Hi all.
I've been trolling through the site for a long time now & have finally decided to start my first rod.
However I do have a query I cant get my head around.

My blank is a 6'6" St Croix light spin outfit with Penn 4000 reel Fuji guides.
Have gone the way of the static test for placement & the layout of the line looks pretty good to me throughout the flex of the blank.

My query is the butt guide.
On retrieve the line makes contact with the lower 1/3rd of the butt guide with the bail arm at it's lowest point, then no contact throughout the rest of the revolution of the bail arm.
Not sure if this is a problem or a bonus as far as friction is concerned.
Or do I need to incrfease the frame height of my butt guide (locating guide up/down will have little change in contact point)
Cast looks good even though I not into casting.

Any advice.

Cheers
Sean

Sean,
That may be perfectly all right, if it suits you.

With a light action rod, that is about the way that I set up the guides. But, if I am working on a heavier action rod, and if the client will be pitching heavier baits, I try to size and position the guides, so that the line essentially touches the first guide all of the way around during the retreive. I have found that when retreiving heavier baits, that the sizing and positioning of the guides in this manner results in less overall effort over a days worth of casting.

But for the light action rods, your setup will work just fine.

Take care
Roger

[www.rodbuilding.org]

.................

Roger,
Thanks a heap for your reply.
I kinda figured it wasn't so much a drama vs not looking right, but I'm comfortable with it so it can stay.

Tom,
I have read that sooooo many times (saved on PC, iPhone & iPad with other writeups obtained through this awesome site) & will employ it on my next rod when it gets here.

Thanks again fellas.

One thing I learned doing my first surf two piece was to put both pieces together and mark where the wrap, and trim wrap, will start and end after marking the butt guide. I wrapped all the top piece guides and then wrapped the butt guide on the bottom piece only to find when the the two pieces were put back together the butt guide wrap would not allow the two pieces to completely join. I had to rewrap the guide a little lower but it still works great.

Jeff

Columbia, SC

i'm still a novice rod builder, but in regards to your question,
depending on the type of spinning reel your gonna use on it, and the size of the butt guide, you wanna watch the line as it spirals out of the reel. i fish a lot, and if you ever seen someone cast from a side view, you'll see the amount of spiral as it leaves the reel. hope this helps in your placement.

You might want to take a look at the Tru-Flo Guide (see sponsor list on left). It takes the mystery out of butt guide placement. We found 20" from face of the reel works great for reel sizes up to #4000. No choker or transition guides necessary. Just go directly to #10 low profile or micro style running guides balanced to the tip. It's that simple. Smoothe casting.

Good Luck!
TFD