Hi everyone,
I'm still not sure what sort of guides I wan't to put on a new 3 weight fly rod.
I'm trying to find out why snake guides are shaped the way they are, as far as I know the common type is called the 'American pattern' with it's typical 'tear' shaped form hanging unter the rod blank, it is supposed to be better for shooting line. On the other hand there are guides with a complete round loop (the so called 'English pattern'), they have a more classic look and are better suited for traditional, softer rods. There even is a difference in left or right coiled. It is supposed to make a difference in how the rod behaves. They say..........

Now... Can anybody tell me why single foot guides also have the same round shape and why a round tiptop is used on some of the new Sage rods as well, why is that? Does it make a difference if a guide is round or is it all just the look?

Any info on this would be great.
Thanks for all the help, once again.

Joost.

The line only contacts the guide at one point most of the time, so much of this "left or right" thing doesn't really matter.

As far as how they affect rod performance, that would have to do with weight, with the lightest having the least detrimental impact on rod performance.

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

Most of the things I have read indicate the snake guides with a right to left twist are the "English" version and were the first version of snake guides. The left to right twist is the "American" version and came about sometime in the early 20th century. I know early greenheart, lancewood and bamboo rod builders on both sides of the pond used the English version into the early 1900s and then a switch was made in America to the American version. I have no idea why. Maybe just the cost involved. I looked through some of my books and can't find anything that explains the difference between the versions or why the change occurred.

If it were Northern and Southern hemispheres involved, we could probably make up a good explanation. As it is, I hope someone knows because now I'm curious.

Joe Douglas

I have an older English bamboo rod with what you refer to as the English pattern guides, they hang on a "bridge". They are pretty much the most worthless kind of guides I have ever seen performance wise. And they are very small in diameter. I sure don't see them as a "better" choice for soft rods.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/01/2007 05:38PM by Bill Moschler.