I need a medium to heavy spinning rod that breaks into sections of less than 30 inches for travel. Thinking in terms of a 4 piece 8 footer that will take 15lb mono and cast up to at least 1 1/2 ounces. I plan to use it with a Shimano 6000SW and its first outing will be for big Coho (if they aren’t eating flies).

Any recommendations in glass? If not, I would be grateful to know what good graphite rods of this specification are currently available in the US.

Thanks!

Many thanks Ron. Your responses are always so generous and comprehensive. It is much appreciated.

Problem is that fishing rods are now banned as hand baggage across the European Union, and airlines are increasingly insisting that rods are a separate checked item, and cannot be combined with the weight of any other item of checked baggage.

So, the only alternative to paying lot for checking rods for the travelling angler is to get rods that will pack into normal checked baggage. I find the maximum length for my luggage is 31", coincidentally the length of the single rod square Abel tubes I use for most of my rod transport.

I've been happily using a 4 piece 10' Daiwa Whisker that casts 3/8 to 2 oz for years but that is a shade too long when broken down. It was fine when it could be taken as hand baggage - but those days seem to be over.

Even the TFO would be an inch too far, but the Santiam should fit as it is a 4 piece, so thanks for the lead on that.

I searched multi-section options in the UK (where I currently am) today and for once it looks like there are more here. There's a range of lengths and strengths in the Abu Venturi and Diplomat ranges http://www.abugarcia-fishing.co.uk/cata ... 10071.html
and http://www.abugarcia-fishing.co.uk/cata ... ,8557.html ; Fox Prism https://www.foxrage.com/home/product/pr ... rods-prism, Greys http://www.greysfishing.co.uk/greys-pre ... 70&start=5 ; a Penn that doesn't seem to be in the US range https://www.tackleuk.co.uk/Shop/RodsTra ... n-Rods.htm ; and the Shimano Exage BX STC (which seems to be only available as a telescopic in the USA) http://fish.shimano-eu.com/content/fish ... NNING.html - and there are more rods in both the cheapest and most expensive ends of the spectrum.

I'll see what I can find about the Santiam's reputation but I'm tempted by the Fox and the Shimano. There's video of the heaviest Prism getting a work out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFtg6yt7l7w

I'll let you know what I end up with, and how it does.

Sage made a 3 piece 7fter rated 10-20 lb 1/2-2 ounce. There is a guy on the bay that makes rods from blanks and he says he has this one. I cant vouch for him But I like Sage and will vouch for them.They still warranty their old blanks from like 25 years ago and have been rod builder friendly from the beginning.

Thanks for the responses Bob and Jason. Unfortunately, a 3 section 7 footer will be just a tad too long for my luggage. Plus I wanted a slightly longer rod. So 4 or more sections it had to be.

I like Daiwa gear a lot (got my best mahseer of 55 lb on a Daiwa outfit) but the 6 piece Ardito is not available in the UK (in fact only one 7' model is, at more than $200) and time is running out for ensuring delivery to far Kodiak from somewhere in the lower 48.

There are a lot of 4 and 5 piece rods on the UK market now but my search for reviews kept coming up with reports of broken tips and other joints (which is why I was looking for glass, of course), liners popping out of guides etc. The Santiam reviewers also seemed to have suffered breaks, and while their warranty and customer service seem good, that isn't much use if you are not in the USA.

I was intrigued by the build quality and whacky first guide on the 4 piece Snowbee Kuroshio rod, which is now on closeout. Has anyone else encountered "the amazing new Microwave Guide system from American Tackle Company." ?

"These new guides use a second, smaller ring, set just behind the main stripper guide, which creates a 'funnel' effect, capturing the coils coming off a fixed spool reel when casting and incredibly, straightening them out completely. The result is then single point contact between the line and the remaining guides, reducing friction so much that casting distance is increased by as much as 24% with light lures."

Check that guide here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5z2uCI64FWM

This rod came out in 2013 but since I have never heard of it before, I guess this guide system didn't work out as well as they thought it would. So, I decided to pass on that.

I ended up with a short list of 3:

the 5 section Spro Mobile Stick https://www.spro.eu/EN_GB/category/heng ... stick.html

the 5 section Shimano Evage BX S.T.C http://fish.shimano-eu.com/content/fish ... NNING.html

and a 4 section Fox Rage Prism https://www.foxrage.com/home/product/pr ... rods-prism

I decided to take a punt on the Fox, and settled for the 7' 10" rod casting 1/2 to 1 1/4 oz. Hasn't arrived yet but I will post a report when I've fished it.

Meanwhile, let's hope a glass builder gets interested in this part of the rod market.

St. Croix's Triumph line of rods are available in 4-piece configuration.
I believe they offer a few different spinning rod models within the Triumph line.
But I doubt they have an 8-footer.

Edit to add: I just checked. 6'6" is the longest they offer.
Sorry.

Feedback as promised:

The Fox Rage Prism Travel rod was fine in action but I wouldn't say outstanding. Casting was good enough, though it took me a while to get aiming accuracy. To be fair, it didn't get tested on the Coho it was purchased for (see below).

But one major negative: the male ferrule on one section has begun to splinter after 10 days use (without suffering any accident or abuse), something I have never encountered on any other graphite rod before.

It was hot, dry, odd year on Kodiak, with Coho only in on 2 of the 7 rivers we planned to fish, and only one of these had a real run going before we left. And they were much more interested in fly than lures. So, the rod mainly caught Dolly Varden and Rainbows while seeking Coho on a remote fly-out to a river that basically didn't have any Coho (3 seen, 2 hooked, 1 landed between 4 of us covering a lot of river and some of the lake it emerges from) - so no real test of the rod's fish handling abilities.

Good to see US domestic air travellers can still hand carry rods - even saw the Captain of my flight out of Anchorage walking on with a 2 piece spinning rod

Ron: It was lack of water in most of the rivers rather than timing - and the fish were still parked offshore. They used to sell T-shirts reading "Kodiak Rain Festival: 365 days a year" - not any more.

We've been going in pretty much the same time slot for 10 years - aiming for the median of the run. And one of the delights of Kodiak, and a reason we keep going back, is that every year is different in almost every department of weather, and fauna and flora behaviour.

The Coho can behave very differently at different times and in different conditions - and I don't think anyone has figured out exactly what determines which behaviour. I don't think they actively feed so much as sometimes actively hit flies/lures/eggs as there is really nothing to eat in the rivers, except salmon/rainbow/dolly fry/parr - and I've never observed them feeding. And sometimes they simply have lockjaw.... usually when the sky is blue, the sun is shining and the water is low and clear. As one local resident said to me "I only fish for silvers when I can't see 'em".

Never seen bait fish jumping myself, but there's at least one area on Kodiak where you can wade flats and sight fish when the Coho are there and getting ready to run some small and skinny streams. Many ways to fish for them, and often only one will work at any given time, which is part of the fascination.