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Float rods


Mikench

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Which are your favourites and why? Being new to fishing I wanted to try popular and highly regarded rods of yesteryear as well as their modern equivalents. Accordingly I searched out and bought a Normark Titan, a Daiwa Amorphous Whisker, a Tricast John Allerton, a Shakey Mach 111 extra lite and a Shîmano Antares 15' as well as a few feeder rods of similar vintage. I have modern Hardy and Drennan rods and like them all. The Acolyte is a lovely rod but the Titan runs it close.

 

Are modern rods better or just similar and made to a price?

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Your accumalating a nice collection there Mike!

Plenty more for you to go at though, and even if you say you won't buy anymore...you will :).

 

I still have several older rods which I don't think have been improved on.

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I know but thats part of the fun Ian. I'm hopeless.

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I also have a few favourite float rods but unfortunately have never owned a Normark rod although I would have loved one.

 

I currently own and use the following new and much older float rods:

 

1. 13ft Drennan Acolyte Ultra Float rod

2. 13ft Diawa Amorphous Whisker Light Float rod (AMW13L)

3. 15ft Hardy Marksman Specialist Float rod

4. 13ft Drennan MKIV Tench Float rod

5. 13ft Drennan Tench & Specimen Float rod (2 piece with handle extension)

6. 12ft Mitchell Specimen Float rod (Commercial Float rod)

7. 14ft Diawa Amorphous Whisker General/Long distance Float rod (AMW14)

8. 17/20ft Shakespeare Annexe Excel Float rod

 

I use rods 1 to 6 fairly often and rods 7 and 8 only very rarely, but they all have their uses.

 

Keith

Edited by BoldBear
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Happiness is Fish shaped (it used to be woman shaped but the wife is getting on a bit now)

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Some very nice rods there Keith. Out of interest how does your AML 13L compare with the Ultra. I very nearly bought one recently but decided I had a matchpro and planned on getting an Acolyte Plus do wouldn't bother.

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Mike, that accy plus rod you have will cover cockies to barbel.

The only reason I have lighter actioned rods is because I got them years ago, infact I only have a microlite which is classed as a light line rod. I actually class my titan mkII and my 11 ft 6 inch supero as lighter line rods.

I don't know how people manage to keep bumping fish off when using any float rod. The other day I used that 12ft 1.25 test harrison chimera and you saw me catching tiddly fish with it.

This is jmo of course....but I think the majority of time when a fish is thought to be bumped off because of the rods action, it's really a case that the fish just wasn't hooked properly on the strike. I mean if fish are bumped so easily then how is it we can swing them to had without them dropping off everytime? Occassionally a fish drops off as you swing it to hand but they are most likely just nicked under the skin enough not to come off when being wpund in, or wriggle in such a manner as to make the hook come out. When I get small fish I often wind in so fast it makes the fish slapp across the surface of the water, as I think many other people do.

I once remember taking my microlite whilst trotting for grayling and at first I kept hittng grayling only to feel them wriggle and then the fish would come off? I then started to strike harder and play the fish hard, I didn't loose another fish after that!

Edited by Tigger
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Mike, here's a nice rod which won't break the bank (I have the same brand 10 foot carp feeder - this is a 13 foot Float @ £65)

 

very serviceable the the money.

 

I also have a Landing net handle of the same make.

 

https://www.anglingdirect.co.uk/drennan-red-range-13ft-float-rod

 

Site says FREE delivery on orders over £9. (I like Free!!)

Edited by Martin56

Fishin' - "Best Fun Ya' can 'ave wi' Ya' Clothes On"!!

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Thanks for that. I have plenty of 13' float rods as outlined above. Throw in a few avons and I have too many rods but who cares. My problem is giving each rod a fair share of bank time. I'll just have to go fishing more often!!!!!

Edited by Mikench
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Thanks for that. I have plenty of 13' float rods as outlined above. Throw in a few avons and I have too many rods but who cares. My problem is giving each rod a fair share of bank time. I'll just have to go fishing more often!!!!!

One way of sharing Bank Time then is to take 2 or 3 already set up in rod quivers. Or just keep them set up (bare) with Neoprene wraps/straps. (even elastic bands will do at a pinch)

Sometimes just can't be bothered rigging up a rod from scratch just for the last hour or so - but this way, bring it on!!

Could swap between all 3 in the last hour!!!

Edited by Martin56

Fishin' - "Best Fun Ya' can 'ave wi' Ya' Clothes On"!!

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Some very nice rods there Keith. Out of interest how does your AMW 13L compare with the Ultra. I very nearly bought one recently but decided I had a matchpro and planned on getting an Acolyte Plus do wouldn't bother.

At a little over 5.6oz My AMW13L is barely an ounce heavier than my 13ft Ultra at 4.75oz and when put side to side theyre almost the same diameter blank, although the Ultra tapers to a finer tip; however the AMW13L has a varnished finish unlike the Ultra.

 

They both have a nice crisp tip action and both handle very light hooklengths plus they both balance very well in the hand with reels attatched. The Ultra comes in slightly crispier overall but its still a fairly close call.

 

The AMW13L has sliding reel fittings (which is probably its worse feature) as opposed to the screw reel fittings on the Ultra; however the sliding reel fittings are very secure and dont slip like some other rods of its age, plus I sometimes quite like to have sliding reel fittings if Im using a Centrepin as I often like to reposition my reel now and then when Im using a pin.

 

If I could only have just one of these two rods I would choose the Ultra hands down, however the AMW13L isnt a bad rod either apart from its sliding reel seat and its extra ounce in weight which is hardly noticeable because of its superb balance. Plus Ive been using my AMW13L since 1995 so Ive become quite attached to it and won quite a few matches using it over the years so I might be slightly biased ?

 

Maybe in retrospect I would have bought an Acolyte Plus rather than an Acolyte Ultra if I was buying it now, so that I could safely handle larger fish with it, especially as I already have my AMW13L for the lighter stuff.

 

Thats my view on the two rods anyway.

 

Keith

Edited by BoldBear
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Happiness is Fish shaped (it used to be woman shaped but the wife is getting on a bit now)

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