Do two piece rods have an advantage?

[lakhyaman]

I own a number of two piece specialist rods of much celebrated makes. I also have a number of rods for similar purposes which are three, four and even five piece from the same makers. Frankly the multi piece rods perform just as well and in some cases better than the two piece rods. I am no doubt pretty hamfisted and unable to appreciate the finer aspects of rods and cannot see such things as flat spots but I see no difference in action and sweetness of playing ability based on the number of pieces a rod comes in, provided of course that it is well made in the first place.

Certainly there are advantages in portability and fitting in your car.

I know I would be delighted to have my carp rods as three piece rods. In fact I have been looking to have them custom made that way but no luck so far.

Would be delighted if I could be corrected in my fallacies.

Stay safe

All the best

Lakhyaman

 

[108831]

There are a few benefits,lightness,diameters and actions are easier to achieve with two piece rods,the more joints must and does effect the action of the rod,plus the ease of carrying made up rods,are these 'benefits' an issue to the angler,in the main no,for most of our fishing rods can be bought with more sections to a good standard,rods like the Hardy smuggler for example,which is four piece,which equates to still being carried in two pieces made up,being honest in the main I like setting up on the bank,its part of the day out,others don't have the time or inclination....

 

[S-Kippy]

I think modern multi piece rods are very much better than they used to be but the no of sections is not a deal breaker for me.That said years ago I was treating myself to a Greys Prodigy Barbel rod which came in either 2 or 3 pc versions. The 3 piece was noticeably softer. Whether that was unique to that particular rod or a general thing I dont know but it was quite noticeable. I bought the 2 piece.

For some people ease of transportation of multi section rods is a major advantage. The BF is positively anal about being able to hide his rods in the boot whereas I couldn't care less.

 

[tigger]

I have a couple of multi piece rods, one 11ft hardy specialist avon which is four piece and a 11ft 6inch hardy supero avon rod which is six piece.
I also have the 11ft specialist avon in two piece and a 11ft 6inch specialist in two piece.
The difference that I have noted is that the two piece feels a little lighter and a touch softer in action.
I think the number of joints stiffens up the multi piece rods when waggled and may give the impression of a smidge more power.

I also have a 1.75 test curve JWYoung barbel rod in four piece and again, it feels stiffer than a two pice rod but when under pressure feels pretty much the same as the equivalent two piece rod.

All the above multi section rods including the quite cheap Youngs rod don't appear to have any flat spots

 

[108831]

My Marksman 11' 6" Avon smuggler was definitely stiffer than the two piece equivelent, over 11' two piece rods are a pig to transport,just too long for comfort in most vehicles,encompass the fact that I prefer 11ft rods for my barbel,chub rods then thats me sorted,lol...

 

[Molehill]

I have 2, 3 and 4 piece rods in both game and coarse, I don't really think about it or notice though I am sure if I got really anal about it I could find some little difference.

The positive side of multi piece is transport - especially for game anglers that frequently fly to far off countries. The negative is that manufacturing costs are slightly higher, which has to be passed on to the angler.

 

[bullet]

I would always have as few pieces as possible with a rod in an ideal world, but for convenience, I have several multi piece for travelling.
Personally, I prefer 4 piece maximum if I can get away it, and would rather these than 3 piece, as they can be broken down in use like a 2 piece.

 

[108831]

Thats great,but if you have a car like mine 12' broken down actually equates to 6' 4" sections, too long for many holdalls and my motor,lol.

 

[Steve Arnold]

I find multi section rods annoying to carry as they cannot be broken down easily with reel, line and terminal rig in place. I really hate tying basic rigs at the water as I usually fish very short sessions and time is precious. What I really mean is - I am lazy!

Two piece rods under 12' fit into my car quite easily. So I might say the car dictates the length of rod sections that are convenient.

If you need a rod to fit in the boot out of sight, try telescopics. I have a few and none are beauties and some have horrible fighting curves. But, due to their convenience, they have caught many fish! One i have used for light sea work, pike and flood barbel is the Browning Carboxy Pike telescopic, as telescopic rods go this is by far the best I have found. Wish they were still marketed as I would buy the lighter zander version for general river use.

 

[108831]

It really is down to you own personal fishing,when barbel fishing I would not want to fish more than two sessions with the same set up,that goes from 6ft above the lead,tackle has to be reliable and sound,so re-rigging is important imb,also I like fresh made hooklengths,especially after playing fish from weed,paranoid,possibly,but fish can be hard to come by,so I want to land them all if at all possible,made up rods make for lazy angling practice,for a lot of my angling I take rods bags,in tubes,so 11ft barbel rods are perfect to me,especially as I find 11fters better for playing fish too,float rods to me need setting up on arrival at the water,lighter lines tend to have a memory at the point of breaking down,so kinking is noticeable...

 

[tigger]

Just for reference, all my multi section rods can be set up and broken in half left made up just the same as a two piece rod.
Although actually doing that regularly does kind'a defeat the object of having a multi section/travel rod, unless you prefer it for it's ease of storage at home.
I find transporting a multi section unmade rod along the river bank, or to a water way more convenient and I find the same when transporting them in the car also.

 

[Ray Roberts]

I’ve got a 13 ft two piece float rod and it’s a real pita to transport lovely action but not worth the extra trouble to cart around or find hold-all’s and rod tubes it will fit in.


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[S-Kippy]

I’ve got a 13 ft two piece float rod and it’s a real pita to transport lovely action but not worth the extra trouble to cart around or find hold-all’s and rod tubes it will fit in.


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So have I. It is indeed a right royal pita to transport but a lovely rod to use. I just carry it as it is because it fits nothing I own. Dont use it often but that's purely because my fishing has changed since I bought it.

 

[Steve Arnold]

It really is down to you own personal fishing,when barbel fishing I would not want to fish more than two sessions with the same set up,that goes from 6ft above the lead,tackle has to be reliable and sound,so re-rigging is important imb,also I like fresh made hooklengths,especially after playing fish from weed,paranoid,possibly,but fish can be hard to come by,so I want to land them all if at all possible,made up rods make for lazy angling practice,for a lot of my angling I take rods bags,in tubes,so 11ft barbel rods are perfect to me,especially as I find 11fters better for playing fish too,float rods to me need setting up on arrival at the water,lighter lines tend to have a memory at the point of breaking down,so kinking is noticeable...

I like to make up new end rigs at home rather than at the water side. I use braid for most of my fishing with about 6' of fluoro as a leader, that is changed as often as I feel it is necessary (but the join made properly, at home!). I may be lazy in some ways, but certainly not careless!

Maybe it's my age, but eyesight is a problem with that. I (like many 60+) will need reading, intermediate and/or distance glasses. So doing as many of the rigging steps in my workshop makes for safe and efficient angling at the waterside. Not necessarily lazy! Match anglers are usually a good example of being organised, with their rigs, spare spool etc well prepared.

There are some pretty good telescopic rods available, continental anglers see the practicality. Not just for holiday anglers, although I must admit there are some really cheap'n'nasty tele rods out there!

 

[Keith M]

I’ve got a 13 ft two piece float rod and it’s a real pita to transport lovely action but not worth the extra trouble to cart around or find hold-all’s and rod tubes it will fit in.

I’ve got a 13 ft two piece float rod too but I don’t have any problems with transportation. It’s a Drennan Tench/specialist float rod with a removable section of the handle (so technically it could be called a 3 piece) but for short sessions I can make it up previously at home before I go, or just change the hooklength; and then fold it in two and place it inside it’s padded rod sleeve, and be fishing within seconds when I get there, which on a short evening session is invaluable for me. I carry it ready made up in a padded rod sleeve on the outside of a rod quiver which fits nicely between the front seats of my Audi A3 hatchback.
If I am trotting for Barbel on the local stream or on a river then I prefer my 3 piece Drennan Tench float rod, but for short sessions on my local estate lake the two piece rod carried ready made up is great.

NB: I haven’t used a rod hold-all for about 15 years or more but I do have several different rod Quivers which all take different numbers of padded rod sleeves, and the occasional plastic tube(s) if I’m carrying the occasional whip or 3 piece rod.

Keith

 

[Richox12]

If I am trotting for Barbel on the local stream or on a river then I prefer my 3 piece Drennan Tench float rod, but for short sessions on my local estate lake the two piece rod carried ready made up is great.
Keith

Keith, I take it that preference is due to action/power of the rods rather than however many sections they are made of ?

 

[Ray Roberts]

I’ve got a 13 ft two piece float rod too but I don’t have any problems with transportation. It’s a Drennan Tench/specialist float rod with a removable section of the handle (so technically it could be called a 3 piece) but for short sessions I can make it up previously at home before I go, or just change the hooklength; and then fold it in two and place it inside it’s padded rod sleeve, and be fishing within seconds when I get there, which on a short evening session is invaluable for me. I carry it ready made up in a padded rod sleeve on the outside of a rod quiver which fits nicely between the front seats of my Audi A3 hatchback.
If I am trotting for Barbel on the local stream or on a river then I prefer my 3 piece Drennan Tench float rod, but for short sessions on my local estate lake the two piece rod carried ready made up is great.

NB: I haven’t used a rod hold-all for about 15 years or more but I do have several different rod Quivers which all take different numbers of padded rod sleeves, and the occasional plastic tube(s) if I’m carrying the occasional whip or 3 piece rod.

Keith

With a thirteen foot rod hold-all’s are limited. I eventually found a carp hold-all that can take a made up float rod. The problem is that they are mainly for made up carp rods and the reel doesn’t line up with it’s pouch part. I eventually found a Chub one that fits, even rod tubes are a problem.


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[Keith M]

Keith, I take it that preference is due to action/power of the rods rather than however many sections they are made of ?

Yes Rich it is the rod action that makes me want to use the Tench float rod on the river for Barbel and not because it is a three piece rod.

With a thirteen foot rod hold-all’s are limited. I eventually found a carp hold-all that can take a made up float rod. The problem is that they are mainly for made up carp rods and the reel doesn’t line up with it’s pouch part. I eventually found a Chub one that fits, even rod tubes are a problem.

Yes I can see that a rod hold-all is going to limit you from carrying a two piece 13ft float rod ready made up; but why don’t you invest in a rod Quiver and a couple of padded rod sleeves to fit on the outside which would protect and make it easy for you to carry made up rods if you ever wanted to. I think they’re a lot more versatile than having a rod Hold-all and probably a bit less expensive as well too.

Nowerdays more and more people like Drennan are selling rods up to 13ft in 2 pieces as well as in 3 pieces for those who have limited space in their car boot; and some of them are being sold with their own padded rod sleeves instead of the old cloth bags they used to come in; and the standard rod Hold-all is slowly becoming a much less essential item.

Keith

 

[lakhyaman]

Well since some of us prefer the convenient portability and ease of stowing in a car of multi piece rods while others enjoy the ability to have them made up but all agree that it is today possible to have a rod with a perfectly good action of more than two pieces the solution from the manufacturers would be to have rods of many, but, even numbered pieces of the same size. This would allow rods to be taken apart into smaller sizes for stowing away or carrying easily or be put together and stored in bag or hard case or quiver in two equal halves to allow them to be made up and carried for instant action.

It's really an issue with twelve and thirteen foot rods as rods above that tend to be multi piece and below that they are small enough even in two pieces.

My problem with the long 6ft pieces is that I often have passengers when we go fishing and putting the rod tubes in the the cab is a pita. There is the convenience of carrying a small package, of course.

As far as casting goes, beach casters of 15 or sixteen feet have more than two pieces and still manage to cast from one continent to the other!

I know the manufacturers are not about to listen but I for one would happily pay the extra few quid for the convenience of having the choice.

All the best

Lakhyaman