I received a kit to build a steel head rod based on a Rainshadow Rx7+ 9'6" 8 weight blank. The kit came with good single foot guides (sized 4 and 5) but I would prefer to use snakes (better to deal with ice and my clumsiness). I'd like to this rod fishing for winter steel head in NY state and also as a large mouth bass rod.

The kit came with a 16 stripper and then a size 10 double foot guide. I thought working off of that, I could go with a 5 snake, a 4 snake and then finish to rod off with 3s. I have large tip top. Would number 3 snakes be a good choice for an eight weight with the possiblity of having to deal with icing on the guides? If size 2s would work, I would not mind using those instead.

Any advice would be gratefully appreciated. Thanks. Tom

I'd normally end with #2 snakes, stepping up to #3's and #4's on an 8 weight.
With icing as a large factor to deal with the #3's would be a better choice.
You might consider #3 titanium's for the top 3 or 4 guides to decrease the effect of the extra weight.

Eugene Moore

Size 3's are fine. Omit the 5 and the 4 for a straighter line path and a little less weight.

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Would a 3.5 micro guide be too small for a rod of this wt.? Or would a New Concept 4 or 6 be better? I have a 5 wt. that I am debating on using the smaller micro guides.

SZ 20 stripper then a 16.

John,
The small micro ceramics won't work on a fly rod, the 6 is as small as I'd go as the line and connections can be to large for the very small guides.

My thanks for everyone for their advice. I think I will go with all size 3's with the last threes being titanium.

I will consider the size 20 stripper. If I went with that, would it not be better to drop to a 12 for the next guide before starting the size 3 snakes?

You might be better with the heaver saltwater single foot whire guides. less surface to collect ice.

Bill - willierods.com

You can certainly do that. The thing to remember is that the drop in sizes is more for the human eye and less for the line, which does not recognize guide sizes. If you used the #10 instead of the #12 the line wouldn't really be aware of it as the change in angle or drop is absolutely of no practical difference. It's just the human eye looking at the ring opening that likes to see a gradual drop in guide size - the line never uses the ring, just a surface.

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I built a rod last spring for NY GL steelhead. I used a size 12 double foot BLNAG then size 10 single foot BLAG then size 4 single foot recoils to the tip. I think making the first two guides 16 12 would improve it a little bit. As far as icing, the 4s hold up pretty well, but they still ice up. FYI, just by looking the id of the size 4 sf recoils look to be somewhere between the id of a size 8 and 10 fuji BLAG. In an ideal world I'd have one rod with size 6 BLAG running guides for fall/spring steelhead, and another with the larger recoils for dealing with the ice in the winter. The ceramic guides are way quieter and feel a lot smother casting as well as fighting fish. I've never used them but the pac bay minimas seem like they may be a good compromise between the two.