On a 6.6 spin blank, what size choke guide are most of you using with the concept system. Say starting with high frame 25, high frame 20, high frame 16 and then the choke guide. Will anumber 8 be to small and finish out with 7's. Bless me with your wisdom.

Thanks,
Gerald McCasland

It all depends upon the size line you are using, among other things. In most cases, a 6 would not be too small.

I also think that a high frame 25 would be impossible to back with a high frame 20, unless you have a very, very shallow path from the spool centerline to the intersection point. Obviously, this path will dictate what size guides and frame heights are needed. In your case, I would think the same style frame in a 16 ring is going to be better.

On thing you cannot do with the New Guide Concept, is to select guide sizes at random and then made the system adapt to them. You have to work from the other direction, plotting the path from the spool centerline to the intersection point and using those guides which will not interfere with, but will maintain that path.

I had a talk with Andy Dear this morning and we talked about frame height and where that line path needs to go within the confines of the first few guides. The preferred path is directly through the center of the guide (Don Morton sizes and places his first two guides by making sure that the line, as it revolves around the spool, just gently touches the inside of the first two guide rings in a complete 360 degree circle).

Sometimes you will find that you can't get the height to do this. In that case I place and size my guides so that the path from the spool centerline to the intersection point just touches the inside of the outer edge of each of the guide rings on its way to the intersection point.
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Gerald, Tom gave you the best advice. I find that when I set the butt guide with the line tracing around the inside of the ring, it is almost impossible to get the line to trace around more than about two other guides. Thus, you may as well drop to the running guides and watch the line when you test cast the rod. Things that I look for are, does the line flow through the butt guide with out balloning in front of the guide, or flow to one side of the guide, and does it flow through the second butt guide with out balloning in front of it. If these conditions are met, does the line flow through the remainding guides in a straight line. If you see any of these problems adjust your guides until the line flows from the reel to the tip with out restrictions from any guide. The line will usually flow from the second butt guide to the tip without looking like it is moving.

I am new to this endeavour and I am hearing /reading a lot about the "concept system" but my question is- where can I find a "step by step" description. I find bits and pieces of info here but I would appreciate any referrals.
Thanks in advance,
Clay Poindexter

The July/August 2000 issue of RodMaker had the full story and the how-to. www.rodmakermagazine.com and look on the back issue page.

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