbel down to gudgeon and all points between. It's not a rod to put 10lb mainline through though.

Amongst plenty of other float rods, I own and use Acolyte 17' Float, 15' Acolyte Ultra and Plus, Maver Signature Pro Classic 15' and the 15'6" Browning Sphere Spliced Tip River.
Click to expand...
Have you had a waggle with the current connoisseur range Chris at all. I’d quite like to know what the 14/15 ft version of that’s like for trotting for better fish
 
Graham Elliott said:
www.ebay.co.uk

Drennan Accolyte Float Rods 15ft Ultra And 15ft Plus Corse Fishing | eBay

<p dir="ltr" style="margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0;">Drennan Accolyte ultra 15ft new in bag </p> <br> <p dir="ltr" style="margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0;">Drennan Accolyte plus 15ft plus light use in superb condition no bag</p> <br> <p dir="ltr" style="margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0;">Preston...
www.ebay.co.uk

Get in quick!!!
Click to expand...
That’s some decent discount on the pair. Over 400 quid just in the rods 😎
 
Chris Jones said:
Is this going to be a rod for stillwater waggler fishing, river trotting, or a bit of everything? When you say "lighter", do you mean the weight of the rod or the power/action?

You'll struggle to get a lighter weight rod than an Acolyte without a lot of effort and expense. The only rods I've come across that are significantly lighter are by Rive and very difficult to get hold of. I don't recall seeing a hint of them in 15'+.

The Maver Signature Pro Classic is slightly heavier than an Acolyte and well worth shortlisting. They are closer in power to the Acolyte Plus than the Ultra. The snag is that they are discontinued.

Similar story with the Browning Sphere Match rods. Lighter than the Acolytes in the same lengths, discontinued and only in 13/14'. However, if you want a rod purely for trotting, the Browning Sphere Spliced Tip River rods (13'6" or 15'6") are fantastic. I've used them for barbel down to gudgeon and all points between. It's not a rod to put 10lb mainline through though.

Amongst plenty of other float rods, I own and use Acolyte 17' Float, 15' Acolyte Ultra and Plus, Maver Signature Pro Classic 15' and the 15'6" Browning Sphere Spliced Tip River.
Click to expand...
Thanks Chris, it’s definitely for trotting, not stillwater, and by lighter I meant rod power, more silvers and chub than barbel. How do you rate the Acolyte 17’ against the Browning Sphere ?
 
Richard Isaacs said:
Have you had a waggle with the current connoisseur range Chris at all. I’d quite like to know what the 14/15 ft version of that’s like for trotting for better fish
Click to expand...

Only a waggle. Like a few too many modern Daiwas, and a lot of specimen float rods, I felt it was a bit too flabby to be much fun when trotting. However, I can't deny that I've never used one in anger. However, the 14' waggler is listed as being 200g. The power 14'er is 205g, the 15' waggler is 215g, the power 15'er is 221g and the 17'er is 256g.

To give some perspective, my own Acolyte Float 17' has been weighed at 199g and I believe my scales are weighing slightly heavy. I've encountered heavier power type float rods than the current Connoisseurs, but they still wouldn't be for me. That's not to say that they don't have fantastic actions, but I couldn't say either way.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top