I got 2 All Star SJI Special Jigging rods in for an overhaul. Blanks are in excellent condition. Both rods are the 1 +, 7' 9". I have removed the seat on one , which was loose. The guides frames are showing some rust around the edge of the ring. I am going to replace them. Stripper is a #12 DF, then 2 #10 SF and 3 ea #8 SF with a #8 tip. I would like to put the guides back in the same location. Question is, would this rod perform better with smaller guides and tip , maybe #12 DF stripper, 2 #8 SF and 3 #6 SF with a #6 tip. Or should I stay with the original sizes ?

J.B.Hunt
Bowling Green, KY

J.B.
You are going to cut the old guides off anyway so why don't you tape on the new sizes on the blank with the good reel seat and take it out and test cast it to see if everything works good. That way you would know how well they worked.... You can't count the distance that the plug slides on the ice though (lol)
Tight lines
Bill Rice

Smaller and lower in the same place will probably not be the best choice. Tape the lower guides in the same place and load it to see. Unless you spiral -



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/16/2007 08:05AM by Bill Stevens.

Jay, the rod will perform noticeably better with the smaller guides that you proposed. I have downsized the guides on many rods with dramatic results.

Thanks guys. The original SF guides appear to be Rainshadow BVSLG's . They are a little lower framed than a Fugi "V" guide. But the smallest I found were #8's.
I tend to agree with Bill, now that I think about what he said, going back in the same place with smaller and only 6 guides may not be the best choice.
I do have some BYAG Alconites and BLAG Alconites that I can tape on and see how they look and cast.
I think this rod is used only for pitching Jigs, maybe a worm.

J.B.Hunt
Bowling Green, KY

If you stay conventional with guides on top - Alconites alone on that blank may take up to 10 - You can easily get away with using Alconites down to the 8s and then swapping to the Batson or Amtak fly 7 and sixes and get away with 7 or 8. Most will not notice the slight change in ring color. Or just use the Batson or Amtak all the way our. All the frames are stainless with black paint.

Bill, This is a 7'9" 1+, telescopic rod. The Stripper sits 26 " from the reel due to the telescoping rod so I probably couldn't get over 8 on it anyway. Also, where the old guides sit , there is an obvious dull area where the finish doesn't shine. That's the reason I wanted them to go back in the same place. If I do this right, these rods will look brand new. I guess I will go with new Batson guides of the original sizes and put them back in their original position. I have one of them completely stripped. The blank is in excellent condition and it cleaned up nicely. Them being flipping sticks, changing guide sizes may not make a dimes worth of difference. But then I just remembered something. The guy told me he could pitch a 1/2 oz jig into a coffee cup at 32 ft and do it consistently , 36 ft and he couldn't pitch it into a barrel , so If I change anything thing he probably couldn't pitch it out of the boat.

J.B.Hunt
Bowling Green, KY

Jay,

Don't know if you've considered this or not, but the distance he get's on his pitches probably has something to do with how he has his reel set. If you change guides or number of guides, it may just mean that he has to make an adjustment to his reel settings. Something to think about.

Bill in WV

You are correct Bill. And something else just occurred to me, it would seem that one would be more accurate with smaller guides because they are taming the line down more than larger guides would, again , as you said, he would have to make some reel adjustments in both cases.

J.B.Hunt
Bowling Green, KY

JB,
Generally speaking, I wouldn't go with smaller guides; simply because if you go with smaller guides on a conventional bait caster - you will have to add one or more guides to keep the line from hitting the reel.

Also, the casting distance is not likely to change. Cut off the old guides; clean up the blank , and then try a few different size guides to see any difference. I doubt very much if the smaller guides will help any thing - except give you a head ache.

Roger