I will be building a St Croix SCIII 2 pc 9' , 8wgt fly rod which will be a first for me. He wants SF ceramics.

Any suggestions on guides will be appreciated!! Should I go SF all the way or a DF and the rest SF. Stripper and all the rest SF fly type #6's??

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

IMO ... #16DF, #12DF then running guides to the tip. I like Fuji SiC ... SVSG for fresh and TSVSG for salt, match the running guides and top.

Hi Mike,

DF for the Stripper and SF the rest of the way. You might want to try a tamer guide after the Stripper. I check all 8 wgt and up fly rods I build with a tamer. Sometime it's needed and sometime it's not. I just finished my first rod using SF guides and I will never go back to DF unless the customer insist on it.

Here is a setup you might try - From the tip back
4 1/2", 9 11/16", 15 11/16", 22 3/8", 29 13/16" 38", 46 7/8", 56 1/2", 66 7/8", 78"
or
3 1/2", 7", 13 5/16", 19 11/16", 27", 35 5/16", 44 9/16", 54 3/4", 65 7/8", 78"

What I do is mesure from the tip to your ferrel and see which one of the above list puts a guide on or very close to the ferrel and use that list of numbers to setup my guides. Of coarse you static test it to be sure you have a good guide setup. I'm sure I don't have to remind you to wrap you ferrel before you do your static test or go outside to test cast it. I have had very good luck setting my guides this way and have had to do very little changing of guides from my first placement.

Oh ya - Stripper guide should be about 20" from reel seat or as Tom says 30" from butt to stripper. Either way they both come out about the same.

Hank
On The Rocks Fishing
Wells, ME.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/09/2008 05:54PM by Milton (Hank) Aldridge.

Mike, you can probably go either way and be just fine. I usually use DF stripper and second guide on fly rods above 6wt, but I have used SF to get the look a client wants with no performance problems. I sometimes use DF on rods below 6wt as well. I use SF stripper and second guides on lighter weight fly rods all the time with no problems. The SF ceramic guides are easy to work with and function very nicely. I would second the suggestion of a tamer guide on an 8wt rod.

Joe Douglas

I think that you might be going too small on your running guides. I was reading some "customer reviews" about multi-tip fly lines the other day and the main complaint was that the loops wouldn't pass through the guides or got hung-up in the tip. Even if the knots will pass thru the guides under normal conditions, add some frigid temperatures and a little ice and you might find that the line will get stuck using 6's. I usually use 7's or 8's on anything bigger than a 6-weight.
For strippers I like to use regular spin guides like the TYSG, but I think that the TSVSG's might give better stress distribution when used on heavier fly rods that are used for bigger fish. I am going to try some on a couple of 10-weights I am now working on.

Lynn

As for placement of the stripper guide. I hold the butt section as if I were casting and practice casting and stripping line. I go about 2' above were my hand would grab the line. Appreciate any comments on the way I find where to place. The reason I do it this way is everyone has different arm lengths.
Good Wraps Bob

I agree with Bob Balcombe's approach. Everyone has a different arm length, and this is a good rule of thumb.

Bob may have gotten that out of my book or one of my earlier articles. While it works well, you will find that in most situations outside of someone with very short or very long arms, if you put the stripping guide about 32 inches from the butt of the rod you'll find that the distance is just about on the money for most people. Either way is fine.

..........

Thank for all the help/suggestions!

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!