I have only built one fly rod and one spinning rod. I am looking for a little guidance with this next rod. I have a St Croix 13' 7/8wt. SCII spey blank (2F1308).

1) Which side of the spine should the guides go on? The outside of the curve where the rod bends naturally or the inside of the curve?

2) Are the guides I have big enough for a spey rod? I have Hopkins & Holloway single foot guides and H&H strippers. They are sized as follows. 20,16,6,5,5,4,4,4,4,4,4 and a large tip top.

3) Is this enough guides (11 not counting the top). Any suggestions on guide placement? I could not find any information for this rod on the St. Croix web site.

4) Are "normal" wraps sufficient for these guides? I have heard of spiral or forhan wraps? Are these something that I should check into further or am I better of sticking to the "keep it simple stupid" method?

Thanks,
Shawn Smith

You have the answers to all the questions you ask and it is very hard for any of us to answer them without having your blank and reel and line in our own hands.

The guides can go on either side of the spine depending on what you want the rod to do. I like to put them on the spine so I get a bit more power on line lifting and better tracking on the forward cast. The guides being on the bottom make sure it will never twist under pressure from a fish.

I'm not that familar with how H&H sizes their guides. But I think those sound about right. How many? You need to do a static distribution test to find that out for sure. Every rod blank can be different in this regard. I would think you'd want to start with maybe 1 or 2 more though.

The spiral wrap is for casting rods only. Some type of security wrap where you take the thread past the guide leg is recommended even though it is not absolutely necessary.