I know that the match guides are a taller guide with a small ring size. What is the application(s) for this type of guide? I've done some searches on it and find all sorts of places to buy them but haven't found any good explanation of exactly what they're used for and why. Thanks

Steve Hartzell
Lake Conroe - Willis, Texas

When using light lines the high frame guides help to keep wet line from sticking to the blank. Very important to get log casts with light line and light lure.

_______________________________
God Bless, Don Morse

800-516-1750 ext. 1207 / don@americantackle.us

Rod Building..... It's What We Do.

Some people use them with bass, walleye, and panfish rods when laying out NGC guide trains. Just as the Y frames in Fuji's original concept guides allowed rod builders to get the same guide height with a smaller lighter ring, the match guides go one step further. For example, say that you laying out a rod for a 3000 sized reel. You might choose a 30mm V frame (old style single foot guide), going with a 25mm Y frame will get you nearly identical guide height, or if you wanted to use a lighter guide still, you could use a 20mm match guide at that point.

G Loomis used match guides made by Pacific Bay on their light line steelhead rods before the company was bought out by Shimano, they now use Fuji products. The most popular of the rods that used the match guides was the STR 1141, the blanks is rated for 4 to 8 lb. test, 1/16-3/8 oz. lure wt., 9 1/2 ft. long with a slow action. It's a great drift rod, one of Gary's first designs.
When Daiwa first brought out the long spool reels we use today, they also had a line of rods to go with them, many of the "AERO" rods came with match guides.
Japan and Europe had them around much longer than the 30+ years we have had them.

Thanks for the great information guys. I've got a MHX PF722L 2-piece panfish rod I was considering using them on and it sounds like they would be a good fit for it.

Steve Hartzell
Lake Conroe - Willis, Texas

Spencer, as I recall,the first to introduce the concept of match guides in this country was Shimano. They had a line of Aero rods and reels and they had trademarked the "Aero" name. I could be wrong though. ;-)

Daiwa had their own series of long cast reels about the same time also. The store I managed carried both manufacturer's lines, yet I only recall the Shimano rods as using match type guides. Daiwa may have had such rods. The store I ran did not carry them if they did.

Steve,
Although I don't use match guides past the stripper, I commonly use a match guide for a spinning rod stripper guide.

Easy to get the required height for the reel, but one does not pay a big penalty by having an oversized ring.

Be safe