Hey all, I've got a Winston BLS 9' #8 4 1/4 oz rod with a broken guide. I asked Winston what guides that they use and was told send it to them along with $30 and they woud replace it. I want to do it myself, which is why I asked what guides they used so I can match it to what is already there. I need to replace the 2nd double foot guide. It looks like a chrome SIC guide but there are no Fiji markings on it. Does anyone know what guides that Winston uses??? Also, it' s wraped with dark green thread, no CP(its translucent) Any one with any info on the guides/thread that Winston uses will be greatly appreciated. If not I'll just relplace it with the closest thing I can find, function over fashion, LOL.

Thanks
Tony

Probably a PAC Bay guide . The thread is custom dyed to their specifications. I built a BIIX rod and asked about the thread color and Winston told me about the custom thread.

Gudebrod 5896 with no CP will match darn close if not exact in terms of the green thread Winston uses.

Most likely they use guides from Batson, American Tackle or Pacific Bay. You can visit those websites and see if you see anything that looks like the guide you have on there now. Perfection also makes fly rod stripping guides and they're still used by more than a few fly rod makers.

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Tony Politi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hey all, I've got a Winston @#$%&9' #8 4 1/4 oz
> rod with a broken guide. I asked Winston what
> guides that they use and was told send it to them
> along with $30 and they woud replace it. I want
> to do it myself, which is why I asked what guides
> they used so I can match it to what is already
> there. I need to replace the 2nd double foot
> guide. It looks like a chrome SIC guide but there
> are no Fiji markings on it. Does anyone know what
> guides that Winston uses??? Also, it' s wraped
> with dark green thread, no CP(its translucent)
> Any one with any info on the guides/thread that
> Winston uses will be greatly appreciated. If not
> I'll just relplace it with the closest thing I can
> find, function over fashion, LOL.
>
> Thanks
> Tony

So just out of curiosity, why would you want to change the guide out yourself and potentially invalidate the warantee? Is it expired, or was it a used rod? Granted, $30 to change a guide is a bit of dough, but if you break the tip for instance....

-- Cheers
-- James

He should be able to change it without anything looking different. Generally replacing a guide won't invalidate your warranty as long as you haven't modified the rod in any way and kept the guide and the location of the guide the same.

.............

Thanks for the responses, James, the rod is a second hand rod that has a broken guide, otherwise it's in good shape. I've had the rod for 2-3 years and never touched it, it'll be a second backup. I'm not concerned about the warranty just want to get the rod usable.

Tony