Hello folks!

I'm in a process of building a Winston Boron IIx 5 weight 9' 4pc fly rod as a present for one nice lad. I want the rod to be as good as possible so I am going to put Fuji's Gold Cermet guides onto it - NO I did NOT win in the Lottery! ;)

So far the set of guides that I'm planning to put into the rod has #6 T1GG as runners and T1LGT as a tip top. Thought I am not too happy about the fact that the T1LGT tip top is available only with size 7 ring.

Since the rod is 5 weight would you put size 5.5 runners onto it? Would I achieve any significant weight saving with this or would I just risk building a rod which is unshootable because of too small rings? #5.5 T1GG ID = 3.6mm (=0.142") and #6 ID = 4.3mm (=0.169").

In another similar thread (and others before that) Mr. Ralph Jones wrote about using a runner as a tip top in light line fly rods. Would you recommend using #6 or #5.5 T1GG as a runner for this rod instead of the T1LGT with #7 ring?

If yes, what is the best way to prepare and secure the runner nito the tip of the blank?

Many thanks in advance and really looking forward to hearing tips from you more experienced rod builders! :D

-Mikko-

Mikko,
Yes there will be a significant weight savings and on a light rod like that I would opt for the smaller guides. I don't think that the difference between 3.6mm and 4.3mm in ring size will have a significant effect on how the rod casts.
And yes you can use a 5.5 regular guide for a tip. In fact, it will weigh slightly less than the normal tip and tend to line up better with the rest of the guides. The disadvantages will be that it will be somewhat more fragile as a tip and can be broken more easily and it will be a bit more of a pain to attach to the tip of the rod.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/08/2005 01:18PM by Emory Harry.

Thanks for the answer Emory - you got me convinced!

So I'll be using the #5.5 runners and one as a tip top. To reinforce the tip a bit should I perhaps wrap the tip top guide in using a slightly longer wrap (but not too long making it heavy ofcourse)?

>Emory wrote: "...And yes you can use a 5.5 regular guide for a tip. In fact, it will weigh slightly less than the normal tip and tend to line up better with the >rest of the guides...."

Yes this is one of the things that I had in mind as well. In overall I do not understand why most of the tip tops are bent the weirdest ways.?

Then to the butt guides. I planned using T1LVGG V-type frame guides for the task to keep the weight down and because the lad is most likely using a large arbor reel. What I have in mind is a #10 as a stripper. Between stripper and the #5.5 runners I plan putting another T1LVGG in #7 to help jumping from the highish stripper down to the runners. How does this sound to you guys?

In this kind of a stream trout rod would there be any use for a line tamer? Perhaps another #10 T1LVGG 4" in front of the stripper as usual? Would I gain anything from this?

Thanks in advance! :D

Mikko,
I would not use any longer wrap for the tip. In fact it might be a little shorter because I would mount the guide on the tip of the blank so that it stuck out just a little beyond the blank tip so as to give the blank tip a little protection against damage from hitting something. I would also put a little rod bond in the tip of the blank to seal it and then after it has cured I would put a little of the epoxy that I used on the tip wrap over the blank tip.

I use and like the line tamer guide on a 5 wt. Of course with those cerments that is a significant extra cost. I have not built that blank. I would suggest looking at your guide spacing and using just as few guides as you can get buy with near the top to keep the weight down. Or at least refrain from putting on extra to make it better. When I do the line tamer now I commit fully to it and space the next guide up accordingly. That way I pick up about 4" for the first 3 and I think that generally lets me get buy with 1 or 2 fewer guides overall than if the tamer is an add in between 2 regularly spaced guides.

Thanks for tip again Emory - highly appreciated!

Thanks for your input also Bill! I think I'll give your method a go on some of my projets in the future - just ordered the guides for the current rod. ;)