I am about to build my first fly rod and when going through the cataloges the size of the guides seam to be defferent than what I am use to. Could someone tell me the correct size guides to use and how many. I would like to use single foot guides after the stripper. Should I use a SIC guide for the stripper and the tip?? Also how far from the grip should the stripper be placed and when i place the guides should I use a staitic deflection test. The blank is a Lami 9' , med - fast action, and the line will be floating or a slow sink. Thanks for your help.
Rick

I'm not sure if you're planning on using single foot wire guide or single foot ceramics. If single foot wire, I can't really help out, as I've not used them in ages. If single foot ceramic, it depends on the weight of the line. For 3-6 wt., then I'd suggest going with 10, 8, 6, 6, 6, 6, etc. on to the tip. If 7-8 wt., then I'd go with 12, 10, 7, 7, 7, 7, etc. on to the tip. For anything larger than that, I might start with a 16. The running guides, which are the smallest guides, have to be large enough to fit all your knots. Usually, 7s will go, but sometimes 8s are necessary. I'd go with SIC ceramics all the way. Titanium/SIC guides are the best, but very pricey. Gunsmoke/SICs will make you very happy without breaking the bank. You'll likely end up needing to use 10 or 11 guides total.

I generally start my stripper at about 28" from the center of the reel. I then adjust while test casting. It usually ends up further away than that. There's all sorts of ways to determine the spot for the stripper, and I'm sure someone else will post these methods. I like my stripper to be farther from the reel than most folks, as I'm mainly interested in shooting line.

You definitely want to do a static deflection test, as outlined in the library section of this site.