On previous trips I have used a 4 piece 6 wt rod for smallies. This years trip I am focusing on northerns. I already own a nice 2 piece 9 wt rod not real excited about buying a 4 piece heavy weight rod just for convenience. How do others pack & portage a 9 ft+ 2 piece rod or is the 4 piece pack rod worth it?

It's no more hassle than carrying an extra paddle. I bring a 2 piece, bungee it tip to butt, and slip it in a soft rod sock. You can bungee it to the canoe and leave it on until you reach your destination, with only a little extra attention when putting the packs back in. I will say a 4 piece is handy, but it's not the only way.

I find 2 piece rods to be a real pain. I no longer buy them. They are a nuisance on a plane. They can't be easily lashed to a portage pack. The action is no better than a good 4-piece. I would spring for the 4-piece unless this is a one off trip and you have no intention of using the 9 weight later.

I have both 4 piece and 2 piece rods. I prefer the 4 piece because of the ease of transport, but for the BW I use my 2 piece solely because of the cost of the rod. The 4 piece is my good rod and I leave that at home. I will however be buying a 4 piece for bwca trips. It would be nice just to strap it to my pack or slide it inside my pack.

When transporting my 2 piece, I rubber band the pieces tip to butt, and put them in a tube with my other rods. Then I bungee dealee bob them inside the canoe.

I carry a 4 pc. 9'--7/8 wt. St. Croix in it's aluminum tube along with a rod tube with two 6'6" spin rods, both tubes secured with Velcro wraps to the spare paddle. I cobbled a carrying handle for the rig from an old duffel bag strap. It's easy to carry by the handle or use as a walking stick on portages. This is for the first day in and the last day out, when we aren't fishing. I have had rods broken on the towboat as well as on portages, invariably on the first day out, so I use tubes. The flyrod only comes out when the flyfishing lamp is lit (ie-basecamp/glassy conditions or along rapids, where I have had some luck catching walleyes on streamers in the Spring (along the Pickerel flowing out of Olifaunt in Quetico, for example).

I own both 2 & 4, If I had a choice, I would always take my four piece because the cordura case protects it and is short and handy and slips in the outside of my pack or bungee dealy bobs to the thwarts on the canoe. But If all I had was a two piece, I would take it, and bungee dealy bob it to my thwarts or carry it as suggested earlier. Nothing WRONG with 2 piece rods, actually they fish a tinch better in my opinion. You have just the right one for Northern's, BWCA, and wind, I might add.
SunCatcher