Wednesday Review… Drennan Acolyte 16m Pole

This entry was posted on 4th December, 2013

Drennan Acolyte Pole Review

For today’s Wednesday review our good friends at Total Pole fishing take an in-depth, no holds barred look at the brand new Drennan Acolyte Pole…

A state-of-the-art pole from tackle giant Drennan has been a long time in the making. Jon Arthur travelled to Oxford to see if the Acolyte is as good as the rumours suggested! The word Acolyte has a few religious associations but, in general, it can mean a follower. I suppose that is quite apt because this pole has closely followed what others have done and then striven to better it! I know that it has taken a considerable time to get right and has gone through a number of developmental stages. The last time I spoke to the guys at Drennan, they were telling me that it was too stiff! Now, however, they’ve perfected it and it’s finally ready for the masses.

I was really looking forward to seeing this pole in the flesh. I had already seen five-time world champion Alan Scotthorne using an Acolyte and he has had a massive say in its development. I also know that the guys at Drennan are perfectionists, so I was really expecting big things.



I remember the last time Drennan brought out a pole with this kind of hype. It was many years ago and called the Logic. In fact, it was so revolutionary that I went and bought one – and the silver Logic Pro that succeeded it.

Before that time, poles never came with nose cones, skid bungs and designated cupping kits. They never had pre-bushed top kits or did away with those flimsy, pointless No1s, either – not ’til the Logic! That pole paved the way and was the precursor to everything that we now take for granted. I was a big fan back then and was really hoping the Acolyte would impress me in the same way.

A sun-drenched session at Oxfordshire’s beautiful Orchid Lakes complex was the ideal setting for the day. Bream and tench were on the cards, plus I could see dark shapes cruising and rudd milling about in the clear water. As I tackled up, I was itching to get the pole out!



Extras Galore!

First look inside the holdall, I was pleased to see a multitude of protective tubes housing an impressive array of top kits and extras. It comes with nine top twos in total, all of which are rated to Drennan’s pink Bungee elastic. There are no super-thin No1 sections waiting to be thrown away; the top twos will take a 3.5mm diameter PTFE bush without any cutting back whatsoever. At this length, they will take up to green Bungee and are ideal if you are more of a silver-fish angler. Cut just 10 centimetres off the tips and you can fit a 4.5mm-diameter PTFE bush instead, which will take 14-16 pink Bungee and is definitely what I would choose to do from the outset. I am sure that this pole will accommodate stronger elastics too, by the way.

Wait for this… you get 36 PTFE bushes in total! Half of those fit the pole as it comes; nine with wide bores and nine narrow. Then, there are another two sets with a wider 4.5mm diameter; again with wider and narrower internal bores. A really nice touch!



I am also a big fan of EVA nose cones and elastic-centralising bushes that fit a top kit’s No2 section. I’ve been using these for some time in my current pole because they help prevent sticking to the walls when fitting elastic through a full top kit – as I invariably do these days. You get nine of these as well!

Then there’s the cupping kit. Drennan has realised that most people only use the larger 250ml pots that it already sells (the two smaller sizes are merely used by faffy people for measuring bait!), so it has supplied two large pole pots with the package.



There is also a designated cupping kit. This consists of an extra-strong top two, which is the same length as a normal top-two kit, plus a reinforced No3 section. Cupping in big balls of groundbait can put a lot of pressure on a top kit, so the No3 is a useful option. Of course, the cupping kit will also fit onto a standard No3 section should you wish. This three-piece cupping kit has been designed to be really stiff because Drennan believes that it is the repeated bouncing and ricocheting from wobbly cupping kits that is a big cause of pole breakages. Having cupped in more than my fair share of heavy balls of leam and soil over the years, I know exactly where Drennan is coming from!

Interestingly, I gather that some people have already ordered more cupping kits to turn into extra-strong power kits for hauling work! I would wait for the Acolyte Carp for that job, which I gather isn’t too far away…

The last few extras you get are two very useful mini extensions that fit the No5 and higher, plus four protective Drennan Skid Bungs – which I still rate as the best out there.



Slim Marvel

So, that’s all the kits and extras dealt with, how does it fish? In short, I was instantly impressed! Shipping the pole out to the full 16 metres, something hit me straightaway. This pole is very slim. I could easily get my fingers all the way around its circumference and that really surprised me. More and more poles these days are built on wider mandrels and have thicker butts to help them stay stiff and rigid at the tip end. It obviously comes down to carefully selected carbons and resins because Drennan has managed to keep the butt diameter down, yet still maintained an ultra-stiff pole.

Whipping the tip over repeatedly, I was very impressed with its recovery. Squeezing all of the sections, I was also very happy with the wall strength. This pole simply oozed class and felt long, stiff and strong. It was really comfortable to fish with and I would not hesitate to use this pole for the all-round fishing that I do – be that bagging up on commercials, to river fishing for anything from roach to eels.

This pole is a ‘true-length’ design – which means it really is 16 metres long – something you cannot take for granted with many other models. In fact, we held someone else’s high-end pole up against it, which not only felt sloppier but it was almost a metre shorter at each corresponding length! My current pole held up pretty well against it but the big difference was that narrower butt diameter. It really did make all the difference because I fished with it between 11 and 16 metres all day.



In Session

My first target was hopefully some of those big carp that I could occasionally see cruising through the swim. I quickly assembled a long-lining ‘flick rig’ to see if I could fool them but, alas, they were far too spooky and had other things on their mind. I still had no trouble flicking a dibber in front of these cruisers with the pole at full extension.

Soon, all of the carp had disappeared into one of the corners to sulk, so I potted in some meat and pellets in open water, plus groundbait and maggots long down the edge. Ten minutes later I had yellow 10-12 Bungee flowing out of my top kit as the first of a dozen bream from 1lb to 4lb came my way. The stiffness of the kit ensured that even this relatively powerful elastic did its job well.

With the margin swim sufficiently primed it was time to have a look for some edge dwellers. My first two forays didn’t go to plan because I found myself attached to underwater roots and branches! Still, pulling for a break with a 0.18mm rig is as good a test of a pole’s strength as anything!



With the snags now located, my third drop-in down the edge was much more successful. The float dipped and the resulting lift saw several feet of pink Bungee violently jagging away. Whatever it was felt like a good fish and I had a few hairy moments trying to keep it away from snags. Then, up popped a fine tench that must have been at least 4lb, possibly 5lb! Sadly, a bit too much bankside disturbance put paid to any more tench action but I had already seen enough to convince me what a quality pole the Acolyte is.

It is the first pole in a while that has really made me sit up and take notice. I think Drennan has created something pretty special with the Acolyte. It really is a class piece of kit and I wouldn’t hesitate to use one for my fishing. In fact, I think I want one!

Tech Spec - Slimmer & lighter than other poles of similar price - Full Length: 16m - 8 x Top 2 plus 1 in the pole - 1 x Cupping top 3 plus Cups - 2 x Spare No3 sections - 1 x 62cm short extension - 1 x 72cm short extension - Skid Bungs - Elastic Centralizers - Holdall and Tubes included

Buy The Drennan Acolyte 16m Pole Package