Drennan has added four new Commercial Feeder rods and four new Commercial F1/Silvers rods to the line-up, and it’s the former quartet that have been tailored specifically for Method work.
So, what has Drennan done? Well, with the help of five-time World Champion Alan Scotthorne, the company has tweaked the actions, increased the size of the guides, and increased the taper on shortened tips.
The guide change makes a lot of sense to me. Smaller guides are great for light and sensitive fishing, but in the height of summer, when you’re really bagging, you might want to use a stronger 8lb mainline.
With the dainty guides found on most 9ft, 10ft and 11ft rods, it’s like casting with the brakes on – you can feel thicker line dragging through the guides and taking yards off your cast. Casting accurately to islands also requires a slightly different technique to open water.
A flat, punching cast helps keep the feeder lower to the water, away from any breeze and under any overhanging foliage. This is where the shorter tip really comes into play. It might not be quite as good at showing tentative roach bites or sweeping skimmer takes, but the reduced recoil will stop it breaking when committing to this aggressive casting technique.
All this sounds great, but I was still a little shocked when I took one of the rods out of the bag. Acolyte rods boast possibly the thinnest blanks on the market, and the Commercials are no exception. In fact, the thickest part of the longest 12ft model is near half the diameter of a five-pence piece!
Combine this with the oversized guides that we are more used to seeing on distance rods, and you get a very unusual look. It almost tricks your eyes with its unexpected proportions. This illusion only becomes more dramatic the shorter the rod you look at.
To put them through their paces, I knew the perfect place. A trip to Janson Fishery near Nottingham was in order, a venue full of carp and islands – the perfect test for such a rod, with the 9ft being first out of the bag.
The verdict
Despite the unusual looks, I straight away knew that both Alan and Drennan had got this rod dead right. I could happily fire my mini-Hybrid about the peg and against the island with powerful, aggressive casts, even with the lightest X-Soft rated tip.
Bites were electric – the whole tip swept round and seemingly pointed at the carpy culprit lunging on the end. The sensationally thin blank absorbed every movement of the fish with ease, while still allowing me to feel exactly what was going on.
Having quickly formed a favourable opinion of the nine-footer, I decided to swap to the 10ft rod. I will admit, I wasn’t a fan straight away. I found the handle a little bit too long. Only around four inches too long, but enough to make little casts feel awkward.
Wondering how Drennan could have got this wrong, I tried a far bigger cast up the lake and instantly realised that it was me who had, in fact, made the mistake! I should have known.
Despite being short and soft, with a progressive action, the 10ft model has a stunning casting potential, even more unexpected considering the super-thin blank.
Casts nearing 50m were easily achievable, the sort of range I would normally pick an 11ft rod up for. This now nicely categorised the rods for me – 9ft for small commercials, 10ft for big commercials, and the 11ft and 12ft models for venues where some proper distance work could be needed.
Although tweaked to favour flatbed feeders and bombs, all these rods can, of course, be used with conventional feeders for silvers, F1s and on natural venues – they just won’t do it quite as well as the correct dedicated Drennan Acolyte.
The Drennan Acolyte Commercial feeder rods are perfect for catching carp on a variety of tactics, particularly the Method feeder.
Pros
- Fantastic rod for commercial feeder fishing
- Versatile rod, built for use on variety of venues
- Great casting rod
Cons
- Not the best rod if you are primarily targeting silverfish
| Casting weight: | 30g |
| Tips supplied: | Carbon 1oz, 1.5oz and 2oz |
Our pick of the alternatives
The new Daiwa Spectron Ultra Feeder Rods are something special, especially for the price bracket it situates itself in, whilst its by no means a budget rod, the performance and materials used makes you feel it should command a far more premium price than it does. Still owning and using the original Spectron rods, it may well be time for an upgrade as these rods are superb, when casting the whole rod performs flawlessly helping propel a feeder with the minimal of effort and when we reviewed the casting footage from the day, you couldn't see where the joint in the rod was, truly remarkable.
The fish playing action as you would expect is stunning, there are no flat spots and the 'notably progressive' action Daiwa have labelled the rod with is accurate, but rather than the usual scenario of the rod powering up along the top section of the rod, the Spectron Feeder Rod allows the pressure to flow through the V-Joint and further down the blank, this not only allows more pressure to be put on the fish, it will reduce hook pulls and give you a sense that the rod can just keep on giving should you need it too, sublime.
The rod is an out and out commercial fishery tool and no matter the fishery you take it to or what size fish you subject it to, the rod will handle them whilst asking "is that all you've got?" The handle of the rod is fairly unique, with full length EVA being the choice as opposed to any cork, whilst this may not be for everyone, I personally thought it was a lovely edition to the rods, it helps with the balance and if I do say so, made them look fantastic too.
Read our full Daiwa Spectron Commercial Ultra review
Pros
- Latest in design and technology giving, excellent all-round performance
- Premium components and technologies including Nanoplus Carbon, SeaGuide TDG guides and Megatops
Cons
- The progressive action may be too through and soft for some as this is very subjective
Preston’s new flagship range of rods promises high performance aimed at commercial anglers; this rod will handle the rigours of modern commercial angling from straight lead to method feeders but will equally be at home on a canal or small river.
The rod boasts a soft progressive action absorbing all lunges and supressing hook pulls, incorporating a new X wrap carbon weave to provide casting accuracy, power and sensitivity.
Particular attention has been paid to aesthetics with a unique finish that makes it a sight to behold.
Supplied with 3 tips gives this rod a versatility to tackle most fishing conditions.
Pros
- The X Wrap carbon weave gives precision for those short-range casts
- Soft progressive action absorbs all lunges and reduces hook pulls
Cons
- The soft progressive action may feel a little too soft for some anglers targeting larger fish
| Casting weight: | 30g |
| Supplied tips: | Carbon 0.5, 0.75 and 1oz |
Author Dan Webb first became involved in angling journalism in 2015 and has worked as Tackle Tester at Angling Times since April 2021. He is a fanatical all-round match angler and former England Youth International.