2 piece vs 4 piece rods.

[Chuckinline 0]

Hey folks. Looking for some feedback on rods. Difference between two piece and four piece? Preferences. Maybe its a newb question, but I am sure there is a lot of discussion that can be had for both.

[vicrider 0]

Fortunately for us fishermen the design of the spigot ferrules and the tip over lower section ferrules that are computer designed to give the best continuous taper action you can go with the 4 piece rods for convenience and have as good a rod for casting as a 2 piece. That said, anytime you can eliminate a ferrule you're better off. Contradiction. Yeah, I guess so but I'm old and can remember when we had metal ferrules and you could see the rod bend down to the ferrule, then a straight section, then the bend start again below the ferrule. When Fenwick came out with it's Ferrulite rods we loved them and when Lamiglas brought out it's blanks with the spigot ferrule again we were made happy. Now they're even better in giving one piece feel.

 

By the way, I use almost exclusively bamboo these days with metal ferrules so what do I know?

[mikechell 0]

I haven't noticed major differences with fishing either. And I DO fish both, with 6 rods in my boat. Some are four piece, some are two piece and I couldn't tell you, from action, which is which.

If you ever want to travel with yours, like I do, I highly recommend the 4 piece. It will fit in a suitcase and the other thread about taking rods on a plane is not an issue.

[utyer 0]

I fish with only 3, 4, 6, and 7 piece rods. Since I travel to trout fish, short rods fit in my carry on bag. My three and 4 piece 8 weights are just a easy for me as the 2 piece rods I used to have. The only 2 piece rod I have left is a 7.5' stream rod, I rarely ever use it.

[flytire 0]

4 piece rods all the way.

 

never going to buy 2 piece rods again

[WVUontheFLY 0]

I have a mix of both, my shorter rods, <7' are 2 piece, and my 8'+ rods are all 4 piece. Would love to have a couple nice one piece rods for hucking musky flies though

[ditz2 0]

my 6' rods are 2 piece but all the rest are now 4 piece. They cast great and much much much much easier to transport. Years ago I thought one piece rods were the way to go. Try taking one of those on a plane ride.......Did I say the 4 piece are easier to transport?

[RickZieger 0]

If you look in the catalogue now there are not many two piece rods being offered. Many more 4 piece.

Most of mine are two piece as I have not bought a rod for at least 6 years.

 

Rick

[Dave G. 0]

I prefer building two piece rods. I think first, it's easier and second, nicer looking. Fishing I don't really know the difference. For the travelling I do for the most part it doesn't matter a whole lot because it's not in airplanes etc. Storage is better/easier with a 4 piece though, if you really break it down all the time.. I've broken two rods in the rear hatch of vehicles that were four piece rods that I only split in half traveling between rivers that were 10 miles apart. It's a sick feeling to get to the second location and see 6 inches of your flyrod sticking out of the hatch in such a way as you know it is not still whole.. LOL My son didn't fall far from the tree, he has done the exact same thing. Oh and his wife broke one in the shed door for him as well.

[SilverCreek 0]

Buy the 4 piece. You can take it on board on a flight and it will be a whole lot easier to resell.

[Hatchet Jack 0]

I have 1 two-piece rod - an old 8'6" 5 wt. St. Croix SCIII that I built years ago.

Goes together easy and quick, compared to a 4-pc.

And there are 3 less ferrules to loosen up, but since I've been using ferrule wax, that's a thing of the past.

 

I thinks once one gets over 9 foot rod length, it's best to go with a 4 piece, be it for airline travel and/or automobile.

[SilverCreek 0]

I carry my 4 pc. rods strung up and broken down into 2 pieces. The fly is hooked to the tip top guide.

 

I use a double 2 pc rod and reel case so I can carry two 9 ft rods with attached reels in one case. I take the strung up rod and reel out of the case, join the middle ferrule and I am ready to fish. There is really no need to carry the rod in 4 pieces and the reel separately; and then have to assemble the rod, reel, and string up the rod, and put on a fly. It literally takes me only a couple of minutes to get my rod and fish.

 

I also save time when putting my rod and reel away. I get it out of the way first before I do anything else. I have never broken a rod or lost a rod because I forgot to take it down or forgot to put in back in the case.

 

I keep all my reels and rods strung up over the winter. I use these cases for permanent storage and the manufacturers rod tubes and rod bags are stored away. There is no matching up reels and lines with the correct rod at the beginning of the season. I save a lot of time since I went to this system. The rod cases are different colors and different lengths so I know which rod and reels are in each case. When I do use the same color and length cases, there is a different colored tag on the rod case zipper.

 

I have double cases for 9 and 10 foot rods and shorter rods go into the 9 ft cases. For example I carry a 8.5 ft and 9ft 5 st rod in one case and a 7.5 ft 3 wt and 8 ft 4 wt rods in another case. These two cases are my Wisconsin stream rods. When I go to Montana, I take a double case for a 10 ft rod and put in a 10 ft 5 wt and a 9 ft 5 wt; and take a 9 ft double rod case for a 8.5 ft 5 wt and an 8.5 ft 4 wt rod. I have 4 rods and reels with me at all times so I am covered.

 

 

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

Like SilverCreek, I like a rod that breaks in half so I can keep it rigged and in a sock or case. So, a 2 or 4 piece rod works great for me - it is the 3 piece that gives me fits cause it doesn't break in half, it breaks down in thirds and that extra piece when rigged is a pain to corral. For traveling and I think like someone mentioned, resale, the 4 piece would be the way to go.

[Capt Bob LeMay 0]

No difference in action or feel between two and four piece rods these days (but that wasn't always the case....). I long ago pretty much quit building fly rods once I began guiding full time about twenty years ago (my last two were a 10 and a 12wt on Thomas & Thomas Horizon blanks - both two piece...). Years ago the two piece blanks (and the finished rods) were slightly cheaper, as well -but I doubt that's still the case....

 

Whatever I have these days (a minimum of seven sticks - occasionally one or two more) are mostly two piece rods - the most recent under one guide program or other are four piece because that's all that was offered by the manufacturer... However many pieces, every one is fully assembled and never broken down unless it's going back for a warranty repair. I actually have two Sage rods that have been back to the factory more than one time in a single year - but that's a guide problem, not likely for ordinary anglers....

 

The only drawback I've ever seen in four piece blank is that there's a bit more opportunity for one joint or other to loosen up during use, but that's easily corrected by just checking out the rod every hour or two of use. Loosening up a joint, if you stick a big fish, is a recipe for a broken rod since the ferrules need to be fully mated for proper strength. That's not something most freshwater anglers will ever deal with but the fish that we occasionally tangle with in the salt are a lot bigger and tougher than anything in freshwater - so it's a concern....

 

Hope this helps

[SilverCreek 0]

 

 

The only drawback I've ever seen in four piece blank is that there's a bit more opportunity for one joint or other to loosen up during use, but that's easily corrected by just checking out the rod every hour or two of use. Loosening up a joint, if you stick a big fish, is a recipe for a broken rod since the ferrules need to be fully mated for proper strength. That's not something most freshwater anglers will ever deal with but the fish that we occasionally tangle with in the salt are a lot bigger and tougher than anything in freshwater - so it's a concern....

 

 

+1 to the above. Loose ferrules will cause breaks even on fresh water fish. Use ferrule wax or candle wax to help keep ferrules seated.

 

I can add that when a guide loosens up, the rod will begin to feel "mushy" and not as crisp during casting. It will not be as accurate and you will need to use more force to get the same length cast.

 

Most fly fsihers cast with a bit of an oval motion, even if they think they are straight overhead casters. When a ferrule loosens up, the oval motion will cause the sections to twist a bit off alignment. This means the guide will be a bit off-set, and you can tell which ferrule is loose just by looking down the guides.

 

"Another easily avoided rod breaker is an unseated ferrule, which is like a time bomb, says Johnson: “It’s an almost surefire way to break a fly rod. The ferrule sections loosen up during casting, and if a fisherman does not reseat those sections, they will eventually break,” warns Jim West. “It happens all the time.”

 

If you are casting weighted flies, sinking lines, or a Spey rod, it’s imperative that you check your ferrules regularly. The constant stresses and twisting action of casting will inevitably loosen those fragile connections. Some anglers combat this with a thin coating of paraffin wax or a tacky specialty product such as Mr. Zog’s Sex Wax (www.sexwax.com), which is designed for use on surfboards but works great on fly rods. Spey casters have long used a short strip of electrical tape to keep sections seated, as well."

http://americanangler.com/technique/busted

 

 

"Multi-piece rods come equipped with flexible ferules to give the most uniform action. In order for them to perform, they must be securely seated. Loose connections will give a “wobbly” feel when casting and can possibly break from the inside out."

 

http://www.sageflyfish.com/blog/04/2012/the-rod-breakin’-blues-by-joe-mahler