buying a new rod.

[HMD]

I've only recenty came back to fly fishing in the last year after 15 years away ( 14 years old and didn't appreciate the finer things in lifewhen I last fly fished). I have fished a varieity of rods weight wise ( 4- and lengths and have a decent idea of what I want that way. Price wise I have my budget, but a huge improvement of my under $100 combo is what I am looking for. Overall I am looking for a medium action 7 weight rod in probably a 10' lenght.
I fish alot of small lakes and a float tube will be a future purchase.

My question is should I buy a 2 piece or 4 piece rod? And what differences can I expect between a 2 piece vs a 4 piece? I expect the action of the four piece to be stiffer than the two piece, am I wrong to think this? I'd like to travel some with my new rod but at the same time don't want to sacrafice the action of my new rod too much.

What is my best option?

-Hillard

[Garic]

hi Hillard, you won't notice a difference in the action between a 2 or 4 peice rod these days, so I would recommend the 4 peice for the convenience factor.

[oldfrat]

What Garic said!

[PaGuy]

i hate 2 peice rods they dont fit in your trunk. but 4 peice rods suck sometimes putting them together get 4 peice with the alignment dots on them like tfo rods have

[Satchel]

4 pc all the way for me. Or at least 3. I have a 10 ft. 3 pc 8 wt. I built on a Dan Craft blank. It's not to bad to take along.
Alignment is best accomplished by starting with the tip section and letting the guies hang below the rod. when you see equal amounts of each guide on either side of the rod you are straight. Real easy for me to see with this method. I put the butt section on last and get it close. Then put the reel on and fine tune it. Just my nickle's worth.

[Terry Lightle]

4 piece hands down

[LadyFisher]

Over-all convenience, go with the 4 piece, if you haven't been fishing in 14 years you will be amazed at how good rods are now. On the alignment, anyone can take a toothpick and a bottle of fingernail polish and put the dots on. The reason many rod companies don't is they don't stay....eventually they come off. Putting the top and bottom sections together and then joining them is exactly what we do.

[JeffHamm]

Hi,

I have two 2 piece rods, and one 4 piece rod. I almost never use either of the 2 piece rods anymore because the 4 piece rod travels so much easier; it just fit in our car better. Even on trips when the heavier 2 piece rod would have been the better choice, I would take the 4 piece rod because the longer rod just got in the way while driving and the 4 piece would fit in the trunk. However, we've just purchased a used minivan, so my 2 piece rods can now fit in the vehicle, so I'll use them more now. If I were replacing them, however, I would get a 4 piece rod.

As Obi Wan said, "Use the fours, Luke".

- Jeff

[PaGuy]

LadyFisher fingernail polish ohhhh, I have some rods to paint. Thankyou would have never though of that

[Fly Goddess]

I have a 10' 8 wt that is a two piece and the only reason was that it was cheaper than the 4 pc and a rod I won't be using all the time.
I did buy a 10' 5 wt that is a 4 piece. I tell you, the tube on the 8 wt is LONG. Have a hard time getting it into my Zuki.
My vote is 3 or 4 pc.