The Long And The Short Of It

Ben Fisk takes the Ultra and Plus versions of the new 9ft Drennan Acolyte feeder rod for some short-range winter fishing.

I’VE watched with interest as the Drennan Acolyte rod range has steadily grown since its launch three years ago.

First came a series of 13ft-15ft Ultra float rods, followed a year later by the Plus range, which have a stepped-up playing action.

Then came mid-length feeder and waggler rods, longer ‘chucking’ feeder rods and, more recently, a 17ft float blank.

The very latest addition to the family is a short 9ft feeder rod, again in Ultra and Plus models, and not before time in my book!

Can you tell I’m a massive fan of 9ft rods? It’s definitely become the length I now use most often in competitions because many venues I fish require only a cast of 40m at most, some often half that. A 9ft rod makes it very easy to cast accurately tight to an island, whereas an 11ft or sometimes even a 10ft rod is often awkward, especially at very close range. I think this is because a shorter rod is lighter and the rig can be ‘fired’ straight out at a lower height to the water, rather than ‘lobbed’ to go skywards then come down.