Cadence rods....

[sam vimes]

There's little doubt that lighter and thinner is likely to mean more delicate. However, my Acolytes have been used for hundreds of hours each. As yet, I've failed miserably to break one. Tigger tends to catch more, and bigger, fish than I do. As far as I'm aware, he's also failed to break his, though he does tend to favour the heavier Plus versions.

I have a pet theory about Acolyte breakages being predominantly down to wrap arounds. Acolytes do seem to suffer inordinately in this respect, possibly due to a combination of action and rings/ring spacing. This has often been noted with similarly fast actioned rods, especially old spliced tip rods of years gone by (just look at the number of old spliced tip Drennan, Daiwa and Tri-Cast rods offered for sale with an inch or two missing!). I suspect that my predilection for using Acolytes only for trotting, invariably with centrepins, means that I notice wrap arounds before any damage can be done.

I didn't buy Acolytes from their earliest release because I was wary. Similarly, I've avoided the much vaunted Normark 2000s due to the sheer number of them with shortened tip sections. I ended up asking a few different tackle dealers what the returns had been like. I was told that non-user error returns were negligible. I also noticed that some of the most vociferous naysayers had actually used the rods on many occasions before they suffered a breakage. To my mind, a flawed rod breaks after one or two outings, not five, or more. Much as it won't make me popular saying it, I'm afraid that at least some of those that suffered breakages jumped on a bandwagon to get free replacement sections. Forum gossip seems to go a fair bit further than reality with regards to Acolyte breakages, though they probably aren't the wisest choice for the Binkas of this world!

 

[markcw]

But if the action was better and the rod is a better balanced tool would you think differently?

surely the size of the reel used should be included in the balance ?
I always take a couple of different brand reels with me if I am going to look at a new rod just to see how the combination of rod and reel feels,
Cadence have brought some reels out which I think size for size are slightly smaller than a Daiwa tdr. maybe this is to complement the cadence rod range ?

 

[108831]

I'm not really talking about rod and reel balance,just the rod,there are many rods,let alone float rods,that are totally unbalanced,having a tip heavy feel,some of these are 'supposedly' very good rods,not imo,a good float rod to me has to feel good in the hand,in the days of glass,I had a couple of Hardy Matchmakers, now considering the thickness and diameter of the blank it was quite a light rod(the 12fter)and responsive and it wasn't until Normark brought the diamura blank out that I even considered changing to carbon,back to today's rods I know there are rods out there that I could happily fish with at 60 quid up,are they comparable with what I consider to be the best,not a chance,is the cadence as good,who knows,because I'm unlikely ever to see one,it also seems highly likely that this company will go pop,as to be successful you need anglers to want your product,without seeing it,it is a chance most wouldn't take...

 

[silvers]

I can see what Sam means regarding the Value for Money of the Acolytes - especially at the longer lengths. I'd also agree that the pure weight and diameter numbers are not the whole story. Comparing my 13ft rods:
I have 2 shakespeare Excelsiors from the 90s that are similar in spec to the Acolytes. I like soft tipped rods so should love them .... and I really tried to .... but I just lose too many fish on them (decent roach and dace just nod the hook out). I ended up using much lower spec shakespeare mach 3 and superteam rods until i bought the cadence. I've only used these 4 times now, so not a thorough test yet.

Whitty's point about how to penetrate the market is a good one. I'd suspect that the Cadence company has very low overheads in the UK - but the marketplace is very saturated. The ambassador model is interesting - but very river match focussed - which is a tiny market.

 

[tigger]

Regarding lighter slimmer rods and breakages....many's the time i've been walking along and stubbed the tip of my "delicate fishing rod" into the ground which has caused it to bend over on itself alarmingly! Even with my normark 2000's and I never broken one. How people manage to break rods so often as they do beats me?
Obviously accidents happen and rods get broken, same goes for faulty rods, there's bound to be some that break due to faulty blanks. Personally I don't think there's anything like the number of genuine faulty rod breakages as there are accidental rod breakages with the acolyte rods.
Regarding rods and balance, I never bother to take a reel to test for it, I can just tell if a rod is right for me with no reel atatched.
I reckon a heavy rod that's badly balanced is going to feel much worse than a light rod that is badly balanced...it's gott'a feel worse.

 

[Richox12]

Yes I thought this may get the forum moving a bit.

Well looking at your figures there is clearly no doubt that the Acolyte is indeed thinner and lighter than the cadence.

However the question is how does this translate to angling pleasure.

Lets look at weight. You suggest that the 43g difference in weight is allot in rod terms. You may well be right but lets put this into perspective. The average suger lump weighs around 4g. So the difference between the Acoylte and the Cadence is @11 suger lumps & If we compare it to the Acolyte Plus then the difference is down to just 9 lumps.

As for the rod butt we are looking at a difference of 3.2mm. I just got a ruler and took a look at what 3.2mm looks like and it confirmed my suspicions that its really quite a tiny distance. If we compare it to the plus then the distance is just 2mm which is indeed even more tiny.

Now I realize that when on a days trotting your going to be holding the rod in your hand all day but I have trouble visualizing that the addition of 11 suger lumps in weight and 3.2mm of thickness at the butt will turn even the most weak wristed angler from a smiling heron like angling machine to a grim faced unhappy sweating heap cursing his rod.

Of course I am being somewhat tongue in cheek, but really, I doubt that these differences will be noticeable to the majority of anglers and I think rod weight and blank thickness can mislead and give the impression on paper there will be a much bigger impact than there actually is in real use.

The action and balance of the rod I think will play a bigger part in the overall pleasure a rod gives and the only way to really measure that is to pick one up and try it and even then its going to subjective so there is as much chance someone could prefer the Cadence to the Acolyte.

The one area that we can be absolutely sure everyone will notice the difference however is in their bank balance. Of that there is no doubt whatsoever.

So, on that basis then an Ivan Marks Persuader is a bit thicker and heavier than an equivalent Cadence so you may as well use that then ? I'm with Sam, the differences are HUGE and should be easily noticeable to anyone. Where I have been able to compare similar Acolyte & Cadence rods the Acolyte has been in a totally different league.

 

[108831]

I'm afraid with today's multitude of float fishing needs,we could need rods to tame double figure carp down to rods designed not to bump 1oz roach,using lines from 8lb down to 1lbish,hooks from size 8 down to 24's,for casting 4 swan plus sliders,down to 3 no4 wagglers or sticks,fishing a torrent,or fishing 18in of stationary pond,float fishing and rods for it are geared to personal requirements,we anglers are indeed a fussy shower indeed.

 

[sam vimes]

I got to see and waggle a 15' No1 Cadence Match rod today. It didn't strike me as unduly heavy, nor was it strikingly light. It appeared well finished with decent components. One thing that did strike me was that it wasn't as light an action as I was expecting. I'd read a few comments about the Cadence No1, 2 and 3 being broadly equivalent to Normark Microlite, Titan and Avenger. My impression was that the lightest No1 was a much stronger rod than any Microlite I've had hold of.

Overall, I feel that the Cadence rods are probably pretty good value for money. I doubt anyone with a huge hoard of expensive rods is going to be blown away, but many others are likely to be quite happy with them. You could certainly pay more and do worse, if you don't choose wisely.

 

[Philip]

So, on that basis then an Ivan Marks Persuader is a bit thicker and heavier than an equivalent Cadence so you may as well use that then ? I'm with Sam, the differences are HUGE and should be easily noticeable to anyone. Where I have been able to compare similar Acolyte & Cadence rods the Acolyte has been in a totally different league.

Just catching up with this thread again & noticed the above.

Thing is, once again, its not just about best spec. If it was just about best spec I would hire a private consultant to build me a custom rod out of Graphene. Unfortunately I am not Bill Gates therefore like many others “price” also plays a part in my rod choice as well as spec.


The point being does the extra outlay justify itself in either better angling results or more angling pleasure ?

For me the jury is still out.

 

[markcw]

Out of curiosity how much are the various Cadence rods ? I was given a Drennan Chrystalite this week, all I know about the rod is that it is around 20+ years old, has a detatchable butt and is rated to 2.5lb mainline and 1.6lb hooklength, it is very light and slim,and is like new, The only rod I could compare it to was an original Harrison gti spliced tip rod, I presume the acolytes and cadence are superior to the Drennan Chrystalite and the Harrison ? does anyone know anything about the Chrystalite ? and line ratings etc for the Cadence, ? the last drennan rod I had was an original IM8 waggler rod not far off 30 years ago, I didn't like like it so cut my losses and bought the Harrison,

 

[rob48]

Hi all,
I've got the 15' No1 and agree that it's a bit beefier than the microlite. Reminded me of a slightly stiffer and tippier Shakey Superteam, nice enough for hitting roach and dace bites with a bit of backbone if required.
The 10' wand is a very nice rod of its type, again similar to the original Shakey with a bit of Shimano Diaflash Wincklepicker thrown in the mix, stiffening the middle ever so slightly.
For hitting "fast" roach/dace bites on the light stick the Browning Spliced Tip river rod is the best I've seen lately and an absolute joy to use.

 

[nottskev]

Out of curiosity how much are the various Cadence rods ? I was given a Drennan Chrystalite this week, all I know about the rod is that it is around 20+ years old, has a detatchable butt and is rated to 2.5lb mainline and 1.6lb hooklength, it is very light and slim,and is like new, The only rod I could compare it to was an original Harrison gti spliced tip rod, I presume the acolytes and cadence are superior to the Drennan Chrystalite and the Harrison ? does anyone know anything about the Chrystalite ? and line ratings etc for the Cadence, ? the last drennan rod I had was an original IM8 waggler rod not far off 30 years ago, I didn't like like it so cut my losses and bought the Harrison,

You were given it? Lucky you! That rod's a little gem for light floatfishing. There's a reconditioned one on Ebay just now for £119 and a used one for £130. In it's particular niche, very few rods are esteemed superior, but personally I'm not a fan of the Acolyte range, and have never seen a Cadence rod.

 

[markcw]

I am going to use it on the Bridgewater canal in Warrington sat on my ASI box looking really retro, and the floats I will be using are the Image balsa ones with the peg fitting at the bottom of the float body, I have a full set of them, Or I may use homemade self cocker float made from a drinking straw with a small piece of brazing rod glued in one end and half a cotton bud glued in the other, is there any reason they are that price on ebay ? I am not selling it just curious,

 

[nottskev]

I am going to use it on the Bridgewater canal in Warrington sat on my ASI box looking really retro, and the floats I will be using are the Image balsa ones with the peg fitting at the bottom of the float body, I have a full set of them, Or I may use homemade self cocker float made from a drinking straw with a small piece of brazing rod glued in one end and half a cotton bud glued in the other, is there any reason they are that price on ebay ? I am not selling it just curious,

That sounds like (one of) my kind(s) of fishing! I'm a big fan of light, soft rods, and I always fancied one of these, along with an even rarer model, the Harrison Canal Special. I never felt justified though, in squeezing one into the cupboard alongside the Daiwa Amorphous Whisker Light Waggler and the Shimano Diaflash's modified with spliced tips and other light-line creations. But if someone had given me one...

I couldn't explain the Ebay prices - I'm not a tracker of rod prices - so I could only guess they are quite sought after.

 

[jasonbean1]

Well Ive bit the bullet and ordered the 14ft feeder, I'll give it a bash on my local Thames weir pool and let you know how it goes.

 

[markcw]

Kev I was offered the prototype of the Harrison canal special when it was coming out, I think they had to change the design slightly due to drennan bringing more or less the same rod out, I wish I had taken it now, I knew a couple of lads who worked in Harrisons Tackle shop in Liverpool at the time.

 

[sam vimes]

Out of curiosity how much are the various Cadence rods ?

£70-150 Cadence Fishing Rods - Match and Feeder Rods - Cadence Fishing

I was given a Drennan Chrystalite this week, all I know about the rod is that it is around 20+ years old, has a detatchable butt and is rated to 2.5lb mainline and 1.6lb hooklength, it is very light and slim,and is like new, The only rod I could compare it to was an original Harrison gti spliced tip rod, I presume the acolytes and cadence are superior to the Drennan Chrystalite and the Harrison ? does anyone know anything about the Chrystalite ? and line ratings etc for the Cadence, ? the last drennan rod I had was an original IM8 waggler rod not far off 30 years ago, I didn't like like it so cut my losses and bought the Harrison,

The Crystalight is nothing like the Acolytes and I've seen nothing to suggest that there's an equivalent in the Cadence range. It's not much like any Harrison GTi I've laid hands on either. However, the rather scarce Harrison canal rod (AKA Harrison 11'6" Match Special) might be along the right lines.

The reality is that there are very few modern equivalents of the Crystalight. Though Drennan weren't explicit with their labelling, many regard them as waggler rods for canals and drains. Also perfect for relatively shallow stillwaters where relatively small fish are the main target when fishing small sensitive wagglers, light lines and small hooks. As far as I'm aware, there are at least two versions, possibly three.

Initially, it was pole fishing that started to strangle the market for canal rods. The rise of commie match fishing all but finished it off. I have an IM8 Super Crystalight that has just been superseded by something more modern.

I couldn't explain the Ebay prices - I'm not a tracker of rod prices - so I could only guess they are quite sought after.

I suspect that the ones currently listed on ebay are a bit of a red herring as a price guide. They've been listed on and off for the best part of six months. I'd be delighted to get that kind of price for mine, though I suspect I'd have to settle for rather less.

 

[markcw]

Sam I didn't mean for looks comparing crystallite to the Harrison, I meant in weight, the Harrison was the closest I had in weight to the chrystalite, considering they are "old" rods they feel a lot better than a SR3 Daiwa I have,

 

[sam vimes]

Sam I didn't mean for looks comparing crystallite to the Harrison, I meant in weight, the Harrison was the closest I had in weight to the chrystalite, considering they are "old" rods they feel a lot better than a SR3 Daiwa I have,

I wasn't talking about looks or weight, just the action.

 

[markcw]

Ah right, I have not got round to trying the drennan out yet,
When I bought the IM8 waggler some others were buying the IM8 spliced tip/stick float rod to use for waggler fishing, I found the waggler brilliant for long range work but not so good on a canal, it seemed to powerful for canal work,