[Kevin McPherson]

Hi folks ,
Looking for some opinions on rod sections talking Salmon rods primarily but if you have a multiple section trout rod , please offer up your thoughts ,  how many do you go for the normal 4 piece or the now common 6 piece , is there any negatives to the extra two sections , does it change the action of the rod ,  looking forward too your thoughts Regards

[James Laraway]

I used to have a 6 piece bloke xl50 salmon rod and it was lovely.
If your travelling then I see the point in a 6 piece, otherwise it's just a faf tbh. Especially if you are taping the joints !

[Hamish Young]

I think that in recent times the rod I regret parting with the most was a 6 section Mackenzie Atlas 13'7 #9wt. It had a beautiful action and was a delight to fish with.

To be fair - as James has said - unless you intend to travel with the rod, or if it does something a three of four section rod will not, then there's little advantage in having a multi section rod.
Rod design and build is generally better now than it has been before, so there are 'stiff' 6 section rods and there are more 'through actioned'. It makes no real difference to the action, so if I am shopping for a rod it's not the number of sections that interests me,  it comes down to how it feels.

H

[Terry Coging]

Apart from the ease of transport there can be absolutely no advantage with having more joints.
All joints do is add weight and dead spots. OK, only tiny weight and dead spots but still a negative.
I notice that a top blank manufacturers single handed tournament rod is a two piece.
And then there is the 'fashion' thing. It seems that more joints means more modern 

[Graham Ritchie]

The less sections the better, I prefer a three piece double hander and two piece trout rod. I guess the trend for multi piece rods has been driven by anglers who fly, rather than drive to their fishing. There is no other real advantage in having multiple sections.

[Kevin McPherson]

Thanks for the points much appreciated

[Terry Coging]

This is an interesting topic and it comes up in discussions quite often.
I wonder how much rod design is influenced by the volume manufacturers? When producing vast quantities, incremental efficiencies can add up to a significant gain.
Are shorter blank sections faster to produce and to wrap? Is the lack of a stripper guide on the handle section a production advantage?
The rod cases are shorter, cheaper to make and ship too.

[James Laraway]

Is the lack of a stripper guide on the handle section a production advantage?
The rod cases are shorter, cheaper to make and ship too.

you make an excellent point Terry - and raise one of my real bug-bears...

not having a stripper ring on the handle section is a pain in the...