2 Piece Rods versus 3 - 5 Piece Rods?

We are often asked, are the new three, four, and five piece rods as good as two piece rods? The answer is not a simple one. If you are talking about performance, this is easy. Two piece rods are lighter and perform better than their three to five piece counterparts. If you are doing a lot of traveling though, you might want to consider a rod that breaks down into shorter sections. Three, four, and five piece rods are becoming a lot more popular these days for traveling fly fishermen. I've found that the airlines are not too tough about an angler carrying on a separate rod case, even a longer one if it will fit into an overhead compartment. Personally, I want to have the best performing rods I can take on a trip, so I fish with two piece rods most of the time. DB Dun makes a great travel rod case for two piece rods that will hold up to 8 two piece 9 foot rods in their cloth bags. This rod case is 59" long and fits perfectly into most overhead compartments. I always hand carry this on the plane, and rarely have a problem. Sometimes I'll check it on the way home, once I'm back in the US. George Anderson