I have a customer who wants a 10' rod for bank fishing bobber and jig with 1 oz jigs and 12# test mono. We have decided on the MHX blank-ST1204F-MHX . I am considering spiral wrapping it since he wants it in casting configuration. I spiral wrap most of my casting rods but have not dealt with one this long or with that much weight. Iceing up of guides is also a consideration on this rod, so I can not go with too small of guides. If iceing were not a problem, I would probably use size 4 runners but I am thinking that I will need at leat 6's and maybe even 8's. Wondering what other people's thoughts are on spiraling and what kind of spiral to use plus runner guide size.

all my hard-core steelheading buddies use size 6 or 7 recoils for runners, they say they don't ice up bad and when they do it's easier to clear them since you can just squeeze the frame to pop out the ice

Regards,
-Justin

This is a bobber rod for salmon, most likely so weight isn't a huge deal as you will be casting a 1 oz weight all day. Recoils are great as they lack the insert and don't ice up as easily. I wouldn't go any lower than 8's if you use guides with inserts. Spiral wrapping is fine for these rods, but not critical in my opinion.

Terry

I concur. I would likely use size 8 Pac Bay Minimas. Since this is a bobber rod, there is really little reason to be spending a lot of money on guides.

The rod will work well for you.

Roger

I'm not a fan of the Minima guides for this application since the sharp ring edges really impede passing of bobber stops.
I just built a spiral wrapped fload casting rod and used Pac Bay DPL size 8 guides and they have worked well below freezing including bobber stops.

I like the thoughts on the recoils and makes sense. What about Jann's flexlites? I know they don't flex like the recoils, but at $2 a guide(8) and $6 for recoils(8) they would give me an option to present to the customer. I have used them on UL spinning rods and liked them, just not the casting guide.

Yeah, minimas are fine for sizing, but not for bobber stops, I agree and would stay away from them for this application. A size 8 fuji alconite, or similar style from Amtak or Batsons would be fine.

I don't have any experience with Jann's flexlites. You might order some to check them out and see for yourself.

Terry