15' float rods

[mikench]

It's good Friday and out of mere whimsy I thought I'd start a thread about the popularity and usefulness of such a rod. I have no intention of getting one you understand.

What do the good folks on FM have and are they useful in preference to say a 13 or 14' rod?

 

[john step]

If they are a good quality and light enough to be classed as an old style match rod they can be very useful for trotting when the wind is awkward.

I have a 14 to 16 old Leeda and a TFG 15 foot. Both are not so good for trotting due to weight but I use them both for a sort of adaption of pole fishing. Where I fish a deep reservoir where the bottom drops off sharply I rig up with a centre pin and a pole float and fish almost beneath the rod top. The rod can be balanced across my knee or rested in the pole attachments on my old plastic Shakespere type box.

Very satisfying way to fish. I can pick up fish on the shelf such as patrolling tench carp and anything else that likes my worms.

 

[sam vimes]

How useful long rods are depend entirely on an individual and the venues they fish. I'd expect those that predominantly fish commies, and other relatively shallow stillwaters, to have very little use for long rods. There was a short period in time where there was a bit of fuss over margin fishing (mostly on commies) with long rods. I'd actually be quite surprised if such anglers ever bothered with rods in excess of 12'. Based on the impressions given by your HDYGO posts, I'd doubt that you'd use a rod longer than 13' very much.

If an individual fishes rivers or deep stillwaters I'd expect them to be more likely to have use for a long rod. However, some just can't cope with the prospect of using anything over 14'. Over the years, there have been plenty of bad 15'+ rods, so their reticence is not surprising. There are also plenty of anglers on both types of water that will not own rods of 13'. Whether that's because they employ alternative methods (sliders, float leger, or plain old legering) that enable them to fish deeper water, or if they simply avoid certain swims, is another matter entirely.

 

[trotter2]

Until the drennan acolytes became available I never really used a rod over 13 ft.
In the past I must have has about 4 rods over that lenght preston, and Tri cast jobs. But to be honest I found all of them very tip heavy and I simply could not use them for a full 5 hour match, session without my arm feeling like its dropping off.
That was untill I took a punt at a 15 foot acolyte and my views have changed ,brilliant rods for running water line control and hitting bites at extreme distances became much more easy. I also now have a 17ft model which again is something else.

 

[Peter Jacobs]

When I fished a lot of matches in France and Norway I would often use a "bolo" style rod due to the depth of some of the venues we fished.

I have a Tri-cast 15' rod that is not really too heavy but can also be boosted to 20' with an extra 5' section.

I also have a lovely older Milo Bolo' rod that is 7m in length that was purchased for one particular venue in southerm Sweden.

I have only used the 15 footer a few times on the Avon for trotting on a few swims that were very shallow for the first 5 ot 6 feet then deepened off, but had to take a break every now and then due to the weight of the rod.

I also have a couple of 14 foot rods, both a Shimano and a Tri-cast, and those were used a lot more . . . . to my mind it is a case of "horses for courses" or having the right tool for the job.

 

[Philip]

I am on.the lookout for a 15 footer or above. My current longest is 14 foot. I think the extra length will be useful when long trotting and especially stretpegging which i do quite allot of. I think while the extra length can be useful for deep swims once you start getting into bigger depths say more than about 10 foot you may as well just fish a slider.

Trouble is i have not found something i am willing to take a punt on thats below my £100 threshold.
I wont pay more than that for a rod.

 

[rich66]

I’ve a 15’ Drennan Matchpro ultralight
To be honest I find it a delight to use, it’s not a rod for every occasion. But when I do need that little bit extra reach and control it does a great job.
I’ve never been able to afford lots of rods for every occasion so every purchase is considered and deliberated on, but I’m certainly pleased with the purchase of this one.

 

[nottskev]

Longer rods are definitely a big help when floatfishing on rivers. I've never owned one of the super-light Acolytes, but I've always found the trade-off - a little extra weight against increased ease and control - worthwhile for any of the models, such as Preston, Tri-cast, Daiwa, thatI have owned.

I use 15' rods - usually the Carbonactive 15/17' ( I lost track of the 2' section years ago, and don't care if it ever comes to light) - a lot on stillwater. And not because they're deep; I use sliders for that. I use them for the sheer pleasure of fishing with a long rod and pin. The extra length gives you that bit more line to play with and a bit more range if you want it - with very light floats taking maybe a couple of no 6's or 4's, you don't want to be messing about with loop casts and you can't cast such floats off the reel. The set up gives you some of the advantages of pole fishing, with running line flexibility.

If the water holds a good mix of fish, the bigger ones are great fun to play on the pin. Many advocates of shorter rods - they tend to be anglers who fish commercials for carp - claim it's an advantage that the fish come to the surface closer to the bank and are easier to net. That's true if your water has banks like a swimming pool. If your banks have reed beds, weed and rough margins and other real-world features,, a long rod is useful for keeping fish out of possible snags.

One way and another, I wouldn't be without a few rods over 13'.

 

[108831]

I've had many 14ft rods and I've had three 15ft rods and I don't like any,I prefer 12 or 13ft rods for float work,river or lake,depths are immaterial as I can handle virtually all situations with a slider if depths are over 10-12ft,it opens up your knowledge on different tactics,I find it hard to believe people don't get on with slider fishing,you just have to sort it out and persevere.

 

[trotter2]

One think I will say is if you fancy getting a rod 15 foot plus, try and handle one first even if it means going out of your way.

 

[xenon]

previously used the preston 15/17 ft, but hard work due to weight and balance issues. Got the drennan acolyte ultra 15 a while back and i would recommend it to anyone-a brilliant piece of kit for long trotting.

 

[flightliner]

I've had two 15' footers , one a fox stik float job that was not to my liking , maybe it was just me but I couldn't get along with it so sold it on.
The other was a very cheap Leeda Assassin 15/17 that I bought to use for float fishing for Trent Barbel.
At 17' it was a bag of s - - - e but a really good bit of kit at 15'.
It's the perfect tool for the job true, there are other rods around but all "specimen" float rods, TFg, Nash and Dean Macy branded or endorsed that could be used but they feel more like carp rods , and so stiff!
The Leeda feels not unlike a slightly heavy but no less responsive 13 or 14' rod that could be used for running a stick float downriver and with balanced tackle I 'm confident I could land far bigger fish than my best 14-1 best float caught Barbel.
As I said it's a little heavier but if used for Barbel it's pretty much cancelled out when playing such a hard fighting fish.
I saw one on sale last week -- second hand and in mint condition and only £20- I was tempted to get it as a spare but rightly or not walked away. Hope I don't regret it!!!

 

[108831]

Last time I was out a guy I know was using a 14ft ultra,I asked if I could have a 'waggle',didn't feel right to me,even though I've waggled the 13 and it felt good,just not for me I'm afraid,for some reason the balance seems wrong imo,everyone has their own opinions and many really like longer rods,but i certainly won't be wasting my money on one,been tempted on several occasions by the 13ft plus mind...

 

[edsurf]

I’ve a 15’ Drennan Matchpro ultralight
To be honest I find it a delight to use, it’s not a rod for every occasion. But when I do need that little bit extra reach and control it does a great job.
I’ve never been able to afford lots of rods for every occasion so every purchase is considered and deliberated on, but I’m certainly pleased with the purchase of this one.

I have the same rod , very good for long trotting with my pin , nice action for its length.

 

[peter crabtree]

Me too, superb rod.

 

[Jim Crosskey 2]

First off, i'd mention that about 95% of my float fishing is handled between two 13' rods, a daiwa aqualite match for Stillwater and a Shakespeare mach 3 standard Match for trotting on running water. To be fair, the mach 3 would handle all of it very nicely (and was the first that I bought)…. however I got the daiwa on a bit of a whim (at a very low price) and because I like keeping them in ready-sleeves, the daiwa ended up with a fixed spool on it whereas the Mach 3 ended up with the pin.

Having said all of that.... occasionally whilst trotting on the wye I will hanker after the extra control that a 15' rod would provide and have sometimes looked longingly over the specs of the acolyte plus at that length. I find it hard to believe that Drennan would make a real turkey and anyway, the real user's experiences that I read on this (and others) website tend to be favourable. I got a Christmas bonus at work last year and bought a new acoustic guitar that I'd been promising myself for about 6 years running. So maybe this year it could be the Acolyte? My only concern with this is that my opportunities to fish in the way that would make this purchase worthwhile are really limited... I probably visit the wye two or three times at the most each year, then there's maybe a couple of outings on the thames (when it has a bit of water on in the winter) when I could put it to use. So spending about £130 more on a float rod than I ever have before to cover about 5% of my fishing doesn't seem to make sense. (Or does it? Come on, someone tell me that it does!! )

 

[trotter2]

Jim I purchsed my first 15ft acolyte for when I got a peg on one of the deeper water pegs feeling the extra length would make it more manageable. But I quickly realised it personally for me became much more than this, and I now fish it anywhere regardless of depth. Only time it stays in the bag now is if I am restricted by over head trees.

 

[nottskev]

Doing 95% of your floatfishing with just two fairly economical 13's is self-restraint of the highest order! I'd say you were entitled to at least one 15', and as trotter2 says, once you get a longer rod you'll start to find more uses for it than you expected.

 

[sam vimes]

I've grown to love long rods. Once upon a long ago, I didn't have anything over 13'. However, I was mainly fishing day ticket stillwaters and small club ponds at the time. These days I'm mostly fishing rivers and a deep stillwater.

For the bulk of my river fishing, even when the river isn't deep, I use 15', and even 17', rods. The exceptions are when wading, or when faced with no space due to overhanging trees. 15' has become my default length when river fishing.

Stillwaters are a different kettle of fish. I'll only use as long a rod as required for the depth of water, or to reach over marginal weed growth. In the last week or two, I've used rods from 9' to 17' (and the odd numbers between). The choice has depended on the depth of water in front of me, the distance I needed to fish and the (floatfishing) method I was using.

 

[mikench]

Jim you know you want one and you only live once! In addition having a waggle in a shop, even if you could, is nothing like trying the rod on the bank and actually catching several fish of different sizes and fighting qualities. I use my 12 13 and 14 foot rods for float fishing mostly. The former if there are lots of branches in the vicinity or it's a small lake and the latter in all other circumstances. In truth I like the longer rods and am tempted by a 15' regardless of need but more of want!

I've never really needed anything but that has never stopped me buying. Sometimes you just have to succumb to the temptation ! I am content with that rationale to get one! Ah but which one I hear you ask ? Well that will be for another day and the anticipation can be almost as enjoyable as the acquisition!