I'll be building a Batson RX8+ 822.5 6'10" rod that will be matched with a Pflueger Supreme 9035XT with approx. a 1.800" dia spool, that will mostly be used with 8lb. mono.

Batson's guide size recommendation is:
25, 16, 10, 7, 7, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6TT

Does this the following seem reasonable with Fuji Alconites? (Either BYAG, or BKLAG)
25, 16, 10, 7, 6, 4.5, 4.5, 4.5, 4.5TT

Also, am I correct that "V" style guides are generally used on ultra light rods with smaller (shorter) reels, and "Y" style guides with most other spinning rods?

Thanks.

Dan

The V guides are the stronger of the two

25-10-5-4.5XXXXX -4.5 tip will also work great and lighten the load
You could also use 3.5's or 3's with great results



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/27/2010 07:49PM by Steve Gardner.

Thanks Steve.

I'll go with the 25-10-5-4.5XXXXX -4.5 tip combination that you suggested.

I live in Wisconsin and part of the time will be using this rod in very cold weather so I am hesitant to go smaller than 4.5's because of icing concerns.

Thanks again for your help with this and other questions I've posted.

Dan

One thing, I would not totally get set on using just those sizes of guides, mainly the 25 and 10. You may find out when laying out the guides that you might need something a bit bigger or smaller to get the right line flow. I owuld make sure to buy some other sizes to have to make sure things work right. I am not saying it will not work, but you never know, a different size guide could make the difference.

You won't need more than 3 guide sizes for that rod. Just 4 at the very most, but I suspect 3 may be enough.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

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Dan;
I can’t speak for really cold whether, But I’ve used the Micros’ in weather down to 18 degrees, and yes there is some freezing, but the small ft. print of the guide did not allow enough ice build up to effect casting . They also kept the ice out of the reel.

Scott Sheets posted similar results a year or so ago.

They may cause a problem when fishing straight through the ice in which little baits are being dropped down with out the momentum of a cast. I don’t know because we don’t have that challenge here.

If you plan to use braid with a leader I would test cast the 4.5's to be sure you like the performance with the knot going through the guides. I used a similar size micro with 8# braid and 8# mono leader, and it's a bit iffy. Works best without a knot in the system.

Thanks for the replies.

Mike S. I will order a few extra guides in different sizes in case this setup needs fine tuning with this reel and line combo.

Tom: I had read the article and was planning to use it for setting up the guide spacing. A question. The article refers to 6 size guides for this weight rod. Does the 4-5" spacing for the running guides still apply for micros down to 3 to 3.5's like Steve suggests? I've seen ads for micro guide "sets" that include 7 running guides for 6 1/2 to 7' spinning rods, which seems like a LOT of guides?

Steve: I've successfully avoided ice fishing for the past 5 years and hope to keep it that way! Getting down to the 4.5's was pushing my "comfort zone" for guide sizes, though I have the impression that you've built on a number of the 822.5 blanks and I value your opinion and will look at going smaller.

Michael: I don't usually use leaders, but that's a good point and I'll plan to use a different rod if using a leader.

Thanks again.

Dan

The size of the running guides wouldn't have anything to do with their spacing.

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Dan,
With a spinning rod, and if you use micros compared to
"standard sized " guides, there is really no need to have any different number of guides.

i.e. put enough - but just enough - guides to have the line follow the contour of the loaded blank.

This may mean that you have guides that are 2 inches apart for a very soft tipped rod, or 20 inches apart for a very stiff rod.

Take care
Roger

My favorite personial rod (and blank) is the Batson RX 822.5+ on a bait caster with 2.5mm guides.
Using 10lb Floro on it most of the time. Is light, crisp, sensitive, casts like a Rocket ship, and would most likely handle lager lines just as well.
If your guides end up 2 inches apart? you have screw up.