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Which Acolyte rod

W

Wayne Williams

Senior Member
Hello,
I’m after some advice regarding buying one of the above, to be used for float and light ledgering on a small still water and also on small rivers, please.

Thanks for reading.
 
Acolyte ultra...very delicate suited for silver fish
Acolyte Plus bit beefier would handle decent chub tench etc
Acolyte specimen.....another step up ...hope this helps a bit....others may have their thoughts
 
If you literally mean one rod for both float and light ledgering then there isn't an Acolyte that meets your needs. Not sure there is any single rod to meet those needs (unless someone can talk you into a Drennan Twin Tip Duo, but I wouldn't... or rather, I've had one and didn't keep it for very long).

If it's two rods for smaller waters (and you have £450.00 to spend), I'd go for a 13ft Acolyte Plus float rod and an 11ft Acolyte Plus feeder. Both have plenty of 'feel' for tiddlers, but are robust enough to land the occasional double.

If your budget is based on the price of one Acolyte, the world is still your oyster, but you'll get so many different recommendations you won't know where to start. If that is the case and it was me, I'd spend decent money on the rod I'd use most and less on the other... possibly with a view to a future upgrade.

I don't suppose that helps. :)
.
 
If I were to have one float rod, I'd choose the Acolyte Specimen in the 15ft. I end up using it most of the time these days and I haven't fished for barbel with it yet. It suits my style of fishing - trotting, casting big floats and 5-10g olivettes about, it feels crisp in hand and nicely sets the hook at range. It has a fair bit of poke for when fish get in the fast flow yet has a soft tip. Ideal for grayling, chub and decent roach on the Hampshire rivers. It never feels over gunned but is tippy/progressive in the action.

I'm even thinking of getting another and releasing some of my other rods. As for light ledgering on small rivers, I wouldn't use an acolyte as they're designed for commercials. If it's roach/chub you're after, on rivers better to get something which has a tip with a much slower action, my favourites being the old Drennan Medium Feeder rod and a Tricast Trophy, much older rods that are a lot cheaper as they're secondhand and IMO better. I'm not much of a stillwater fisherman but don't really see the merits of a fast carbon quiver tip on a stillwater (all Acolytes have carbon tips) either.
 
Obviously the float rods are for float fishing, but you can use them for light legering of you want to.

Very often if nothing has obliged whilst float fishing I have removed the float and added a link leger which has produced fish right away.

I have used the plus models for that purpose, but you could use the slightly more powerful specimen model if you want a bit more power.

I would look past the ultra as its the least powerful of them and will be somewhat delicate.
 
Wayne, Kevin is exactly right, a float rod and a bomb/feeder rod are not going to be very useful doing alternative tasks. You’ll need one of each or stick to 1 discipline.

To make a viable recommendation on the model it would help if you shared afew details.
To start with …… float or ledger
Then things like the fish you intend to target, casting weight/distance and depth range which would play a major part in the rod length if you intend to waggler fish.

I don’t think anyone could make any sensible suggestions based on your entry post. Just too many questions left hanging
 
I am going to disagree with folk on here. There are rods that will move between the two disciplines.
 
Hi Wayne, dispite the accolyte range of rods not having a rod to suit your needs , float and tip work.
And also some will say there is no rod suitable for both traits.
The Harrison chemers no1 would suit your needs adequately.
Ok it's a light ledger rod. But also kends itself beautifully for float work.
Hope you get what you are looking for 👌
 
Especially if you're learning how to trot , ok they are only 12ft max but a good starting point, if you could source a second hand one , I guarantee it will be part of your armoury longer than most rods. The chimera no1.
A joy to use!
 
Damian Kimmins said:
I am going to disagree with folk on here. There are rods that will move between the two disciplines.
Click to expand...
I wouldn’t want to float fish with anything other than a proper float rod.
I’ve done it with through actioned Avon rods and specialist type rods and I’ll be brutally honest I find it quite an unpleasant experience.

The tips are too stiff, the action way too through, guides are too big in diameter, far too far apart for any decent trot or cast and in general they are just too heavy.

I don’t know of a rod that does both disciplines well. I certainly wouldn’t cast out a lead with any of my float rods ………not a chance.
 
Hi Wayne,
You could even talk to Mark Tunley , or Graham Cooper at buzzard rods , as they both advocate the chimera no 1 for both float and feeder tactics.
They could build for your specific needs .
After all they are the professionals and know more than most .
 
I tried using a number of avon style rods for trotting a float and they all felt awful, soft in the mid and bottom sections so slow when striking and horrrible to mend line.
I eventually dropped on the hardy marksman specialist and the marksman supero 11ft avon rods. These rods proved to be (for me) really good to trot a float, mend the line and strike into fish at ranges of up to 70yds or more if necessary.
They are equally good to leger with and have proven to be a excellent rod to use when I swap and change between trotting a float and then fishing a static bait.
 
Jim Gregory said:
Especially if you're learning how to trot , ok they are only 12ft max but a good starting point, if you could source a second hand one , I guarantee it will be part of your armoury longer than most rods. The chimera no1.
A joy to use!
Click to expand...
I’m on the total opposite side of the fence on that one Jim. I had a chimera 1 for a long time (peregrine GTX 1lb 8oz) and as lovely as it was for light lead work, the action of that rod would probably be the very last action type i would want to trot with. It was just so through actioned and slow tapered.
 
Kev Baines 3 piece Specialist would be another fine rod to use in both situations. Plays just like a softer actioned Torrix.
 
I wouldn’t use any acolyte float rods for ledgering as they are too delicate for leads, even the specimen. Link ledgering is fine, but I don’t think that’s the method you want to use?

I also wouldn’t use chimera no1 or MT’s float rods, way too strong imo, unless you are targeting big fish.

There are rods perform well for both tasks, my favourite is hardy marksman avon rod, brilliant float rods but equally brilliant for ledgering. A cheap option would be Korum allrounder rod, does both job well.
 
Richard Isaacs said:
I’m on the total opposite side of the fence on that one Jim. I had a chimera 1 for a long time (peregrine GTX 1lb 8oz) and as lovely as it was for light lead work, the action of that rod would probably be the very last action type i would want to trot with. It was just so through actioned and slow tapered.
Click to expand...
I even sometimes use my chimera 1.25 Avon for short range float work 10m runs. And it copes admirabley.
 
Damian Kimmins said:
Mark Tunley 1.75tc float rod
Click to expand...

That's for big chub and barbel. Totally inappropriate for what OP describes.

Wayne Williams said:
The still waters I intend to fish range from 1 - 5 acres, probably with the float , one particular club has a stretch of a small river which I was hoping to learn how to trott.

Cheers.
Click to expand...

It seems like a float rod will see most use to begin with. So I would start with a nice 13ft float rod by Drennan, Daiwa or Shimano (all have rods that won't break the bank, unlike some of the suggestions above). And spend about £75.00 on a 'medium' feeder rod that will cast up to about 45 grams, possibly a used one.
.
 
I may have missed it, but I did not see a budget and many of the suggestions seem quite expensive.
I don’t do much float fishing I mainly leger in one form or another. I would suggest for legering you buy a secondhand twin tip rod. There are lots available. To get an idea of their capability as a leger rod read up on the John wilson Avon quiver you will find lots of anglers who love them and swear they can handle all sorts of fish. Many other twin tips, possibly newer and better are available. Neither of the tips will be much, if any good for trotting but for legering you will get a quiver for low flow situations and a more robust rod for higher flows. Both tips can be used in still water, the non quiver tip can even be used with a float as an indicator in still water. You can probably get a twin tip which will “do” for a lot of legering situations for less than 40 pounds secondhand. Lots have been sold so hold out for one in good condition.

Then spend freely on the trotting rod. Acolyte if you wish, I don’t do much trotting but unlike legering a top class float rod will make a significant and immediate difference to your enjoyment and capability. Others have already advised on potential rods but have a look at what others use on the rivers you will fish. There is no point buying long rods if you don’t need to. I personally find long rods difficult when landing fish. They can also be a problem in tree covered banks.
When you want to upgrade the leger rods for specialist situations there are plenty that will offer an improvement over a cheap twin tip but unless you are fishing for large fish or really long casts the twin tip will “do” for a while.
 
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