Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
Live test: Drennan Tench and Bream Rod
Will these new Drennan blanks live up to the reputation of the original Tench & Bream rods? IYCF editor James Furness was keen to find out
DRENNAN SPECIALIST MKII TENCH & BREAM RODS RRP: £129
THE original Specialist Tench & Bream rods were launched in 2009 and quickly became a firm favourite among big-fish hunters. I owned a pair of the original 1.75lb rods and they were a pleasure to fish with. So, when I heard that a MKII version was in the pipeline I couldn’t wait to have a go with them. But how would they measure up to the originals? The first obvious difference is that the full Duplon handle on the 2lb Distance rod has been replaced with a traditional full cork handle. The high modulus carbon blanks are slightly slimmer on both models and the Fuji DPS reel seat sits higher up the handle on the 1.75lb version so you can position your hands further apart when casting.
I’d been tipped off by one of my colleagues on Angling Times about a lake that had been producing some good early season tench and it sounded like the perfect venue to try out the rods. Typically, the night before the test the temperatures plummeted and I even had to scrape a thin layer of frost off the car in the morning! Add a strong north easterly wind into the mix and we were left with far from classic tench conditions. Undeterred, I put out 10 Spombs of mixed particles and then set about preparing my Method mix and tying up a couple of fresh rigs. Half an hour later, two Method feeders were cast over the baited area and I sat down wondering if the tench were going to play ball. Before I could even pour myself a coffee I had my answer, the bobbin on the 2lb Distance rod pulling up as the line tightened. Lifting the rod off the alarm I bent into my first tench of the year. Being designed for casting power with a stiffened-up butt section, I was interested to see what it was like to play a fish. The spot I was fishing was in around 7ft of water and the fish came in fairly easily until I brought it up the shelf into shallower water where it really woke up! Thankfully, the progressive, semi-through action and shock-absorbing tip easily coped with these sudden erratic lunges and a tench of around 5lb was soon guided into the net. The fish had obviously wasted no time in finding the loosefeed and I didn’t manage to get the rod back out on the spot before I received a take on the 1.75lb test curve rod. I excitedly bent into another fish. My original Tench & Bream rods were a real joy to play fish on and, after seeing how the Distance rod performed, I knew this lighter rod was going to be a real pleasure. And I wasn’t wrong! The fight was almost identical to the previous battle with the fish suddenly coming to life as it came up the shelf and the rod took on a
beautiful curve as the fish did its best to get back to the deeper water. Each sudden burst of energy was absorbed by the responsive tip but you could tell that the rod still had plenty of power in reserve to cope with really big specimens. The spot I’d been fishing was only at 25 yards which hadn’t really tested the casting abilities of either rod. So, with a couple of fish landed I decided to load the feeders and give the rods more of a workout in the casting department. The 1.75lb rod will comfortably and accurately cast a fully-loaded 35g Method feeder to 50-60 yards. If you are going to be regularly fishing at distances beyond this range then the 2lb Distance rod would be a wiser investment. The stiffer butt section gives extra casting power and the seven SiC guides provides ultra-smooth line flow which will result in bonus yards.