I've been inlisted to build a 9ft 10wt fly rod for a friend. This will be the heaviest wt fly rod i've have yet to build. We both want single foot ceramic guides like fuji alconites. My question is, what size guides should I run out to the tip? Are 6s to small are 8s to big? I'm looking at something like this-- 16-12-10 (strippers)8-8-7-6-6-6-6-tip. Thanks for all of your help. Patrick

6 might be a bit small. I'm building an 8 weight now and using 7's as the running guides. I would think they should be big enough, but others who've built 10 weights would know better.

Patrick,

It does depend on the intended use for the rod. If your friend is going to be fishing with assorted shooting heads, using bulky connections that need to slip through the guides, etc., then you might want 8s for the running guides. If he's going to be using a regular 10-11 wt. fly line on the rod, then 7s would be fine. I'd not use 6s on a 10 wt.

Also, again, if he's using the shooting heads and such, where distance is the main concern, I'd use single foot SPINNING guides (in Alconites those would BYAGs) for the stripper/line taming set, one 16, followed by two 12s, then a 10 BLAG for the transition, then go right to the #7 or #8 BLAG running guides. No benefit from 'tapering' guide sizes over the length of hte blank. You want to get to your smallest guide as soon as you can, and use those on out. The spinning guides give you a bit more distance from the blank, and allow the line to make the turn towards the tip smoother, giving you more shooting distance. If the rod is just for heavy freshwater use (this is a 'big game' weight rod to me, Sailfish, Tuna, and such, so I can't see a reason for it in most lakes, but some guys just like heavy rods...), go with A #12 BLAG stripper, two #10s, then right to your #7 or #8 running guides.

Good Luck!

Buddy