Drennan acolyte ultra

[iain t]

I've owned both Accy plus and ultra in 13 and 14 foot. Both acted well for the job i bought them for. I sold both about 2 years ago. Personally, the butt was too thin for my hands. These days i use a Drennan Silverfish rod. A little heavier than the Ultra but i find the S/F tip more sensitive which is perfect for Roach and Rudd. The but section seems to to be a bit more powerful than the ultra. Although i target Roach, Rudd and Skimmers i have landed an 8.4Lb Carp on 3Lb line with a 2.8Lb hook link. Overall i prefer the SilverFish rod, plus they are a lot cheaper to buy.

 

[trotter2]

Purchased my first acolyte about a year ago a 13ft ultra no problems with it. Lovely rod for what it's intended for dace and grayling fishing.
Best fish so far by accident was a 5lb chub, took a bit longer to get in the net than usual,but not impossible.
Use it for what it's designed for and it's a great rod. Probably the best I have had.

 

[108831]

Sorry trotter,but what does 'what it meant for' mean? Your rod isn't specifically designed for roach and dace fishing,it's meant for lighter line usage,that's why it should be able to land fish like your 5lb chub,I knew guys who deliberately used canal rods for chub because the softness knocked the stuffing out of them,this was on 3lbish mains,with corresponding hooklengths,you should really be able to pull hard on a 90deg pull on this tackle and not cause breakage,if your rod had snapped,like others have,would you then sing its praises,obviously not,i do believe there is an issue with the acolyte,not a widespread one however,but a niggling one...

 

[trotter2]

Sorry trotter,but what does 'what it meant for' mean? Your rod isn't specifically designed for roach and dace fishing,it's meant for lighter line usage,that's why it should be able to land fish like your 5lb chub,I knew guys who deliberately used canal rods for chub because the softness knocked the stuffing out of them,this was on 3lbish mains,with corresponding hooklengths,you should really be able to pull hard on a 90deg pull on this tackle and not cause breakage,if your rod had snapped,like others have,would you then sing its praises,obviously not,i do believe there is an issue with the acolyte,not a widespread one however,but a niggling one...

Yes I think there has been problems with them. At the moment I am happy with my purchase, yes it could change if it broke who wouldn't.
I have 4 acolytes and would purchase again no problems. If you want a general purpose rod I would suggest buy the plus version.

 

[108831]

I have a titan 2000 and have no problems bending into a double figure carp,or catching roach and dace,on around 3lb line,I think Drennan have been very tight lipped over this,indeed somewhat underhand,by not having updated blanks perhaps...

 

[tigger]

I've use 6lb through my microlite, if your using a rod you know how far to push it before it goes crackerjack.

It's all a bit wierd, this line rating as I think the main rating to take notice of is the lower one. Obviously the lower one is stated to stop you cracking the line off on the strike. The higher rating is up to your own preference really as you may need a higher strain main line in a particular venue because of the substrate etc but still need the presentation of useing low diameter line gut bottoms.

 

[sam vimes]

Sorry trotter,but what does 'what it meant for' mean? Your rod isn't specifically designed for roach and dace fishing,it's meant for lighter line usage,that's why it should be able to land fish like your 5lb chub,I knew guys who deliberately used canal rods for chub because the softness knocked the stuffing out of them,this was on 3lbish mains,with corresponding hooklengths,you should really be able to pull hard on a 90deg pull on this tackle and not cause breakage,if your rod had snapped,like others have,would you then sing its praises,obviously not,i do believe there is an issue with the acolyte,not a widespread one however,but a niggling one...

There's little doubt in my mind that the Acolyte Ultra is a light line rod, just like the Matchpro Ultralight. There's also no doubt that there have been breakages, but I've not heard of many that have occurred due to a decent fish pulling hard. If a rod breaks when playing a fish, there are only three realistic causes. One is that you've got your drag set incorrectly/playing a big fish too hard on overly heavy line. The next is that you've got a genuinely flawed rod. If this is going to manifest, it'll be early on in the life of the rod, not after umpteen uses and loads of fish. The third is that the rod has taken some unnoticed damage.

I've had my Ultras well and truly doubled over, as all light rods will be when you latch into something bigger. I have no concerns whatsoever about this, just as I don't with my other light actioned float rods. The wrap arounds that Acolytes seem to suffer unduly with do tend to give me cause for concern. I'm ultra wary when fishing a decent size waggler. Trotting with a pin isn't an issue, you spot wrap arounds before any damage can be done.

I have a titan 2000 and have no problems bending into a double figure carp,or catching roach and dace,on around 3lb line,I think Drennan have been very tight lipped over this,indeed somewhat underhand,by not having updated blanks perhaps...

Who says they haven't made alterations? Some of the biggest problems that the Acolyte suffers is the Chinese whispers about breakages. The majority of the folks talking about them have never even owned one.

 

[iain t]

You can use any breaking strain of line you wish. I.e A rod with a max line of 4lb using a 25lb mono. Except for ring size, the 25lb line will have no ill effect of the blank if you know how to use a clutch or back wind properly. Casting wise distance may be a bit of a problem. I wouldnt recommend this.

 

[Julian Peacock]

I have a 15ft Acolyte Ultra, that is about 4 years old now. It gets used for slider work with a 5g waggler and pin work on the rivers. The last outing was yesterday afternoon, I’d been using a 13ft rod with a stick for an hour with no luck. I picked up the Acolyte to put an Avon down the far bank....3rd cast and a 5+ chub was hooked and landed. I also use braid mainline on this rod so I would guess any faults would have shown by now!

 

[108831]

I take it the river is better than it was five weeks ago Julian?

 

[rob48]

The majority of the folks talking about them have never even owned one.

Not unlike Cadence in that respect.

 

[108831]

Quite true,I've been on the verge of buying one three times now and been put off buy posts each time,not one person,each time others have chipped in,I think I would be more confident with a cadence,not that I'd buy one either,because I dont really think they fit the bill...

 

[mikench]

Treat yourself Alan you deserve it and I'm sure you really need another rod!

My philosophy with everything is to listen to advice, check something out but ultimately to try it myself. This applies to clothes, tackle, wine ,food, holidays, cars in fact most things! If I had been put off by advice from other people I would have missed out on an awful lot!

 

[108831]

Mike,there isn't much room in my tackle cupboard/room for anything else,14 rods and 3 poles,think I might manage...

Ps,might be a couple more somewhere...

 

[tigger]

Treat yourself Alan you deserve it and I'm sure you really need another rod!

My philosophy with everything is to listen to advice, check something out but ultimately to try it myself. This applies to clothes, tackle, wine ,food, holidays, cars in fact most things! If I had been put off by advice from other people I would have missed out on an awful lot!

Anyone doubting the acolyte rods capabiloties only need to look at Lankymans last post on hdygo. As he says he's been misusing his plus and his ultra for 3yrs now, and he's not lying about the word "misuse" either, 15lb line through em ....blimey!
Even my posts and others like Sam Vines must show that the accy rods are not rubbishy rods that break all the time. I've had literally hundreds of propper barbel on one of my 13ft accy plus rods and I can honestly say that I don't think a lot of float rods would have held up to the pressures i've put on it.
At the end of the day if you buy a new rod from a shop it's under warrenty for 12 months so any breakages have to be put right free of charge in that period, as you'll know better than anyone Mike .

 

[108831]

This all depends on how well flushed you are,the gamble of paying out without full confidence when it's a massive outlay to you would be a poor one,very,very difficult if you have a missus,three kids and a thousand pound a month mortgage or rental to pay.

 

[tigger]

This all depends on how well flushed you are,the gamble of paying out without full confidence when it's a massive outlay to you would be a poor one,very,very difficult if you have a missus,three kids and a thousand pound a month mortgage or rental to pay.

Ok, just forget about buying one, no worries then .

 

[108831]

Lol,it has to be said though Ian,many people think others are in the same financial boat,to some one mid priced rod is a major undertaking,for others six acolytes is ok,what fits your bill eh?

 

[tigger]

Lol,it has to be said though Ian,many people think others are in the same financial boat,to some one mid priced rod is a major undertaking,for others six acolytes is ok,what fits your bill eh?

Absolutly, no use overstretching yourself for a fishing rod, or anything else that's none essential.
I always save up for something I want and just bide my time until i've accumalated enough to get it. Thats probably one of the reasons I look after my gear so much.
I have three 13ft plus's and the reason for having three is because I got them for a little over half price, I got a sizable reduction on my 14ft plus and a third off my 12ft carp waggler.....so that's how I came to have that odd number.

I assumed you wouldn't get an accy because you thought they might break.

 

[108831]

Yes,thought I'm better of with what I already have,still catching a few...