I turned the rod around and led with the butt..... and
had to pull the rod through a couple of particularly tangly spots.....
and got to the river with the bottom three sections of a 4-piece rod.

I had the same experience with a new rod the FIRST time I took it
fishing, John. Over on White Deer Creek.

BTW, although Sage will repair a broken RPL tip for free, it charges $71
to replace lost tips.

Mine was a Cabela's Three Forks that I bought on sale ($39) after
reading a flurry of favorable postings about it in ROFF. When I phoned
Cabelas to buy a replacement tip, the saleslady said "It shouldn't
have come apart like that; we'll send you a new rod."

I said "No, it's only a friction fit; it's my fault. I shouldn't have
carried it that way."

She wouldn't listen. "Put it in the container it came in. On Monday,
a UPS man will come by and pick it up, and we'll send you a new rod."

Hard to hate a company like that! ((:-))

vince