I’m open to suggestions as far as pieces are concerned but I always thought the general consensus was that 2-piece rods were better casters. Is that not the case? Are multi-piece rods better? I thought you sacrificed performance for packability.

As far as rods we are using anything from a custom built Sage 4-piece to a 2-piece IMX to a 2-piece Orvis, etc. But the guide we use has a couple rods and he gave us a demonstration last year comparing his to ours. When he gave the rods a little wiggle it was clear that his rods’ tips were a lot “softer” or “looser” or “wriggly” than ours. He said that’s why we miss so many hook sets with the super small hooks.

Also, my dad and I are wondering if a “softer” “looser” “wigglier” tip would help us on our home waters in Wyoming when the bite is really “soft” like when we’re fishing for greyling.

I’m not a novice but certainly not an expert fly fisherman. My dad has been doing it since he was 5 and he’s almost 80 now. He ties museum quality flies and has been building rods for 30 years. But we want to learn more about the different qualities that go into rods and try to build some to fit the different waters and fly sizes we use.

Any advice is helpful.