Hey fellow pin fisherman rod builders. I have been building fly and spinning rods since 1997. By no means in a full on production scenario. A Couple few rods a year. Four years ago I fell into the dark side and absolutely love it. ONE thing in this whole float rod world that has had me baffled from day one is why on earth would any rod/blank manufacturer make these 13 foot plus long rods in a 3 piece configuration? I fish in the great lakes region and constantly I am taking my rod down to hike to other runs that are brushy and wooded. Since the late 90's blank rollers have figured out ferrule and action technology to the point of adding one more ferrule to these rods would not negatively effect the action and would add minimal weight. I would buy nothing but 4 piece blanks given the availability. CTS will roll them for you for a big chunk of extra cash. My guess is that it is simply tradition and that's it. I have been at this long enough to know the action and weight of my 13 plus foot roods would not fish poorly with one added ferrule. Plus the science compensates for this anyway. I sure hope to live long enough to see 3 piece configurations disappear. It just makes no sense given the technology available today. FOUR PIECE: Quickly breaks down like a two piece and breaks down to four for travel! I would honor all those who would like to chime in. Thank you

William Cook II Wrote:
--- I fish in the great lakes
> region and constantly I am taking my rod down to
> hike to other runs that are brushy and wooded
I only use two rods, A 10' 2 pc, or 13' 2 pc, I personally wouldn't want to deal with a 3 pc let alone a 4 pc in the cold that I fish in. When moving to a new hole, I simply pull it apart, Fold in half With the tip to the butt, Slide it in a 6' netted sleeve carry over my shoulder and off I go, I don't have a problem, and I don't even re-rig every time I move other than to make some adjustments???? I think I have fished every single river at one time or another in MI over my lifetime, There is an extensive trail system along {All} of these rivers that has been their for decades if not longer, Now if you're talking brushy {small streams} why would you need a 13' rod??
Only 4 pc I know of is the Batson Rainshadow RX8 XST1563-4 [www.rainshadowrodblanks.com] Very bottom listing. Titanium Chrome, 13'0" 4 pc, 6-12lb. 3/8-3/4oz. Medium Centerpin Rod/Float Rod For this I would call Carol at Utmostenterprises.com as their just 1/2 mile away and I believe that is the Batsons Rainshadow Outlet Custom build store? They just run over a grab what you need. She should be able to provide the Guide spacing recipe as well. Have her print it out and sent with the blank.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 12/18/2017 06:49AM by Jay Dubay.

I've owned several 3-piecers and never really ad any complaints. However, I hear you. The only request I've had for a 3-piece blank over the last 4 years was for a Sage, because it had to be a Sage. My current rod is a 13' 2-piece, which does require a bit of extra room to transport, but it's doable.

Here's the rod gloves I use [www.therodglove.com]

You can also look at the spey rod blanks from sage and get a 4 piece blank to convert to a float rod.

Rolly Beenen
Rovic Custom Rods

The number of of one-piece rod blanks offered in commercial catalogs has greatly reduced the choice of 2, 3, or 4 piece blanks - except for fly rods, where rod action is the most critical ??! One-piece seven-foot, nine-foot, even twelve foot blanks are all the rage with anglers who apparently drive hook-and-ladder type vehicles or walk to their fishing destinations. Doors and ceiling fans will undoubtedly further this trend by keeping vendors and rod-builders busy.

And how about the rod builder? Wouldnt we rather wrap 25% of a blank instead of 50% or 33% when a customer steps on ir slams their tip in a car door? There are so many positives to go out with then 3 piece float rods and in with the the 4 piece. Only stubborn traditionalism prevents this. Yes two piece makes sense. 3 piece is just plain nonsense.

Im not trying to rattle cages here. Just trying to get people thinking. This 3 piece thing irritates the he-- out of me. Its kinda like this example of tradition that makes zero sense but will never change. Why do almost all fishermen retrieve a spinning reel set up left handed yet put a baitcasting reel in their hand and every cast they switch to their right hand to cast and slide the rod to their left hand and retrieve right handed?

Batson and CTS both offer 4-piece blanks. Those are hands down the 2 most popular float rod blank manufacturers on the market, I wouldn't be surprised if the market share is north of 90% for those 2 companies. I'm curious as to who you think should step up to the plate?

I don't know Will, I've been using left hand casting reels for around 40 years, they've been pretty popular in the Pacific Northwest steelhead/salmon/sturgeon country for decades. I guess we're not as herd bound out west.

All of my casting reels are left hand retrieve, been using them ever since they first came out.
Norm

Yes i have left hand retrieve baitcasters also but 9 out of 10 sold are right hand and i have in almost 30 years never heard an explanation of why except, Thats just the way it is.????
Thanks folks for chiming in. a safe holiday to you all

Yep, I feel the same way, never could understand why a right hander would want to switch hands. Some says it’s because the right hand is dominant and thus more powerful and coordinated when reeling. Power is given as one of the reasons all off shore trolling reels are right hand retrieve. I feel I do better feeling with my left hand, but that’s me, I grew up using spinning gear casting right handed and cranking left handed. A lot of people started fishing with spin cast reels (Zebco 33) which only crank right handed, maybe that’s part of it. However, I know a lot of right handed bass fisherman that just can’t crank with their left hand when using a casting reel, but can do so when using a spinning reel. Still others will put the handle of a spin reel on the right side. Beyond my understanding.
Norm



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/20/2017 11:31AM by Norman Miller.

The original reels weren't multipliers, than they were improved to a blistering 3 to 1 and they had no drag, the handle turned all the time and were as they say knuckle busters. They had small handles that were about the same length as the diameter of the reel for protection from knuckle busting and because a small handle spins at a faster speed than a larger circle. They also knew the average right hander could turn a reel 6% faster with his right hand than his left.
In today's world of high speed reels, we have longer handles to keep up power wise, and the extra bit of right hand speed isn't as important.
For myself, I've had enough fish attack my offering virtually as it hits the water for me to be fumbling with my hands at that moment. It's also in my opinion counter intuitive.

The original reels weren't multipliers, than they were improved to a blistering 3 to 1 and they had no drag, the handle turned all the time and were as they say knuckle busters. They had small handles that were about the same length as the diameter of the reel for protection from knuckle busting and because a small handle spins at a faster speed than a larger circle. They also knew the average right hander could turn a reel 6% faster with his right hand than his left.
In today's world of high speed reels, we have longer handles to keep up power wise, and the extra bit of right hand speed isn't as important.
For myself, I've had enough fish attack my offering virtually as it hits the water for me to be fumbling with my hands at that moment. It's also in my opinion counter intuitive.

All my reels are left hand as well.