I was always led to believe that the more sections to a rod the weaker it would be, is this true? I can understand having a 4 piece rod for travelling.

I wouldnt say it isnt true otherwise they wouldnt make them in so many peices.But like you I always feel the more sections the weaker it makes the rod.This is just my own personal feelings and not a proven fact.An interesting topic and would be good to hear others opinions on it.I like a three piece myself which works fine but do have 4 piece rods which do well also.I suppose im talking myself into the truth that it doesnt make them weaker,but its just that feeling I get with so many peices.

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Kevin

I have no qualms on 3 or 4 section rod. The tip section on some 7 piece rods would have me a bit worried though. Anyone out there experienced breakages on such tiny tip sections. This has always made me wonder, if 4 section is no problem to most people but a 7 section looks fragile, why not compromise. I know the new missionary is a 6 section but has anyone seen a five section? I would have thought a 5 section to be pretty convenient yet retaining a reasonable diameter for the bottom of the tip section. Maybe theres a gap in the market.

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Location - Ospreylia

Well i can say for my self i own 3-4-7 piece rods and i dont think the 7 piece is weaker , well i managed to land a 20pounder with it np ( its a 9 ft 7-8wt)

I was, many years ago, resistant to even 3 piece rods but lets not forget that the design of rods has moved on a pace, especially over the last 10 years.

At the beginning of this year I bought a new small stream rod, a Winston LT - 6' 9", 3wt - 5 piece. It is a beautiful little rod and using it you'd never know it was in 5 pieces - definitely no flat spots.

A modern, well designed, multi piece rod is a joy to use - easy to transport - and keep in the boot out of prying eyes.

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[I]"I still don't know why I fish or why other men fish, except that we like it and it makes us think and feel."[/I] Roderick L Haig-Brown

[url]www.wildfly.net[/url]

[url]http://www.gameanglinginstructors.co.uk/[/url]

Agree with Lighthouse. I used to have an instinctive aversion to multi piece rods and felt 2 sections was optimal. Indeed some extremists used to argue the case for one piece rods, and some of the heritage anglers here may recall various "staggered ferrule" offerings in hollow glass with a relatively short butt section and as long a one piece top section as possible.

But technology has moved on in the last 10 years or so. I use a 9 foot, 4 piece, 5 weight Barrio Otter rod for river fishing and it's little beauty - there is no hint at all of the number of joints in the rod and it casts and plays fish very smoothly.

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"In wine there is wisdom. In beer there is strength. In water there is bacteria." - German proverb
JH based near Southampton

H,
Over the years I have had 2 rods break , both at the tip section through pulling line down through the rings, I know now that this is a BAD thing.
The joint on a rod is , I would have thought , the strongest part especially when the rod is assembled as there are two thicknesses of material, albeit slightly thinner walled than the rest of the rod.
The argument against multi-piece rods was that early ones were lumpy when casting as the joints flexed less than the rest of the rod.Modern ones do not suffer from this , or at least I cannot tell by casting alone if a rod is 2 or 4 piece
I have a 2 and 4 piece Sage rod of the same model . I liked the 2 piece so much I wanted to use it on my travels and bought the 4.I would defy anyone to blind test the difference.
Now, all the new rods I buy are 4 piece

Regards
Rob

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on the banks of the River Dove-walking in Isaac's footsteps

John
In fact the reverse is true. The reason that all of my rods are 4-piece is that it allows me to build each section from a different material and improve the action of the rod according to my design requirements...for example I have a range of rods called SLP designed for big game fishing...the 9' 14wt has a lifting capacity of around 15 kilos....only because the bottom two sections are a mix of Kevlar and fibreglass.
One of the biggest problems associated with fly casting is Tip bounce, this can be improved by making the tip section from a faster material.
Mick

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www.bloke-rods.co.uk

Interesting, Bloke - shows 2 things; first that the days of hollow glass and so on are long gone, and second and more important that frequently it pays to think counter-intuitively.

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"In wine there is wisdom. In beer there is strength. In water there is bacteria." - German proverb
JH based near Southampton