Is it possible to design a 3-piece parabolic rod?  I am a paraholic, but I'm not much of a taper designer.  Most of the paras that I see are 2-piece rods, so I'm asking those who know.  I'm thinking of making a 3-piece Driggs River Special and I am curious,  will it work?  (Hal Manas)

My program shows the deflection of a Driggs River rod with two ferrules is only slightly more than with one ferrule.  In fact the difference is the equivalent of only three more feet of line out.  That doesn't account for  the difference in stiffness at the ferrules.  But like someone commented earlier about hinges: "It takes a significant change in diameter over several stations to make a noticeable difference in feel".  The addition of an extra ferrule affects only about 2 1/2 to 3 inches of a rod, not the whole thing.

That's my two cents!  (Al Baldauski)

Just looked at the taper. I think you will be fine with 2 ferrules fitted.  The ferrules will fall on the two section were the rod has most backbone and not on the weaker spots.  Go ahead it will be fine.  (Gary Nicholson)

I'm currently making a Para 15 with tips for both wet and dry flys and that got me to thinking.  What if anything would I need to do to the dimensions of the wet tip to make it a good rod for weighted streamers.  Normally, I fish streamers with a 6 weight.  Is it the increased dimensions of a 6 wt tip that makes it a better streamer rod, or the weight of line used for casting them?  (Mark Lenarz)

I have built the para 15 with only dry tips.  The last one I gave to my father and we have both cast streamers with it no problem.  IMHO I'd say leave the tips as the are -- maybe because the para flexes so deep it allows for heavier casting?  (Don Peet)

My Para 15 doesn't come alive until I've got more than 30 feet out on the dry fly tip.  It handles weighted streamers real well from 30 +.  Less than 30 feet and I need a  6 wt to get it to load even a little bit.  (Al Baldauski)

The Para 15 is a 6 weight rod.  That's probably why it takes a 6wt to load it correctly!  ;^)  (Todd Talsma)

I agree, the para 15 is a 6wt and hell, it fishes better up close with a 7wt, but all the taper info I find including that from which I built it call it a 5wt.  (Al Baldauski)

Hmmm.   I don't think I've ever seen a 5wt Para 15.  I went back and looked at the RodDNA database and sure enough.  Some are listed as 5wt's!  The one I made was the "PT Keller" version with the light tip and heavy tip.  It's a nice rod, but I may have made it a little heavy.  It really does cast better with a 7wt DT line!  (Todd Talsma)

It all depends on the water you're fishing.

If you're going to fish those little rivers and streams of the east than you can fish those little light rods. If however, you're going to fish the big, and often windy rivers, out west, you'll need more muscle. Myself I wouldn't think of fishing a streamer with less then a 7 wt. You need to get the fly out there and down on the bottom. Also wear a helmet.  (Mark Dyba)