Long time lurker first time guestion :)

Right now im building a 7" UL on the St. Croix SCIII Blank with a Shimano Saros 1000 reel. On this rod I wanted to use the fuji concept guide system. I laid everything out and here is what I came up with.

6mm choke guide plus 6 more 6mm guides out to the tip. So (7) 6mm guides in total
The butt guide is a 20mm and is about 20 in. from the reel face.
The only other guide is a 10 between the butt and choke.

I followed Tom Kirkmans walk through in the library but it just looks funny to me. The static dis. test came out almost perfect and the rod seems to cast well.

I guess my question is should i be concerned with the total amount of guides(9) on a 7" rod? Also will there be an issue going from a 20mm butt guide down to an 10mm?

Thanks for any input you have.

Mitch Leppelmeier



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/07/2009 12:23PM by Mitch Leppelmeier.

If it casts to your expecations, I would say no. You could try taking out 1 or 2 of the number 6 guides and see how it casts and make sure to do a static load test.

The article in the library section of this forum is not for the Fuji Concept System.
The "New Guide Concept" should not be confused with the Fuji system.

As the rule of thumb indicates, a 7ft rod would normally have 8 guides plus the
tip top. Sometimes one would need one more or one less so if your staic test
indicates 9 guides your not out of wack at all.

New set-ups can often look "funny" just because it's different than what one is
used to seeing. Don't let that deture you from obtaining the best results. You
will be surprised at how well "funny looking" rods can perform! lol

Mike is right on with the suggestion to try several set-ups before finalizing the
actual number and placements of guides. Especially on a spinning outfit.
A bit of test casting tells all.

Raymond Adams
Eventually, all things merge, and a river runs through it..

Sounds like you did everything correctly. Most of my NGC rods set up for reels of that size only have one transition guide between the butt and choker guide. They cast very well.

On a 7' rod you should about 8 guides plus tiptop. 1 more or less isn't going to matter that much. The only place you can remove a guide and try fewer will be among the running guides. Take one out, respace the remainer of running guides and test cast again. Leave the butt, transition and choker guides where they are.


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When I laid out my first NGC rod it didn't look "right" either but it casts like a dream and it performed well in the static test. Just different I suppose.
As far as numebr of guides go, I personally prefer 8-9 on a 7' spinning rod. I use a really light drag on my reels and if I need to add drag I can either lift the rod tip up more and create more drag or cup the spool. Either way, congrats on the new build and trying different approaches.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/07/2009 01:53PM by Matthew Jacobs.

Thanks guys for all the input. Im quite happy with the way it performs!!! I guess it just takes some getting used to as far as the looks!

Once you've fished with it a bit, the older style with large ring guides all the way out (Cone-of-Flight System) will begin to look and feel odd. Just wait and see.

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Mitch; to answer you questions; NO there is nothing wrong with going from a 20mm to 10mm guide if that is how it sets up. Neither is it out of line to end up with an extra guide.

While on the subject what do you feel performs better the "Fuji Concept system" or the "New Guide Concept"?

They're the same thing. You do not need to use Fuji guides, however, to use the New Guide Concept System.

What you have here in the online library and what was in the Volume 10 #4 issue of RodMaker are my work detailing how to set up the system without relying on charts and generic spacing, which the Fuji literature does.

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