General question - does the 27x rule become less significant as line weight goes down? In other words, will the location of the first guide and the choker (being related to one another in NGC) not matter as much if you are using a limp 4lb mono or 4-6lb braid?

Not necessarily. If you want to throw it out, what are you going to replace it with? It's been arrived at by taking measurements from over 100 rods optimized by trial and error for the best performance with a wide variety of reels and lines.

But this doesn't mean you can't do something different. It's not a rule - it's a component of the New Guide Concept as I've arrived at it over many years. If you're comfortable trying some different set ups and test casting a bit, go right ahead. It's your rod and you're free to set it up in whatever fashion appeals to you the most.

With lighter or more supple line, the one thing you can definitely count on is being able to use a smaller butt guide ring.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/03/2009 02:37PM by Tom Kirkman.

I think it probably is less important because everything is less important as you go down in line size and diameter. Nothing is as critical on smaller, limper line as it is on larger, stiffer line.

But having made that statement I find the 27X to be a good constant for locating the choker guide. It works with nearly any and all reel sizes and line types and works rather well I might add. Not at all like a compromise of sorts. It seems about right, for me, on most of the rods I have tried this way. It is likely that for any given line size there is going to be a perfect location for the choker guide and 27X might not be it. But the time it would take to find that perfect location for each and every line size does not seem worth the bother to me.

I have to chime in on Tom's statement about using smaller rings and especially at the butt guide location. I think is still important but as the line gets smaller and lighter I have been able to drop butt guide size down to just a third or quarter of my spool size. I do use very high frames though.