For all the experts: who makes the best snake guides? I'm building a 9 ft. 6wt. rod from a winston blank for a friend, and, largely for aesthetic reasons, he wants to use snakes. Which company's product gives the best performance in terms of lightness and "shootability", and any other other relevant criteria you can think of? How about materials (coatings)? First time posting; any help appreciated.. Charlie

Charlie:

I am interested in the responses you get as I have only used snake guides on a few of my fly rods. I tend to use single foots for less weight. However, the fews times I have used snake guides I have used both Forcasr brand and Pacific Bay brand. Both seemed to perform well in casting etc. I used the Titanium carbide snakes on 7 wts and higher and chrome snakes on those less than 7 wt.

That's my limited experience.

Bob Widmaier

Snake Brand Guides - hands-down the finest snake guides on the planet.

Andy Snedden

I would give the REC recoil snake guides a serious look. Have not tried them, but I have used the REC single foot wire guides and they are excellent. I use ceramic guides on the first couple of sections and light wire guides at the top. Neat way to go if that is an option for your build. You do need to use fairly light guides on the tip of a Winston to preserve the action of that very thin tip. Don't go overboard with oversized guides or a heavy top. I built a Winston with H & H guides. That is what Winston was using on the factory rods at the time. They worked fine.

Andy,
Can you elaborate a bit about your fondness for Snake Brand guides? I'm always interested in learning more about appearance, foot taper, hardness, etc..

Thanks,
Jeff Shafer