I bought a St Croix Avid 11 foot 3-8 ounce lure surf blank at the expo and I am going to order Pac Bay minima guides for the build to keep the rod light weight and also not have to worry about cracked ceramics.
I will be using a Shimano Spheros 6000 spinning reel which I am thinking that a size 30 minima would be best for the first reduction guide closest to the reel and then quickly down to a size 8 or 10 for the runners. I know the minimas have a much greater ID versus ceramic. I will be using 14 lb mono going to a 50 lb shock leader which is attached with a very compact overhand/uni knot. Should I use the higher frame V guides for the reduction guides then use the regular casting guides for the runners? Or the single foot fly guides for runners? Is the Tichrome worth the extra $ for use in saltwater vs hard chrome?

Thanks for your help!

David,
yes to the Tichrome, its pennies for peace of mind.
Plus they look less shiny/bling but that is personal taste.

The single foot flies is what i use, they are so light you can go 7 or 8's and pass a lot of good sized knots.
They have very nice large feet and its hard to move them so i have yet to have aproblem that would cause me to go to double foot.
V frame for reduction set in minima.

But i like the castaway 30/8 microwave reduction set on that size line up to 16# momo or 17# big gamei( swampland carries them).

You could also try Fuji K high frames for the first two guides its near enough your reel as to not be a big weight issue, say 30 then 16 then 8mm fly minimas,

Do NOT throw 8 oz with 50# leader: try to stick to the 10# test to 1 oz rule, so 4 oz 40# shock leader8 oz is 80# etc.
I have seen a weight come off of 14 ft rods and go through a car grill and radiator parked 60 yards away.
That would at best leave a mark if it hit a person.

Thanks for the help Lou!

Yeah I like the look of the Tichrome, plus this St Croix Avid red flake paint has enough bling on it's own.

I like the microwave guides but I think that the shock knot might have an issue with the 8 mm ceramic especially if I go up to a 70 or 80 lb shock line. I wish they made it in the tichrome finish with a size 10 or 12 reduction guide but it sounds like the castaway microwave would work great for my plug/metal rod build that I will be working on though.


I have used up to 7 ounces and bait with the 50 lb shock with no issues but then again I was not hitting the cast very hard with the increase in weight with a less powerful/slower rod so I should err on the side of caution and go to a higher lb shock for this rod. I surely don't want a lead missile going down the beach.