When I purchased my first fishing rod 40 plus years ago, it was a two piece spinning model. Back in those days almost every fishing rod on the market was designed with a two piece metal ferrel that joined the rod sections together. Depending on the length, some rods in those days had two or three sets of ferrels! Honestly these rods were clumsy, heavy, lifeless and not exactly a winner in the sensitivity department.

     Technology in rod development has come a very long ways since those early days of the modern era in fishing. The materials rods are made of, the manufacturing processes and yes the ferrel designs have changed so much, it’s safe to say if you haven’t owned a two piece rod in recent years, you might be surprised how fishable multiple piece rods have become.

ADVANTAGES OF MULTIPLE PIECE RODS

    The ability to break a fishing rod down in two or more pieces for transport is huge in these days when an angler may be fishing close to home on Monday and hundreds of miles away come Saturday. The number one reason fishing rods break ties directly into the dangers of transporting them! From boat lockers to the trunk on your car, more fishing rods meet their demise at the hands of a slamming door than all the other excuses combined!

     Because multiple piece rods can be quickly broken down for transport, they are about twice as likely to survive fishing trip to fishing trip! That’s huge, because no one wants to show up at their favorite fishing hole only to discover their favorite rod is in pieces.

     Multiple piece fishing rods fit nicely into rod tubes and cases that in turn fit into a car trunk, the belly of a float plane, on baggage carrousels, roof racks and a hundred other places a one piece rod isn’t going to fit into.

     In a pinch a two piece rod can be broken down and the pieces held together at the butt and tip with an ordinary office rubber band. If two or more rods are  bundled and transported this way, they become amazingly resilient to breakage.

TELESCOPIC RODS

     The next best thing to a one piece rod is a telescopic rod that allows a significant portion of the rod to slip inside the butt section. This shortens the rod making it much easier to transport and fit into rod lockers. Currently the largest selections of telescopic rods are found in the baitcasting arena. Rods designed for bass, pike, walleye and musky fishing head the list of models suitable for telescopic designs.

     In my personal line up of fishing rods, I have Bass Flippin’ Sticks that are telescopic. These rods serve me well for flipping bass jigs and also for casting pike lures. I also have Musky rods that are telescopic and designed to handle heavy lures. I get double duty from these rods casting for other trophy fish like stripers. I also have a full set of telescopic baitcasting rods that are designed for fishing bottom bouncer rigs to catch walleye. These are long rods and the telescopic feature allows them to fit in the rod locker of even modest fishing boats.

     A telescopic rod brings to the party a rod that is similar in action and strength to a one piece model, yet they easily collapse for storage and transport. Very cool.

TRAVEL RODS

       A growing number of anglers are discovering travel rods that come in several pieces, that fit nicely into a carrying case that also accepts a couple reels and some tackle. Travel rods are perfect for the angler on the go who can’t be lugging a big long rod tube through airports and custom checks. 

      The Okuma Nomad series www.okumafishing.com  leads the charge in travel rods that are high quality and made for serious fishing. These rods are available in a dozen different casting and spinning versions that feature three segments that fit nicely into the travel case that’s provided. 

      Travel rod cases have the advantage of being small enough to strap to another suitcase, so at the baggage line, both will ship for one baggage fee.

     The cost savings in using travel rods compared to traditional rods is amazing if you do a lot of flying. Recently I shipped a rod tube to Saskatchewan for a Fishing 411 filming adventure. The trip involved three different airline carries all of whom charged me a baggage fee for the rod tube. Because the rod tube is considered oversized baggage I was also charged a premium from each carrier. 

     The round trip baggage fee ended up costing me $200.00 to ship half a dozen rods! Travel rods would have been included with my other baggage saving me lots of cash and worry wondering if my rods would arrive in one piece!

SUMMING IT UP

     Two piece, telescopic and multiple piece travel rods are an outstanding way to travel with fishing rods these days. The rod quality, sensitivity and fishability of these rods is without compromise and chances are they will survive the adventure much better than your pet one piece rods.

     Nothing puts a downer on a fishing trip more than arriving only to find your favorite rods didn’t travel well.