I am a hobby builder and have about 3 dozen spinning and casting rods under my bellt. My son brought me a F905-4 Rainshadow 4 piece fly blank and asked me to build him a rod.

I am at a loss where to start with the guides. I want to use a good quality/performing set of guides. I found a Batson spacing chart for 10 guides. I would value some guide and tip top recommendations from you veteran builders.

Any help is appreciated.

Thank you,
Ron
ps. I should have added the rod will be used for Freshwater trout fishing in our rivers out here in Ca;lifornia.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/12/2013 10:51PM by Ron Hord.

I'll probably be nailed to the cross for saying this....but IMHO, despite their tendancy to be a little old school and use a couple extra guide sizes.....you could do a lot worse than following their recipes. They seem to be one of the few that actually does a static test.

The particular guides you pick would be personal depending on many factors. What I would use for my south florida (salt) water/fish would be different than alaskan water/fish. Hard to go wrong with a good snake guide for general purpose use....although a 5 weight is something I'd think "single foot" for.

If anything you are blessed with too many good choices these days:)

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

Thanks Russ.

The formula looked pretty good and I am very comfortable doing single foot but I don't know the advantage of the old school vs new school (wire guides vs. insert guides.

Is it primarily weight or is there a casting advantage in one over the other.

Thanks,
Ron in Northern California

Ron,
You definitely DO NOT want to use ceramic guides on any fly rod - especially a #5. You will rob it of any liveliness the blank had. Use s/f REC Recoils and - most important - REC Recoil tip-top with small ring. Use #2 REC s/f running guides and a #12 stripper. Put as little thread epoxy as possible. What kind of reel seat will you be using?
Herb

If you are looking for brand recommendations, look at 'snake brand' universal guides. Don't need to all the foot prep, the guides are ready to wrap and align themselves on the blank. They sell tips and stripping guides in the same finish.

Weight affects casting, not ring material so much.

I have successfully used ceramic guides on fly rods down to 3-weights with excellent results. More lately I have used Pacific Bay Minima guides which I find perhaps the best of all worlds for a fly rod.

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

I'd rather go with single foot with short wraps too. Not necessarily REC though, many people can't stand the noise they make.
10 guides, many people use 2 'strippers', ie the two first (bigger) guides with an insert, typically in sizes 16 and 12, then I go with sf # 4/2/1/1/1/1/1/1
this way your build will retain as much as possible of the bare blanks qualities.

_______________________________________________
If I'm not going to catch anything, then I'd rather not catch anything on flies.

Prostaff Rodhouse
[www.rodhouse.fr]

I am also a hobby builder, but all I build is fly, switch or spey rods. I have built Batson and Rainshadow blanks and followed the guide chart provided, they all cast very well. For a 5wt you do not need anything bigger than a 12 stripper (IMHO) and you only need one, two is fine. From reading this board and Tom Morgan's thoughts on guides I have been trending to smaller guides. The one note of caution is find out if your son plans to use loop to loop connections for the fly line to leader. You will want guides big enough for the loop to loop connection to pass easily. Single foot guides would be fine for a 5 wt and as mentioned would reduce the weight. For snake guides there is not a better guide than the snake brand universal guides (again IMHO), there tip tops are very nice as well. They lay on the blank great and are easy to wrap. One note is they tend to be slightly smaller than other snake guides. They are expensive but will only add $9 to $15 to the build. I would think that after using them you would agree that it is money well spent. Mike is a great guy and they are made in the USA!

I've built with the Batson recipe and have had no trouble. I would use single foot on a 5 weight. Alps guides (and Amtak, I think) are made with 316 stainles steel, which is a better choice for corrosion resistance. I like the Alps PVDTiCh finish, but that is personal preference only. Both Batson and REC make some really beautiful reel seats, as does Amtak. Be sure to note the recommended rod weights-it would be easy to do overkill on the seat since so many offer heavier duty seats for higher weight rods. Seats may seem expensive, but the pricey ones really are well made, machined hoods, fine finishes. I think you get what you pay for. If you are buying cork already turned to shape, pay attention to the quality. If you are willing to pay the price, REC high end cork is flawless. Not sure of others, but it is easy to get some really poor quality cork. Be sure the reel seat matches the recess in the cork! I would put cork seal or Tru Oil on the grip to keep it looking good. Some don't like the feel of Tru Oil, but I don't notice a problem. I prefer to have no hook keeper on my fly rods to eliminate a potential line snagging/breaking problem when the fish runs before you get it onto the reel, use the first guide frame for a keeper.

Ron, Unhide your e mail or e mail me and I will send you info.

Ron Jack
Bowdoin, Maine

Ron Jack, my email should be visible in my profile now.

Herb, I was thinking about a #U3 unlock. As far as appearance I tend to go understated/stealth. It is a charcoal blank and I probably would go with gun smoke and a rosewood insert. For grip I was looking at a reverse half well in a high quality cork.

Ron

That'll look nice and subtle. The reverse halfwells will be great on a 5wt. When you get guides, look for tich, black, or black nickle finish and it'll all fit together well.

On a 5 wt I'd use single foots and of the single foots, the REC are the best. Keep it light and lively. Follow the Batson recipe but not the sizing guide. I'd use a 12/10 stripping guides, and all #2 running guides. Tip-top is your choice but the REC ones are light and a solid choice. Ceramic guides are not a good choice on a light fly rod in my opinion. I actually don't like them that much on heavier rods either, but they are nice when you have a fish on and in play.