Drennan Acolyte Commercial Feeder Rods

How well is it built?

The Acolyte is Drennan's top series, and the finishing on the Commercial Feeder shows it.

The blank is a super slim, responsive carbon, fitted with oversized, high-quality SiC guides and a Fuji DPS screw-down reel seat, which is the sort of hardware I'd expect on a rod at this level.

The full cork handle and the engraved butt cap are nice touches, and the Acolyte Commercial name is printed neatly along the blank. It's a two-piece rod, so you can carry it to the bank made up in a rod sleeve or rod case, which saves time at the start of a session.

Drennan include neoprene rod socks and retaining bands too, so the tips and sections are protected in the holdall. For me there's nothing in the spec that suggests a corner has been cut, and that's why it scores so well for build.

How well does it cast and feel?

Drennan say the slim, responsive blank is there for casting accuracy, and that's exactly what you want on a commercial when you're hitting the same spot by an island or a far bank feature all day.

It's rated for method feeders, feeders and bombs up to 60g, which covers everything from a small method to a heavier bomb on a windy day.

The three tapered carbon quivertips come in X Soft, Soft and Medium ratings, and they let you match the tip to the conditions and the fish. I'd use the X Soft for shy silvers on a calm day and step up to the Medium when you're fishing a heavier feeder or there's tow on the water.

The 10ft is the one I'd pick for short and medium chucks to islands, while the 11ft gives you a bit more reach and line pickup across a bigger lake.

How does it perform when playing fish?

A commercial feeder rod has a tricky job, because it has to cast a heavy method feeder accurately but still be soft enough not to bump off F1s and skimmers.

Drennan have designed the Acolyte to do both, coping with heavy bombs and method feeders while still registering bites from silvers and F1s.

Paired with 4lb to 8lb reel lines, it's at home with the carp, F1s and bream you'll find on most stocked lakes, and I'd expect the slim blank to cushion fish well under the rod tip as they come to the net.

The full cork handle and the screw-down reel seat give you a secure grip when a bigger carp heads for the far bank.

It isn't a rod for river barbel or long-range reservoir work, where a heavier distance feeder rod makes more sense, but that isn't what it's built for.

Is it good value for money?

The Acolyte Commercial Feeder is one of the dearest rods in its class, costing more than the Daiwa Spectron Commercial Ultra Quiver and the Matrix Horizon X Ultra Pro Distance Feeder, and roughly double the Guru N-Gauge Pro Feeder.

You're paying for Drennan's top series, the Fuji reel seat, the SiC guides and the full cork handle, and to be fair you get three quality tips and neoprene socks in with it.

If you only fish the feeder now and again, the Guru N-Gauge Pro or the Drennan Vertex Method Feeder will do the job for a lot less, which is why the value score is the lowest of the four.

It suits commercial and club match anglers who fish the method and feeder most weekends, want accuracy to islands and features, and are happy to pay more for a rod that's built to last.