I have built several SC IV rods and like the feel very much.
The catalog's are listing multi pc blanks more and more?
Is this an economics or demand issue?
Have built several multi pc but they come up short on feel,
SESITIVITY??
Any thoughts on the subject would be appreciated.
Tom, please keep the CC and sensitivity posts coming.

Market demand. More and more guys are moving from 2-piece to 4-piece models. They manufacture and stock what sells. I miss the older SCIV 2-piece models, but what can you do?

.........

I think more people are traveling to fish, and they pack even in local waters nicer if you have smaller rigs or live in an apartment, etc. I notice little difference between my rods, have a few 5 piece that are still quite good performers from Dan Craft.

Air lines can do less damage to a rod that is packed in your duffle bag than they can to one that is not. There is also less chance of it becoming separated during travel and being lost. There is nothing quite like traveling two thousand miles to fish for trout and discovering you have no rod.
Tight lines,
Hunter

From ghoulies and ghosties,
and long leggedy beasties,
and things that go bump in the night,
Good Lord deliver us!

Before 9-11 I was able to carry on board an aircraft a rod case built to carry 2 piece fly rods. Those days a long gone. After the airlines lost a case carrying 8 two piece big game fly rods on a trip to the Indian Ocean I vowed never to check my rods in again. I've switched over to all 4 piece rods for that one reason. And from what I'm seeing at fishing destinations other anglers are doing the same. My 2 piece rods are only fished locally now. As far as a two piece blank casting better than a four piece blank of the same manufacture I can't tell the difference.

I also resisted the multiple piece fly rod blanks for some time. After building a few for transportation ease I have found that they not only transport easier on a plane but are more convenient than the two piece blanks in a car or under the seat of my drift boat. Enough so that I seldom fish my two piece rods anymore.

Stan Grace
Helena, MT
"Our best is none too good"

This multi piece trend isn't only with the fly rods. Mark Crouse at The Rod Shop carries 4pc blanks in heavier and longer configurations, and Lamiglas has a 4pc surf series currently. A 5 pc or 6 pc rod wouldn't be hard to fathom in the future.

Mike

NERB that types with a bar of Ivory soap in his mouth.

I vastly prefer two-piece fly rods, and I've noticed the trend away from 2-piece and toward 4-piece, so this is an issue I've been quietly asking about for the past six months or so. What I've found in my wholly unscientific study is that yes, fly rods and blanks are going to 4-piece, and 2-piece rods are becoming scarcer, because they are what fly fishermen want.

What I found curious about this, though, is that guys want 4-piece rods so that they will be able to travel with them, even though most of them will never take them on a plane. It seems that the fly fishing magazines have so many features about bonefishing in the Bahamas or catching monster trout in New Zealand that most guys want rods that they would be able to take with them on this kind of adventure. This is true even though most of them will never do anything like this, and they know that they will never do anything like this. It's a dream, I suppose, and guys want to have the option, even though they're pretty sure they'll never use it.

I think that if I was gonna shell out thousands of dollars for an exotic fly trip, I'd find a way to build a new 4-piece to bring along with me. But that's just me...

"travel rods" are not just for airline trips. don't buy into that. unless you have a body of water in your backyard, you're traveling to your fishing destination when you take your rod with you. i travel to my streams and rivers, 30 mins to 2 hours away. a 4 piece "travel rod" fits nicely in the back seat or cargo area. i have a mid sized SUV. these days of over $3 a gallon gas, smaller cars make more sense with better MPG. carrying a 2 piece 8 or 9 foot fly rod in a small car is problematic. heck, i don't even READ those far off destination articles anymore and often i just laugh at the ads.

i started flyfishing 4 years ago, 3 years ago started wrapping my own rods. almost always 4 or more piece rods (one or two 3 pcs).

what exactly am i missing when it comes to 2 pc rods? ease and quickness of assembly? i don't see that as a real factor. lightness, slimmer blanks from less ferrules, less tapering? my 3wt FTL 8 foot 6 piece is incredibly light and sensitive, i can't see how i'm missing much. seriously, i'm just curious.

eric
fresno, ca.

Look at it this way - they're way cheaper to ship, and easier to wrap and finish.
==dave==