Hello all! I am going to be building a steelhead rod for my brother in the near future. He would like an 8'6 rod, med. action with a fast tip. I was wondering what you guys would recommend as guides for this particular rod? I am looking for a quality guide that wont break the bank. This rod will be used for drifting as well as soaking bait on the bottom. He was worried about having guides too small that would ice up easily. Thanks in advance for your input and advice.

6mm PacBay Minima for the running guides (if he seldom fishes air temps below 20 degrees Fahrenheit 8mm if he fishes during colder air temps regularly), and whatever you need for reduction guides for a spinning setup, or fore grip clearance on a casting rod. The Minima guides are lightweight, offer a larger ID for their size than a ceramic, making them an excellent choice in this application. Best of all, they are very reasonably priced. They also have a Ti framed version as well now, for an even lighter weight option in the sizes needed.

Joe



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/2013 04:01PM by Joe Vanfossen.

Thanks Joe!

If anything, there are too many good choices these days. I have the old standby favorite, alconites on mine. But I don't have to worry about cold water.

If he is the type that might "knock the ice" off the guides you could consider REC recoils. They aren't cheap but they won't break.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.