Shimano Super Ultegra AX Match rods
PAY AROUND
£159.99 to £189.99
Three new additions to the popular Ultegra AX match rod range include 13ft and 14ft models which are ideally suited to all silver fish and float fishing techniques thanks the their responsive yet balanced actions.
There’s also a 15ft Specimen which packs a real punch making it perfect when targeting really big fish in any type of running or still water.
Frenzee Match Pro FXT 9ft Feeder
PAY AROUND
£49.99
This petite 9ft two-piece feeder and straight lead tool makes casting and rod placement much easier in parrot cage swims.
Its short length also lends itself well to being used down the edge. The Match Pro FXT packs a fair punch, and is more than capable of holding its own in a fight with a big fish.
The low-profile lined guides help to give the blank an expensive appearance, and it comes with one spare push-in-quivertip.
Shimano Speedcast Match
PAY AROUND
£239.99
Every now and again I like to fish with a real ‘top-end’ match rod just to see how far technology has moved on, and to compare it with less expensive rods that most of us can realistically afford.
Second only in terms of price and quality to Shimano’s flagship Aspire Ultra Match rod, the Speedcast kicks off with a wallet-wilting catalogue price of £269.99, but a likely, real-life shop price of £199.99 – although you still don’t lightly spend that kind of cash on a float rod.
There are five different versions of the rod available from 13ft to 15ft in length and designed to cast floats from 5g-15g to 10g-30g, with full book prices from £169.99 to a thunderous £309.99 (suggested shop selling price £239.99).
This spread covers most angling situations from normal waggler work with silvers and small carp to ‘bagging’ carp and river trotting.
I chose to test the 13ft Speedcast 390F that I reckon will find most favour on a typical commercial pool where you might get a 6oz roach one cast and a 6lb carp the next.
Visually, it has to be said that there’s nothing very exciting about the traditional, plain matt-grey, slimline three-piece float rod.
As you would expect from a blank in this price bracket it is fitted with a quality Fuji DPS reel seat and Fuji Alconite guides, but that’s about it. Even the graphics are plain and fuss-free.
The big bucks you’re handing over are for something you can’t see – the high class HPC200+ grade carbon cloth that the slimline blank is built from.
Weighing 194g (6.8oz) the rod balances beautifully with a modern 2500 or 3000-sized match reel and feels fast and crisp in the hand.
A ‘semi parabolic’ action means it bends through the top third to cushion small hooks and land smaller stamp fish before the blank goes rock solid to deliver big-carp stopping power.
I’d be happy to fish reel lines to 6lb on this rod and hooklengths down to 1.5lb on river or stillwater, so it’s a functional bit of kit with a multitude of applications.
The good, responsive carbon sent a standard 3AAA waggler flying like an arrow and picked up the line and set the hook instantly at 30 yards at the flick of the wrist.
In this test, fishing a 4lb reel line, I caught carp to 5lb, tench, roach, rudd and skimmers and appreciated a thoroughbred piece of cutting-edge kit.
Drennan Acolyte Plus 13ft Match Rod
PAY AROUND
£179 (13ft), £189 (14ft)
The original three-piece Drennan Acolyte Match rod, launched last June, must rank among the best lightweight silverfish rods ever. Its seamless, progressive action combines with a top section forgiving enough to be used with gossamer hooklengths and tiny hooks, and of course the finish of the quality carbon blank is impeccable.
If this rod has any faults (or, more properly speaking, limitations) it’s that it struggles to cast heavy floats long distances, and is at the limits of its power when dealing with really big fish.
In true Drennan style, and in response to positive criticism, Drennan has duly released this a stepped-up version of this masterpiece – the Acolyte Plus. Just like the original, it has been designed in consultation with five times World Champ Alan Scotthorne and comes in 13ft and 14ft versions. The real difference lies in the engine room – this will cast bigger floats further and fight specimen fish harder. Drennan suggests it will be at its best with with reellines from 4lb-6lb (1.8kg- 3kg) and hooklengths from 3lb-5lb (0.13mm-0.16mm).
This extra power has been made possible by subtle changes to the blank. As well as being a bit faster and stiffer, the top two sections have been designed to load up higher along the blank when it’s under stress. This way the classic softly progressive action is retained, but with a bit more grunt when it’s needed.
Where would you use a rod like this? The Acoloyte Plus is ideally suited to deep-water slider fishing for bream, skimmers or big roach, but will appeal equally to the big-river enthusiast using top and bottom floats on the Severn, Wye, or Trent, where a steel fist in a velvet glove is a requirement in the fast currents. I see it selling best of all to the purist natural venue float fisherman targeting decent-sized tench and bream, and these were just what I had in my sights for the live test at Northamptonshire’s peaceful and pretty day-ticket Rysons Lake. This venue lends itself well to waggler tactics, and my set-up was simple enough – 5lb (0.18mm) reel line attached to a 3lb (0.12mm) hooklength. My 3AAA waggler was shotted shirt-button style with a series of No8s culminating in a size14 hook baited with a lobworm tail.
The casting potential of the Acolyte Plus was barely stretched by this standard waggler set-up, and the rod could have easily handled something much heavier. I am not sure, though, that I entirely agree with the Drennan claim for it being ideal for pellet waggler and missile fishing on commercials. The finesse of the tip section would eventually lead to – let’s say – a ‘disappointment.’
That minuscule criticism aside, what a fabulous big fish playing action the rod has. Every lunge is met with an instant response, the transmission of ‘feel’ along the blank is simply astounding, and when you pile on the side-strain the progressive curve takes it all in its stride.