Hi Guys - I just bought a couple blanks to build for bluefin tuna popping rods. These are Black Hole blanks, parabolic-action 8-ft blanks intended for casting fairly large (4-7 oz) stick baits and poppers and fighting big fish (150 lb +) using heavy drags. I will mate them with Stella 18000SW reels and either 60- or 80-lb hollow braid, with short (10 ft or less) wind-ons comprised of 100-lb mono. Casting distance is important.

My question is which guides to use? It seems that MNSG and ICMNSG are fairly common, and I think Virtus "heavy" would work well. But because casting distance is important, I am wondering if another guide series such as TKWSG might be a better choice? I don't usually have problems with wind knots, but with the braid it does happen so the K-series is appealing in that respect. What about guide height, are the TKWSG guides (especially the larger ring sizes) any taller than MNSG? And finally strength, are the TKWSG sufficiently strong? Any other suggestions for guide choice?

Thanks, any suggestions and comments are appreciated.
-Dan

If I were you, I would go with either the TKWSG's or the Virtus Heavy. Guide height is not an issue inless you are looking to do the rod in casting or spiral. When I build these rods, I start with 30 and go no smaller than 10 at the top. The 10's accept windon leaders nicely.

Kevin

The Titanium K series aren't recommended for this; their frames are very flexible and people have seen the frames get bent/misshapen from higher drags. The Steel K series should be fine though. They are taller than the MNSG and have a 50mm, but I don't know if you will need the 50 or not; I usually use a MNSG 40 as my stripper guide for my Saragosa 18K. The 50mm is used by OTI and people have reported better casting distance. Height is important with some reels; having the guide ring more in line with the reel seems to help with a smoother cast in some of the larger reels; other reels have been fine with a lower guide. It will depend on your individual setup. For my rods, I usually go 40, 25, 16, and then 12's for the remainder of the guides. I use loop to loop connections and wind ons too, but if you get busted off, you may need to tie a knot quickly and I would want the extra clearance the size 12's give you!

The Fuji MNSG are my go to guide for this, but I just got a set of the Alps XN guides to try out; they look strong enough and well made for this purpose. I have tried the Virtus guides in the heavy and light and they are strong as heck, but I haven't used the 30 and 40mm yet.

I would recommend the ALPS XN guides for this application [www.batsonenterprises.com]. We developed a #40 just for this application. I would also recommend a flanged ring tip top to match>>
If you have any questions please feel free to contact us>>

Batson Enterprises
Rainshadow/Forecast/ALPS
www.batsonenterprises.com
877-875-2381

The MNSG is the standard for me on these type of rods. I have used and liked the Virtus line. I have heard great things about the ALPS XN's from the west coast guys. Titanium is nice but can be more fragile if bent and un-bent. I don't see the weight savings important on a rod like yours.

Bottom line, it is nice to have so many quality choices these days. I don't think you will go wrong with any of them.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

Hi Dan,

Obviously my job is to promote our products. If there was a better option out there I would let the others have it but I personally think that there is no better guide for this exact purpose then the Titan Virtus Heavy (NIRLVH). The 30/40mm sizes were specifically added in the heavy frames precisely for these types of applications. The titanium material is light weight with flexibility that is perfect for casting. The frame design & style make them ideal for extreme duty use. The Nanolite ring is also well suited for braids, knots and other connections. Hope you still consider them, as I said they were included in our line for this intended purpose.

Best Regards,

Darrin Heim
American Tackle Company

Hi Guys

I appreciate the responses, thanks. I am going to research the Titan Virtus Heavy, Alps XN, and Fuji KWSG compared to the MSNG and ICMNSG guides and pick a set out.

-Dan

Dan,

I believe that you are going to have a very hard time landing a 150 Lb. Bluefin using a parabolic tapered rod, especially when
the fish close to the boat and when it's time to gaff it!

Rena

Nope! It's been done numerous times before! The rod will flex like that down to the foregrip area and it still has backbone to land the fish; the grip area usually doesn't flex much as it is a 2 piece blank IIRC with the foregrip, reel seat and rear grip/gimbal on the 2nd lower piece. The more parabolic bend helps take the strain and pressure off of the angler. A fast action blank hurts the angler much more because there is a much longer leverage arm in favor of the tuna. Many of the tuna popping rods built for the Cape Cod BFT fishery are of this parabolic nature; they aid the angler in fighting the fish buyabsorbing the fishes power, but they still have the backbone needed to lift the tuna and control it boatside. This type of rod is fairly new in the past few years. OTI rods, BD rods, and the Japanese brands will flex pretty much down to the joint area as well and people had no problem landing 200#+ BFT last year with them. It involves a different style of fighting the fish, too.

Tim is right. This is a pretty exciting way to fight these fish that has developed over the last few years on the east coast, but borrowing heavily from techniques that I think in most part originated in Japan. We fought and landed a 74-inch, 250 lb bluefin and a 64-inch, 160-lb bluefin on a trip to Cape Cod last month and I am going back next week. While I will not say it is easy...it is an awesome experience to sight-cast to busting 200+ lb tuna, watch these fish hit your surface lures, and fight them stand-up without a harness, on spinning gear. It has taken a new breed of rods, reels, line, hooks, and even the knots.

Just a short note. If you use 300lb wind on leaders with a loop to loop like we do for our type of GT fishing here in Hawaii, the size 12 may be too small for the wind on to pass through easily. The serve hangs up quite often when casting, shortening your cast. I know you probably won't be using 300lb leaders but just a tip regarding line size and guides.

Thanks, Mark.