I'm going to build two North Fork Composites fly rods soon and I'm struggling a little with which running guides to use. I plan to use Minimas, but don't know which I should get. Minima 4s and 3s both are advertised as having a wider foot. Is this wider foot going to be too wide for 6 weight and 5 weight fly blanks?

Second question is which is the best model to use, Minima 4 fly guides, or the black Minima 3 fly guides? They are different in appearance and the 4s are described as being for medium and heavier fly rods, the 3s for a variety of applications. I think Tom has mentioned in the past he used Minima 4 running guides in size 4, but I'd like to hear the latest thoughts.

Finally, what tip tops are you using with these running guides? I'm considering recoils for tip tops.

Thanks!

I use Minima 4's on fly rods. The foot may be wider than the tip dia. on the blank, but it really has not caused any issue for me. I just use regular fly tips of a matching color.

Thanks - Marc

Keep it simple - that's all I can handle!

Such little difference in price so I use the 4's. The rings are swaged on both sides for added security.

If the foot is a little wider than the blank near the top of the blank, the foot can ground/filed to a bit narrower profile if you like.

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

Go with what Tom just posted

Bill - willierods.com

We can build you a spec for NFC rod blanks if you would like. We carry ALPS and ForeCast guides. www.alpsforecast.com

If your interested, please let us know!

R. McBride

Batson Enterprises
BatsonEnterprises.com | RainShadowRodBlanks.com | ALPSForeCast.com | Build2Fish.com

I use both the 3's and 4's it really depends on the color you want. The 4's are limited in color options only made in TiCH and Hard crome. I don't see a huge difference in the foot pattern but like tom said the 4's are double swagged. Thats why they say they are for heavy duty rods. I usually use the matching minnima style tip top so everything matches. I have a 5wt and a 7wt I'm working on that are both getting minnima 3's with 8 size 6's, 1 size 8, and a size 12 Model T to also match. The one down side to using the matching tip top is that the smallest size is a size 6 ring. So it traps me into using size 6 a lot. But it works and have used it on everything from a 3wt to a 8wt.

Thanks everyone!

Mr. Crain,
It sounds as though you are using a Minima P top in size 6 for the builds you mentioned. PacBay does make the FM series top which has a Minima ring in sizes 03 and 04. Neither the P or FM are dedicated fly tops, but the FM has a lower profile and should perform just fine for fly applications.

-The Batson TEAM
BatsonEnterprises.com

Thanks for pointing that out Geoff. Double checked the website I order from (utmost) and sure enough there they are. I guess I never clicked on it because in the photo it didn't look like a minima. To bad you don't make them in size five and in black and gold.

Thanks for pointing that out Geoff. Double checked the website I order from (utmost) and sure enough there they are. I guess I never clicked on it because in the photo it didn't look like a minima. To bad you don't make them in size five and in black and gold.