I have been trying to place my butt guide a 3mm micro, from the reel seat so that there is no sharp drop or break in the line, I tried 15& 16 inches, but still see a sharp drop in the line when it goes through the guide, now I got it at 20 inches, butt still see a slight drop in the line, my rod is 7' 3", and the reel seat is 73inches from the tip, should there be a drop pr break in the line when it passes through the guide?

From working with Bill Stevens when I was working on my 8' crankbait rod, I ended up putting the guide around 28-30" from the reel.

So would you say that 20 or up to 23 inches would be about where it should go? Should i be looking for a spot where there is no break or sharp drop, or is a lttile break or drop alright? I know it is up to the builder, on whatever he feels is right to him, But i feel that a break of sharp drop in the line can hurt the casting distance.

I would say keep moving it till you get in a spot you feel is best. It could end up being the same distance I needed for my rod.

Thatis the very thing i am doing now. I got it to 24" as of now I tried the static test and it is not hitting the blank and looks pretty straight form the reel to the guide with no break, that might just be the spot at 24 maybe 25".

Lorenzo,

You will likely still end up with a small angle change, as the top of a 3mm micro is significantly lower than the levelwind guide on your reel. I would start looking in the 23"-27" range, but don't be worried if it pushes out a little further to the 30" range. Just treat the butt guide like any other guide in a static test and let it fall where it may. I'm sure a sharp angle will rob a little casting distance, but I don't expect it to be much.

The biggest issue I heard among some guys, on another board, using factory micro rods was an increase in braid noise with the butt guide around 18" from the reel face, due to the sharp angle change. Pushing the guide out will help with the problem.

Joe

Edit: Sounds like you have it under control now ;)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/09/2011 09:31AM by Joe Vanfossen.

Why not just try a say a 6

Bill - willierods.com

A 6mm fly will only get you a little height. There is no problem with a 4mm. I have never used a 3mm butt guide, but it should work. Most of mine are 22 to 25" from the front of the reel. It is not critical like a spinning rod. I try to set up so that the line just touches the blank at full load.

Chuck

_________________________________________
"Angling is extremely time consuming.
That's sort of the whole point." - Thomas McGuane

Nothing is written in stone Whatever works for line path and casting distance.

Bill - willierods.com

I use a 5, 4, and 3's the rest of the way out

Ron Weber

Lorenzo, I'm not questioning your guide chuice but I also .
would use a set up like Ron's. I think you need a bit larger butt guide.
to smooth out the line before going into the 3's.
Then position the size 5 at the distance needed to minimize the angle change.

However I have noot tried using all one size micro guides the full length.
..

I haven't tried all Micros either. I'm using a #6 high frame DF, a #5 SF and running 4's with the butt guide being 21 to 23 inches from the front of the reel. This setup works great on about every rod I build. I haven't set one up with all Micros and test casted it but I think I will try that.
I guess the reason I use #4's instead of #3's is because I haven't found a Top with a smaller ring than a #4.5 .

J.B.Hunt
Bowling Green, KY

A micro butt guide needs to be far enough out to reduce the angle off the reel but close enough in to tame the line or it may impede your casting distance. YOu're going to have to play with it, but don't be afraid to go out to 27". At 30" you are probably going to see some silly stuff start to happen between the reel and butt guide. Of course you can always cure that wiith a tamer guide, but it's going to get the heck beat out of it if it's on a bass tournament rod.

Jay - Lance has 4 ring tops up to 7 tube.

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Using all #3 micros is not any problem at all. The crankbait rod I mentioned above is all 3's and it casts like a dream. Guys who try it can not believe how far it will throw a lure. The blank is the one from Swampland, the XP3 964 from Castaway.

Lorenzo,
51.6 inches from tip 21.4 inches from reelseat.

Eugene Moore

Jay, all 3's work just fine with the tip ring size of 4 or 4.5.

Lots of great posts.
If I were using only size 3s, I would start with the first guide at about 30-36 inches. That would be about the point where the line would have straightened out enough to get it to flow nicely.

But, as others have pointed out, I think you would likely be happier, if you had one butt guide of a large size at about 20 inches or so, to take the loops before running down the rod.

But, go ahead, tape on all 3s, starting at about 33 inches, and do some casting and see how it goes.

Then, add a size 16 at about 20 inches and see if the rod works better.
No pain is doing a bit of testing and trying.

Good wraps
Roger

Well guys, I got it wrapped at 28" butt guide, looks a lot different from what i am used to, But on my test it flowed really nicely, I 'm just wondering how it would do with a really big bass on the line, I think I may have to many guides, from reel seat to tip is 73", so the butt guide is at 28" which leaves 45" for the rest of the guides, so i have from the butt guide, 6" then 5", then 3 at 4" apart, then 4 at 3"apart then 2 at 2 3/4"apart all together its got 12, 3mm's, plus tip, looked good on my test, I really can't change it now, i already got 8 of them wrapped. Oh well!

Lorenze,
By the way, is this a casting rod, or a spinning rod that you are building?
Roger

It is a casting rod, med heavy HM-HMX's, can't wait to get it done and out for a Bass fishing trip.