A friend of mine gave me an old lami 7'-6'" spinning rod # mb063 ?? to replace the guides.not sure about the blank#. 7/8" butt and a#12 tip. All Perfection guides 4 to exact .Biggest being a 60. What size fuji guides would be a better upgrade

thanks
chip

What reel and line are you planning on using? The library has a good article on spinning guide selection and placement.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/29/2011 11:24PM by Spencer Phipps.

Spencer
He has got a Penn 704 and will be using #20lb test mono

thanks for the input

chip

Chip times have changed but some fisherman have not. Single foot guides, no underwraps, and the 27X method will improve performance. Question is will your guy be happy with those choices? He is still using an old reel and old line technology. He may be stuck in his ways and feel the large double foot guides with full underwraps are required and may even see such things as a sign of quality. In the end you have to make him happy.

Even hardloys will be a step up but I tend to use alconites. I also use a lot of amtak guides these days. Alps is good as well. You have quality choices other than fuji.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

Russell
Yes i think will be happy with anything i can to upgrade the rod. the rod is used for fishing with eels for bass good size fish. what is the 27 method?? i like the single foot guides myself
thanks for the come back

chip

make sure he understands that you are going to PREP the guides so they are Smooth and will not hurt the blank

Bill - willierods.com

chip chappell Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Spencer
> He has got a Penn 704 and will be using #20lb test
> mono
>
> thanks for the input
>
> chip

I would be surprised if your friend is using such a large spinning reel on that rod. If not, you might want to advise him to use a smaller one and build the rod accordingly. The 704/704Z has a spool diameter that is almost 2 3/4" and the reel weighs in at 21 oz. It is designed for surf rods of 10' and longer. This will not balance well with the 7 1/2 footer, imo.

Chip I think it comes down to your relationship with the guy. If he is a friend and you are doing it for free that is one thing. It also depends on how much he cares about looks.

Most Lami's have a finish. Given that you are going to replace double foot guides with single foot guides and re-locate them the rod will need refinishing to look professional. At that point I'd wager you'd have more dollars in labor than what the rod is worth. Also consider that rods and reels like that will always have a following. You can't kill them.

Friend or customer I think you'd be doing the most good by suggesting a new reel and blank. Keep the old outfit or sell it. If you look around for closeouts you can't get great value. JandH tackle often has closeouts on reels. I bought a Trynos and a Stradic recently. I got a killer deal on a lamiglas tri-flex at mudhole and utmost can't be beat for value.

In the long run he would be ahead. I know it is painful. I just gave my old mean green penn and cutom wrapped shakespear wonder rod to a friend.

The 27X method is in the library link at the top of the page. If you just want to replace the guides and don't care about the rest hardloy works. Amtak virtus lites are a personal favorite. I probably wouldn't go single foot with that rod and reel. Best to keep it durable.

But make no mistake, a new reel loaded with braid and a decent quality blank like rainshadow or mhx will give him an outfit that weighs 50% less, will cast longer, and be able to land bigger fish. It will also snap like a dry twig first time he tries to flip a 10 pounder onto the jetty:) If he is inclined towards that go with a composite blank. If you take your time and shop wisely it won't need to cost all that much.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.