[uptracker]

What are the pro's and con's of 2 pc., 4 pc. and 6 pc. rods? Looking to get an 8 wt for steelies.

 

[bigsablemike]

pieces the weaker and less sensitive but more portable. my 9 ft 2pc transports easily and is pretty sensitve. my one pc 7ft spinning rods are more sensitive and seem to have more ass behind them than the same but in 2pc. just my personal observations and preferences. i think the less pcs the better.

 

[gunrod]

I had to borrow Esox's rods recently for my trip to Florida because my 2pc rods would have cost me more money when travelling by plane. If you think you might travel by plane in the future then a 4pc will fit in your luggage. I've never found a 4pc that couldn't handle what I was fishing but rod selection (weight and action) play a more important role when selecting a rod. If you select the right rod for your fishing than a 4 pc is ok. My future rods will by 4pc's for just this purpose.

 

[uptracker]

Thanks so far guys. I'm gonna have quite a few questions in the coming months so bear with me.

 

[gunrod]

Thanks so far guys. I'm gonna have quite a few questions in the coming months so bear with me.

Fine with us as long as you don't mind quite a few different answers.

You'll find you will sometimes have to take all the advice you get and pick out the answers that best suit your needs. We all cast different, fish different, etc.....but some where in there are ideas that will help point you in the right direction.

Good luck.

 

[ESOX]

In my expierence 4 pc rods are a bit stiffer than 2 pc rods, because of all the ferrules. This might be a small hinderance on a smaller rod, 5 wt and down when fishing with very fine tippets. Except for my 9 1/2' mid flex 7 I got specifically for steelhead, all my rods 6 wt and up are four pc, but they are all tip flex rods purchased for big water, and the tight loop throwing stifness is what I wanted.
Knockoff has a Cabellas Stowaway 3 WT 7 piece that has power and the ability to throw a tight loop that has to be seen to be appreciated. That is one powerful little stick, and he has no problem with it on windswept L. St. Clair chasing panfish. The fact that he is a pretty darn good caster in his own right doesn't hurt either, but the stiffness added by all those ferrules has got to help. He has also handled some fish on it that are well out of the realm of what one thinks of catching when rigging up a three wt.

 

[Shoeman]

I started out with an arsenal of 2pc rods.

But have since traded ALL of them in for 4's. It's not just for airline travel. They stow better in vehicles and boats without tripping over 5' tubes. As for sacrificing action, I sure can't tell the difference.

 

[Ray Adams]

Here is a 180 degree swing for you. Rods have come a long way since your grandpa's 2 piece. My experience with 3, 4, and 6 piece rods is that there is more of a slow action to multiple piece rods but that is good for me. I really hate fast action rods.

The places I go to trout fish are as far from people as I can get, which often means a lot of walking through brush etc. I have no room or patience for 2 piece rods. If it doesn't break down to 3 ft or less, I don't want it.

Ray

 

[MSUICEMAN]

i guess i'll chime in.... unless you get into 6 or 7 or more peice rods, a high quality blank should not be significantly reduced in performance. for fly rods sensitivity isn't really feeling them bite, its feeling the loading and its casting ability. I use mostly 3 or 4 pc blanks because I enjoy the ease in which travel is with them.

for spinning/casting blanks, i still think that 2 or 3 pc blanks don't really suffer much of a degradation in sensitivity or durability at all, but the market reaps what people want and the old school thinking of more peices = less sensitivity and more prone to breaking still runs rampant so most casting/spinning blanks are offered in 1 pc.

 

[Jackster1]

Most of my rods are now 4 piece. I fought the 'too-many-piece rod' craze for years then discovered it wasn't a craze. The finest, lightest and best casting/fishing rods in the world are now multiple piece.
Given a choice and knowing I'll never have to move it anywhere I would opt for a one-piece rod every time because of some of the reasons noted above. For practical use though I defy anyone to blind cast good four-piece rods and tell me they can feel the difference in feel or weight.
The industry seems to favor four piece rods and I'm glad they do. They break down into two even pieces which is nice for stashing in a rod/reel case for strapping to a 'toon or driving between fishing spots.

 

[uptracker]

Thanks guys, I ended up going with a TFO Signature Series 9' two piece 8 wt. to start out with. Now I need a reel!