The Drennan IM8 Bomb Rod...opinions/info please!

[Tee-Cee]

I bought this rod some years ago and apart from several summer visits to a gentle flowing River Loddon after roach it has lain unused.......for too long!

Looking at the butt section it gives its range as 'Ideal reel lines 1,5lbs to 3lbs-Ideal casting weights 1/8thoz to 1oz............and the wording 'Sensitive Detection-Soft Response Action'.

The rod has two quiver tips,one orange,one red,both of which look and feel very similar in action(?);the grey blank is very,very slim indeed(compared to what I'm used to!).

Now,I don't have problems with 1,5lb bottoms but I don't think I go that low as a main reel line,and even 3lb line is about as low as I would be happy with......not to mention casting a 1oz lead on that BS!!

Anyway,I would like to put the rod to use but(it seems to me!)its use is very limited and I can only see its value in situations such as'roach on a slow flowing river'BUT perhaps I'm being far too careful.................

I intend buying a reel to match it so opinion/suggestion from those own this rod would also be welcome BUT the main purpose of this Thread is to gain knowledge(from others)on where this rod would really come into its own.....so ALL opinions welcome!

Barbel rod it isn't but in the right situation it might just do a good job!!

Thanks!

ps....I note on other threads that the wording 'IM8' mentioned many times...ie IM8 Feeder...I assume this is a different animal??

 

[peter crabtree]

usually the weight of the quiver tips are printed on the tips. I imagine one is glass and one carbon,the glass being the softer of the two, the carbon being a bit stiffer would be for fishing a lake or river with some tow so as not to bend it double when set down on your rest.
I have a very similar bomb rod and use 3lb line on a small reel. Great for roach, skimmers and small carp. You can get away with light tackle as the rod is so forgiving , I have been using mine this week on a local lake , I used the quarter oz glass tip and a half oz bomb with a 2lb hooklink and a lobworm for large perch close in , the tip is so light even the perch didn't seem to feel any resistance ,and with the drag set fairly loose the rod handled the lunges of pound plus perch at short range. Great fun...

 

[Harvey]

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[matt1960]

This rod is an absolute joy to use, and I bought mine from new. I guess about 20 years ago. I used mine so much for all my roach ledgering that I wore the cork away at the reel seat.
I replaced this with a screw fitting and new cork.
There were two versions the original 10'6", which I have, and a later 11'6" version which was slightly more powerful.
The two tips are rated at 3/4oz and 1/2oz and being spliced to the blank have no flat spots. The blank itself bends right through to the butt and with 3lb line its very difficult for the line to break, so you can really land surprisingly large fish on light tackle.
But the rod has its limitations and cannot be used across a large and strongly flowing river. It is not a rod to cast a distance with a 1oz lead, and I tend not to use it much more than 15m away on the river and with aa link ledgers mostly, and have found that with roach, upstream ledgering with this rod with a balanced lead to be a killing method.
Matt

 

[Peter Jacobs]

It is not a rod to cast a distance with a 1oz lead, and I tend not to use it much more than 15m away on the river and with aa link ledgers mostly, and have found that with roach, upstream ledgering with this rod with a balanced lead to be a killing method. Matt

That says it all for me too . . . . .I've had mine since they were first introduced and used it a lot on small river and stillwaters almost in 'winkle picker' mode.

Great rods in my opinion.

 

[Lord Paul of Sheffield]

I have a similar rod made by Shakespeare (keep out Corky) and I use it on small still water in the winter - Poshers used something like this rod at Damflask a coupel of years back with linited success:wh

 

[Jim Crosskey 2]

Tee-Cee

I have a similar rod, a shakepseare Mach 2 wand. It's 10 foot, incredibly light and slim and rated for 4lb mainline and 3lb hooklength (i think)

Anyway, that's all rubbish! I use 6lb mainline and a 4lb hlength and use the rod a lot through the winter as my main chubbing rod. Admitedly I'm rarely casting very far... (30 yards tops?) however I do use it occasionally on a flooded thames, whereupon the whole rod becomes a quiver tip!!

The thing I love most about it is the fact that it bends... and bends and bends!! Apparently that's not to everyones taste, however I always like to know that those final lunges of a chub that's fooled you into thinking he's spent won't end in disaster, and this is just the thing for soaking it up and then pulling him back.

Anyone's who's not felt the cork move as the handle bends is missing out in my opinion. Get on the river with the rod and see what it will cope with, I think you might be surprised!

 

[Tee-Cee]

I have checked the tips and BOTH are glass-1/2oz test curve(darker orange) and 3/4oz test curve(paler orange)..........

Thanks to all the above for constructive comments-I shall certainly put it through its paces for roach on a small pit,and based on what has been said I'm sure it will be a pleasure to use!
This pit also has some wild carp so if I hook one of those life will get interesting!!

(I wonder how many rods lay unused like this,either forgotten or overtaken by new,but not necessarily better,models).

Thanks again!

 

[matt1960]

Yes thats so right, and I very much doubt if there has ever been a better bomb rod than this. It is one of the all time classics. Well done to Drennan, and lucky us that have them.

 

[S-Kippy]

Yes thats so right, and I very much doubt if there has ever been a better bomb rod than this. It is one of the all time classics. Well done to Drennan, and lucky us that have them.

The IM8 bomb rod certainly has a very fine reputation .I dont know this rod personally but I was hugely impressed with Simon's [PC] Garbolino Super G bomb rod. If the Drennan is any better than that then it is a very fine rod indeed...the Garbolino is absolutely brilliant,so much so that even though I rarely fish that way I have got to have one.

Santa has been informed but sadly she is not listening !

 

[Steve Handley]

I'd echo Matt's comments, this is an all time classic rod for roach fishing on small rivers. I have the original 10'6" version and there's no finer bomb rod for fishing the link-leger on small rivers for shy biting, big roach, especially in winter when you need to fish fine lines. I've also painted the last 12" of the quivers white so that you can spot the bites during that magic hour at dusk.

 

[Yacko]

I have just started to use my recently aquired S/H Map bomb rod- Dave Harrell, I'm not sure how good this rod is but I've been meaning to attempt some very sensitive tip fishing for some winters now, and this seems to have the right sort of lightness to register gentle bites. I bought this second hand from a tackle shop, the shop owner being a very knowledgeable angler, recommended matching it with 2 1/2 lb maxima. He said heavyier line would cause the tip to be permanently pulled around by any under-tow.
Anyway I've had no problem reading bites as even a 1 to 2 oz roach can pull the tip right around, here's hoping I can get some bigger ones to do the same!

 

[andreagrispi]

Light bomb rods are a joy to use. Great with roach; dace; perch; skimmers ect. In lakes; canals; small rivers with light gear.

I remember once using a small feeder at 30 meters - I caught some good roach; rudd and bream to about 4lb but everytime I hooked a tench the hook would pull (too much give in the rod). I was too lazy to swop rods and ended up loosing 5 tench and only getting one in.

As I say - great rods but they have their limitations.

 

[michaels]

Ditto to what Matt1960 has alraedy stated.
One of the Drennan classics, It’s an absolute cracker of a rod, I cannot praise it high enough. I`ve two of the earlier incarnations, the newer of the two, has had miniature isotopes attached to the tips, and this has helped me land some superb roach and the odd chub at dusk. For its appearance, it can take a lot some stick, I`ve had a few smaller barbel on, with no adverse effect.

 

[Harvey]

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[peter crabtree]

are you the bidder from Norway Harvey?

 

[Nigel Connor]

I would echo all the above but don't get too blinkered on what rivers it can be used in.This is my rod of choice for legering for roach on the Avon in winter.I am quite happy to put a good curve in the tip as I am fishing a balanced feeder either directly across or slightly upstream to the far bank.The big drop backs are a joy to behold as the fish hook themsleves. I have landed roach to 2.6 on them as well as 5lb + chub.

The action is forgiving enough to fish very small hooks (size 20s to 1.12 oz bottoms) with confidence that the hook will not ping out when a big roach porpoises on top after being hooked.

A true classic but I am not so enamoured with the 11.6 version.The extra lenght is helpful but possible not quite so forgiving in the action as someone else pointed out.

 

[Tee-Cee]

Thanks to all for some excellent info...particularly from those who gave information based on use!

...a 2lb roach would do just fine but a few from 1/2lb upwards would be just as good!!

Thanks again...

 

[Harvey]

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