I have been using the M4 series on a lot of casting and spinning rods this season. It seems the TiCh finish guides fish a lot nicer/smoother with mono than the straight chrome finish. Am I dreaming or has anyone else noticed this?

****** I almost forgot to mention - I have used both a lot, and like them both!!!!!

Thanks,
Marc



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/22/2010 12:54PM by marc morrone.

I can't say because all I've fished thus far has been the hard chrome version. You may well be correct.

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Tom - if you don't mind me asking, have you fished any lighter mono (4# to 8# or so) on the hard chrome's? And did they do well?

Thanks,

Marc

Marc,
I have used both and I will agree that there is a slight difference in the action of the guides, with a slight nod toward the tich finish.
But, I have also found that it is dependent on the lb test line, type line, as well as the weight of the jig, lure or weight being cast.
The slight difference is more pronounced on lighther lures and harder casting lines.


Roger

I've used 6lb and it seems fine, but not as smooth as it is on ceramic of course. The coating on the TiChrome might give similar results.

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Hi,

I build using the Minima 4 hard chrome. I use them on party boat rods because the rings can not pop out as they are sitting in a u shaped channel. This prevents repairs. I find it interesting in what you post between the hard chrome and tich regarding casting. The party boat rods are used to drop sinkers to the bottom.

Capt Neil Faulkner

Neil,
Although I have used both as I stated above, there may be a difference in the guide finish but it is tough to feel for the average person using the rod.

Roger

p.s.
One way to check for guide finish difference is to use a new v shaped exacto knife and blade.

Gently insert the blade into the guide and slowly and gently sweep the new sharp blade around the perimeter of the interior of the guide. As the sharp knife blade sweeps around the interior of the guide it will catch on any imperfecton or draggy spots on the interior of the rig. You can select a variety of guides and repeat the test to get a feel for what differences, if any there are between guide styles and types.

For example, you can take virtually any of the high quality ceramic style guides and find virtually no difference in the "feel" or "slippereness" of the guide.

I think that you can find serious cost differences in guides as well as claimed differences in durability of guides.

I will leave it up to the user and buyer of guides, whether they are ringed guides or ringless guides to determine the best guide for their particular application.

Summay,

The use of the sharp v shaped exacto knife can pretty easily show differences in inner guide materials. It is up to the user of the particular guide to see if these differences are important for the rod being built.

The use of the exacto knife and blade is a much much better indication of inner guide condition than the classic use of q- tips to check for cracked or broken inner guide rings.

Roger