I'm looking for opinions on this blank when built with ceramic guides. I've used ceramics on heavier rods (10ft 7wt for instance) but I'm not sure of the sizes I will need on the Forecast 9ft 4wt. i will probably end up getting Pac Bay or Amtak guides if it matters. Previously I've used Pac Bay SiC's but the ring material is of secondary importance to me. So i looking for ideas for number and size of ceramics on this rod.

Thanks,
Kevin

I would use a 10, 8 and the rest 6's. I've had very good luck with Forecast guides and tned to use them almost exclusively. You might want to consider using spinning guides, I think they're VS guides. The height difference is minimal but the foot is shorter than single foot ceramic fly guides. The single foot cramic fly guide feet have an odd shape to them which makes using a Forhan locking wrap very difficult unless you grind off a lot of metal. If you use Forecast single foot ceramic fly guides you won't have that problem because they have a better shape than either Pac Bay or Amtak.

What kind of stripping guide set up did you use? 12mm and 10mm stripping guides then the 10mm single foot?

Thanks,
Kevin

Hi Kevin! I use ceramics on nearly all my fly rods 4wt and up. On 3/4wts when I do use ceramics I like to use titanium-frames like the Fuji SiC's to keep everything nice and light, but I also use the Forecast sf ceramics on these as well. The only cautionary thought I have is these (Forecast) blanks seem to "feel" the extra weight more than others do (RX7's for example) and I have often wondered after a rod was done if going with H&H standoffs or REC Recoils might have been the better way to go to keep the blank light in hand and as crisp as possible. The extra weight of the ceramics just really seems to slow the damping speed down on the Forecast blanks, largely because of their material IMO. This is more true on the 2pc-ers than the 4pc you're building, but I've noticed it across the board on these blanks. In the end, though, you'll have a beautiful rod either way and the slickness of the ceramics is a beautiful thing! :)

If you do go with ceramics, I'd go with (from the tip): sz 6 ring tip top, 6 - sz 6's, 2 - sz 7's, 1 - sz 8, 1 - sz 10 dbl ft taming guide, 1 - sz 12 dbl ft stripping guide. If you go with sf wire guides, I'd go with: std/small loop tip top, 6 - sz 2's, 2 - sz 3's, 1 - sz 4, sz 10 dbl ft taming guide, 1 - sz 12 dbl ft stripping guide. Another viable option would be to increase the taming guide to sz 12 and the stripping guide to sz 16 on either set.

BTW--we've got the ceramic guides available as both individual guides or as a set for considerable savings--just look under "Guide Sets" from the menu on the left side of any of the store pages (click "Our Store" or "Enter Store" from our home page), pick which rings you want (TiN/Gold, TiCh or TiO/Blue), and choose the set for 9' 4-6wt rods. Click on the picture or item name from the list rather than just adding it to your cart and then you can customize the set with your choice of stripping guide sizes and a taming guide or no taming guide, as well as specify your tip top (tube) size.

All the best!