multi piece rods

[hugefish_80]

Ok, so i have noticed that fly rods come in as many as 7 pieces. Why? I know very little about fly rods, but i do know that with spinning/baitcasting rods that not having a solid 1 piece blank creates stress points, weak spots, reduces casting accuracy, as well as decreasing sensitivity. sensitivity shouldn't be an issue with a fly but i would imagine that throwing 50 feet of fly line would be a pretty heavy strain for the rod and i would think that accuracy would be very important to anyone casting to rising trout. I can understan a 2 piece because that gives you 2 four foot six pieces instead of a 9 foot that most of us would have to poke out the back window to drive to the fishing hole. however, i don't understand why you would want a 4 piece 8 foot 3 wt. can some one plz explain?

[Big Bad Wulff]

"To fit in the overhead storage or under your seat" I guess. A 4-peice would fit in most travel bags. I guess a 7-piece would give you more packing room for gear.

I did a trip last year where we rode dirt bikes in Colorado and fished. It was awesome! A four-piece did well and was completley adequate but a 5-7 sure would have packed up a little better. There is no way we could do it with our 2-piece rods. I could see somone on on a mountain bike wanting one. Although breaking the rod down sure would be a PIA!

[erichthered]

I have wondered how well a 7 piece would fish as well. It sure would fit on my motorcycle better. Any with reviews or opinions on some pack rods?
Thanks.... Erich

[Gardenfish]

over the years this has been discussed a few times. the consensus is that multi-piece fly rods cast just fine. I have three, four and five piece rods. They are wonderful to fish with. Modern ferrule design and construction is such that all those joints don't matter a bit. The rods use less space and whether it is for traveling or storage they make good sense.

[J Castwell]

If,,, the multi-piece rod is properly designed, the number of sections will not matter or be noticeable. They will cast well, fish well, play/fight/land well and pack better than others. I have a 3wt that I landed a 24" rainbow with. All sections of the rod are 6 inches long.

[gutbomb]

Over the years, the airlines have mastered the art of bending supposed "safe" travel cases for rods. A 4 piece will fit nicely inside a big suitcase and will be much safer.

[hugefish_80]

I have a 3wt that I landed a 24" rainbow with. All sections of the rod are 6 inches long.

how long is that rod?

[Buddy Sanders]

Hugefish,

You wrote:

"I know very little about fly rods, but I do know that with spinning/baitcasting rods that not having a solid 1 piece blank creates stress points, weak spots, reduces casting accuracy, as well as decreasing sensitivity".

That was true thirty or forty years ago. The technology of building modern graphite rods, specifically the designs of the integral ferrules, renders all of what you wrote as outdated.

Todays rods don't have weak spots at the ferrules, 'stress points', nor are they less sensitive or less accurate. That applies to all types of rods, not just fly rods.

You can now buy multi piece bass and inshore saltwater rods 'off the rack' in many shops. Custom builders are building multi piece rods for game like Marlin and Tuna.

The angler who uses these rods gives up nothing to a one piece rod.

The 'benefits' of multi piece rods are primarily rod portability and rod safety. The shorter pieces are easier to treansport and harder to break while they are being transported.

If you don't 'travel' to fish, it probably doesn't matter much.

Good Luck!

Buddy

[Bobinmich]

It is scientifically impossible to build a ferruled rod to the exact same characteristics as a continuous rod section. It will be heavier, stiffer, and possibly weaker because of stress concentrations. It's like it is not possible to have a knotted joint in the line behave as though there were no joint.

So, the only reason you would want joints in your rod is for portability. And the less joints, the better. Only you can decide that degree of portability you want. All the way from getting it into your car crosswise to sticking it in a suitcase.

There is work afoot by Magnus Argus and Grunde Lovell to characterize rods by their Polar Moment of Inertia (MOI) as well as their static strength (exhibited by ERN in the CCS method). I would guess that the more sections you have - the higher the MOI (bad). So all that money you spent on that ultra high modulus graphite is going to be somewhat wasted. More will come out on this later.

So what does all this mean? It means multi-piece rods are a compromise for portability and you should not compromise beyond what you need.

All that being said, the joints in rods today are hardly noticable. So the compromise is probably minor. The only way you can be sure just what that compromise actually is, would be to cast identical rods (identical except for the #of ferrules that is) side by side. I have never done that and I don't know anyone who has (key word - identical).

And as JC said, there are many multipiece rods available and because of the skill of the designers, they are okay.

But an acceptable compromise, none-the-less. And science will say that there is a difference.

As for me, I have never found it.

Godspeed,

Bob

[flybinder]

"Interesting"!?! First, my rods are effected by "ERN" and "CCS" methods, so instead of "bad karma", I've NOW got worry about "having a limp "MOI", which sounds sort of scary!?! I just hope I don't lose my "MOJO" and I guess,I'll be okay!?
And, Hugefish, my Sage, 7pc. Travel Rod casts, mends, handles large fish, (on VERY RARE occasions!), and everything, else it's supposed to do.. just as well as any of my 2-piece rods. It's 5 years old and still going strong. Even has all its original MOJO still intact!