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New Drennan Acolyte

Here's one for the insomniacs. It may give some insight as to what's been beefed up, and where, on each rod.

13' Acolyte Ultra ------ 146g (Butt = 113g, Mid = 24g, Tip = 9g)

13' Acolyte Plus ------- 150g (Butt = 115g, Mid = 25g, Tip = 10g)

13' Acolyte Specimen - 168g (Butt = 129g, Mid = 30g, Tip = 9g)

The the ringing seems to be essentially the same through all three variants. The tips being so similar in weight through the range surprised me a little. I've not tried swapping bits around as I'm wary of mixing them up. However, I seem to recall trying to swap tips between Ultra and Plus and finding that they didn't fit, not even badly.

I used the Specimen for sub 2lb grayling in heavy water yesterday. Sixteen grayling and a trout in just over two hours didn't complain about the rod being too powerful. The trout was foul hooked in the pec so I was quite grateful to have some extra grunt available to me. It did a lot of going sideways across the flow and left me struggling to gain line at times. It wouldn't have been much fun on a lighter (actioned) rod.
 
Chris Jones said:
Here's one for the insomniacs. It may give some insight as to what's been beefed up, and where, on each rod.

13' Acolyte Ultra ------ 146g (Butt = 113g, Mid = 24g, Tip = 9g)

13' Acolyte Plus ------- 150g (Butt = 115g, Mid = 25g, Tip = 10g)

13' Acolyte Specimen - 168g (Butt = 129g, Mid = 30g, Tip = 9g)

The the ringing seems to be essentially the same through all three variants. The tips being so similar in weight through the range surprised me a little. I've not tried swapping bits around as I'm wary of mixing them up. However, I seem to recall trying to swap tips between Ultra and Plus and finding that they didn't fit, not even badly.

I used the Specimen for sub 2lb grayling in heavy water yesterday. Sixteen grayling and a trout in just over two hours didn't complain about the rod being too powerful. The trout was foul hooked in the pec so I was quite grateful to have some extra grunt available to me. It did a lot of going sideways across the flow and left me struggling to gain line at times. It wouldn't have been much fun on a lighter (actioned) rod.
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How does it fair against the new hi s rods Chris. Is it similar in action or a completely different thing altogether
 
Ian Woods said:
Ok....Damian, an ultra isn't a good choice to float fish for barbel, or even chub in most waters. You couldn't stop either of them from getting into snags in the majority of situations.
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You would also be playing a good sized barbel to near exhaustion… that would be a barrel of laughs in the summer….not
 
Richard Isaacs said:
How does it fair against the new hi s rods Chris. Is it similar in action or a completely different thing altogether
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I don't have a 13' Hi-S for a direct comparison. However, compared to the 15' Hi-S, there's a bit more rigidity in the mid section of the Acolyte.

The Acolyte Specimen is closer to what I like to see in a trotting rod. Hi-S are more my idea of a stillwater waggler rod.
 
Chris Jones said:
Here's one for the insomniacs. It may give some insight as to what's been beefed up, and where, on each rod.

13' Acolyte Ultra ------ 146g (Butt = 113g, Mid = 24g, Tip = 9g)

13' Acolyte Plus ------- 150g (Butt = 115g, Mid = 25g, Tip = 10g)

13' Acolyte Specimen - 168g (Butt = 129g, Mid = 30g, Tip = 9g)

The the ringing seems to be essentially the same through all three variants. The tips being so similar in weight through the range surprised me a little. I've not tried swapping bits around as I'm wary of mixing them up. However, I seem to recall trying to swap tips between Ultra and Plus and finding that they didn't fit, not even badly.

I used the Specimen for sub 2lb grayling in heavy water yesterday. Sixteen grayling and a trout in just over two hours didn't complain about the rod being too powerful. The trout was foul hooked in the pec so I was quite grateful to have some extra grunt available to me. It did a lot of going sideways across the flow and left me struggling to gain line at times. It wouldn't have been much fun on a lighter (actioned) rod.
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You prompted me to be a geek also Chris 😉.

I don't have any ultras but weighed the plus and the specimen rod.

Speccy was exactly the same as your one ....

tip 9g
Mid 30g
Butt 129g

The plus rod was a little different

Tip 9g
Mid 27g
Butt 117g
 
If you guys have nothing better to do over Christmas, could you weight the 14ft Acolyte Plus? I don't have any scales. 🤪
 
Kevin Steele said:
I wonder if Peter Drennan knows this? No need to make 14ft rods... could save a small fortune. I'll let him know it was your idea. 😂 😂😂

Merry Christmas everyone.
.
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I sold the only other 14ft float rod I own now. I’ve got a normark avenger that I completely rebuilt and changed and modified and I made a 1ft extension for it to take it to 14 if needed but that’s it. I’ve never found myself needing that length. 13 yes on small rivers or trotting under the rod tip or 15 plus if I want control and have the space to do so.
Tbh I don’t use 13 much. I like long float rods. They just offer the float control I want. 14 to me has always been a bit of a compromise size. Too much or not enough
 
Funny old game this.
I've now reduced my lot to 1 x 13ft and 4 x 14ft.

I just like the control on the rivers I fish, some like the Wye or Taff I'll trot down 50 yards.

I'm also happier to net fish with a 14 or 13 if standing in the water, maybe the extra foot of a 15 and my height mean I have to take the rod past the upright to net on a 15. It just seems more uncomfortable for some reason.
 
Graham Elliott said:
Funny old game this.
I've now reduced my lot to 1 x 13ft and 4 x 14ft.

I just like the control on the rivers I fish, some like the Wye or Taff I'll trot down 50 yards.

I'm also happier to net fish with a 14 or 13 if standing in the water, maybe the extra foot of a 15 and my height mean I have to take the rod past the upright to net on a 15. It just seems more uncomfortable for some reason.
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Are they the im9’s Graham
 
Ive got 2 x 13', 1 x 14' and 3 x 15' plus an Acolyte 17'. Like them all in different situations but if I had to pick one length only I'd probably go with the 15's or the 13s. But I don't have to choose so its good to have them all !
 
The bulk of my float rods are 13' and 15'. I also have a smattering of 11' and 17' rods. I do have the odd 14'er, but that is invariably because there was no 15'er in the range. For no particular reason, I do not own a single 12' float rod.

I won't use longer than 13' when wading (save for a solitary 13'6" oddity. I'll happily use an 11'er when I can. Long rods are rarely a requirement in water that it's sensible to wade in. Rods of 15'+ ideally need longer than average landing net handles to be used comfortably and long landing net handles are a pain to use when wading.

I use 15'+ rods for fishing from the bank where I have room to and when necessary. I use scoop nets or short handled wading/folding nets when wading. That means that 14'+ rods are too long to use comfortably. That's pretty much why I don't bother with 14' rods, they fall between two stools in my fishing. 14' is a good length for stillwater slider fishing, but I rarely do any of that.
 
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