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New Drennan float rods

I have an Acolyte 15ft Plus, which I use for Perch fishing on the rivers. I‘ve had accidental Barbel captures on it to 9.8lb and it dealt with them comfortably. I therefore won’t be rushing out to buy a 15ft Acolyte Specimen Float 🙂

When the float rod is too powerful, the Barbel fight hard, when it’s a softer action, they tend to plod around IMHO.
 
Neil Blood said:
When the float rod is too powerful, the Barbel fight hard, when it’s a softer action, they tend to plod around IMHO
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I think that’s correct to some extent. I’ve caught barbel with a 15’ Maver Sig Pro where it took ages to coax it off the bottom, and I’ve caught them with a 17’ Acolyte where it’s been done and dusted reasonably quickly. I’ve got a *new proper power float rod incoming so I’ll hopefully be able to test your theory out! Sheer hell is a 6-7lb fish foul hooked in the base of a pectoral fin in a fast flow on whatever rod!!

* not a new Acolyte
 
Joe Winstanley said:
The point I was trying to make, is what do they mean by 7lb? Take Drennan Specimen Camo XT in 6lb...it breaks at just over 8.5lb. Same with Daiwa sensor in 6lb. Yet Guru PP in 6.1lb breaks at 6.4lb. It would be maybe more helpful if, in the case on mono, just quoted diameters?
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Off subject, but that Drennan Camo XT line is just ace. I use it in 6lb to 8lb for Chub/Perch tip work and I have it on my pins, for close in Barbel work, in 15lb BS. It’s quite low diameter too 👍🏻
 
For what it's worth, I was once feeder fishing for Chub on the River Mole Dorking way on a flooded river. I was using my drennan 11ft 6"-13ft combo medium feeder rod, 4lb Gardner hydrflo reel line, size 16 hook and landed a 11.5 lb barbel.
I had submerged trees downstream of me, but I just allowed the fish to plod about under my bank for a while, I didn't bully it or try to exert a lot of pressure on the fish, & therefore it behaved itself, landed safely on light line.

I wouldn't set out to fish for barbel like my experience above, but it shows what our modern lines are capable of doing.

I seem to recall Keith Speer landing a 17lb barbel on light line float fishing tactics & by design.
 
Had a reply from Drennan about the weights of the new Acolyte Specimen rods if anyone interested:

Hi Alan,

We're still getting a few of the finer details on the website as these were a last minute addition to the November launch so will be added shortly.

13' Approx. weight 168g
14' Approx. weight 172g
15' Approx. weight 184g

Make of that what you will.

Al
 
The 13ft plus is stated to weigh 150 grames on the drennan webpage, my own 13 foot plus's weigh around the 150, and maybe a grame or so more.
So if the 13ft specimen accy is only 168 grms that sounds excellent to me.
I might go and order one tomorrow, lifes to short ot um and arr 😉.
 
Ian Woods said:
The 13ft plus is stated to weigh 150 grames on the drennan webpage, my own 13 foot plus's weigh around the 150, and maybe a grame or so more.
So if the 13ft specimen accy is only 168 grms that sounds excellent to me.
I might go and order one tomorrow, lifes to short ot um and arr 😉.
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Go for it mate, I look forward to hearing your reviews 👍🏻
 
Alan Rose said:
Had a reply from Drennan about the weights of the new Acolyte Specimen rods if anyone interested:

13' Approx. weight 168g

15' Approx. weight 184g
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For comparison. Ranked in weight order. The number in brackets indicates my idea of their power ranking.
13' Browning Sphere Match - 144g (2/3)
13' Acolyte Ultra - 146g (1)
13' Acolyte Plus - 151g (2/3)
13' FS Specialist Advanced Power Float 1lb 6oz - 227g (5) Because it's way more powerful than the rest!

15' Acolyte Ultra - 168g (1)
15' Acolyte Plus - 168g (2)
15' FS Hi-S Power Float - 178g (3/4)
15' Garbolino Altima Match Power Specimen - 209g (3/4)
15' Shimano Aerocast Specimen Match - 277g (5)

Until we get to see the Acolyte Specimen Float rods and gauge their power for ourselves, the weight figures don't mean much. If they are just a touch more powerful than an Acolyte Plus, they may be a bit portly. If they are more powerful than the Freespirit Hi-S rods, they could easily be considered to be very light. Time will tell.
 
Chris Jones said:
For comparison. Ranked in weight order. The number in brackets indicates my idea of their power ranking.
13' Browning Sphere Match - 144g (2/3)
13' Acolyte Ultra - 146g (1)
13' Acolyte Plus - 151g (2/3)
13' FS Specialist Advanced Power Float 1lb 6oz - 227g (5) Because it's way more powerful than the rest!

15' Acolyte Ultra - 168g (1)
15' Acolyte Plus - 168g (2)
15' FS Hi-S Power Float - 178g (3/4)
15' Garbolino Altima Match Power Specimen - 209g (3/4)
15' Shimano Aerocast Specimen Match - 277g (5)

Until we get to see the Acolyte Specimen Float rods and gauge their power for ourselves, the weight figures don't mean much. If they are just a touch more powerful than an Acolyte Plus, they may be a bit portly. If they are more powerful than the Freespirit Hi-S rods, they could easily be considered to be very light. Time will tell.
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Christ that aerocast is a lump.
I can add afew more to this for people to gage to in terms of weight and power.

I’d consider all these to be all stepped up rods and capable of landing big fish.



Daiwa spectron xp 14f 221g (4/5)
Free spirit (original) hi s power 15ft 213g (4/5)
Normarks avenger 2000 13ft 175g (2/3)
Normark avenger 3000 13ft 175g (3)
Maver nembo 14ft power 221g (5)
TFG TSI 15ft power 186g (5)

Edit I agree accy plus 15 a solid (2)
 
Richard Isaacs said:
Christ that aerocast is a lump.
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Yes, it's a rod to sit on rests.

Richard Isaacs said:
Daiwa spectron xp 14f 221g (4/5)
Free spirit (original) hi s power 15ft 213g (4/5)
Normarks avenger 2000 13ft 175g (2/3)
Normark avenger 3000 13ft 175g (3)
Maver nembo 14ft power 221g (5)
TFG TSI 15ft power 186g (5)

Edit I agree accy plus 15 a solid (2)
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I think you've got the wrong end of the stick regarding the power rankings I gave my rods. they were only relative to the other rods of the same length I listed. The five for the Freespirit was a joke purely because it's so damned powerful that giving it a four (i.e. the most powerful of the four 13' rods I listed) might make it seem much less powerful than it actually is. It's way more powerful than any other float rod I've had my sticky mitts on. Even if the new Acolyte Specimen Float is quite a bit more powerful than I'm expecting it to be, I still very much doubt it'll come close to that beast of a Freespirit. The Hi-S are also nowhere near it.
 
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Just weighed a Titan 2000 at 170g then I weighed a wye button off an avenger I’m currently rebuilding

Puts things into perspective really
Normarks are incredibly light rods
IMG_2557.jpeg
 
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