Hi,

I'm building my first fly rod and I'm going to be fishing Florida largemouth bass, and some inshore fishing. I'm going to be using the Revelation 908-4 blank. I've been looking around and see so man varieties of single foot guide setups, and this is what I'm currently thinking about using:

4 - XHSFG3
2 - XHSFG4
1 - XHSFG5
1 - XHSFG6

Stripper Guides
1 - XMXNLG12
1 - XMXNLG16

Will this setup be ideal for me? I'm going to be throwing a 8wt line forward line and unsure if the 3's may be too small. Also I'm unsure if that many "step downs" are needed for this rod. Any suggestions would be great!

Thanks

Way too many different sizes of guides. You only need three at most and usually just 2 will get you by.

If you know that 3's will be large enough to pass your line and connections, go from the 16 stripper to maybe a 10 and then right into size 3 runners the rest of the way. This actually provides a straight line path and at less weight than throwing in all those additional sizes. You don't need them - they do nothing for the line.

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

#3's are fine for the 8wt.

Who makes those guides? I only use Fuji so they are foreign to me.
Herb

Herb Ladenheim Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> #3's are fine for the 8wt.
>
> Who makes those guides? I only use Fuji so they
> are foreign to me.
> Herb


These are Alps(Batson) guides. I work for a rod component seller and these were recommended by a co-worker as well as Batson

If you are new to building fly rods let me suggest two things: First, pay attention to the distance from the grip to the first guide with respect to picking the line off the guide for casting. Make sure it fits you. Second, since bones and other salt fish take off so fast I don't put anything in front of the grip that might snag the line as I'm trying to get onto the reel. That means no keeper. Use the frame of the first guide after wrapping the line over the reel and back toward the tip. Keeps the knot out of the guides.

I suggest using the oversized tiptops so when the knot gets into it, it comes out easier.

Wyatt

Rambling thoughts in no special order of importance:

First, an 8 weight can do double duty - fresh and salt water - so regardless of guide sizes think about having all hardware ready to deal with the salt;

Secondly, a blank manufacturer's recommendations for guide sizes and locations are a great starting point. Those recommendations might or might not work for you, but they will get you close where you can fine tune them.

Finally, there are those who argue in favor of larger guides and those who argue in favor of smaller guides. The argument might never be objectively and finally won. The sizes you listed are more than sufficient for the backing to line to pass, and if the guides are snakes (I too am not familiar with your preferred manufacturer's guides.) a #2 is not too small.

My argument would be to use the correct sized guides, neither smaller nor larger. This is always the best bet and results in no penalty either way.

What is the "correct size?" That would be the smallest and lightest guides that will easily pass your line and any expected connections you plan to employ, and that will hold up to the task involved.

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

Since the wire guides are single foot I wouldn't go below a 3, you will notice that Tom's suggestion will actually use only
two real guide sizes as the # 10 ceramic guide and your #3 single foot wires are very similar in hole size.

I should have mentioned earlier that if you catch any bones, your line to backing knot WILL go through the guides and very quickly, too, so you want to make sure that what you do with the guides will clear the knots cleanly.

[alpsforecast.com]

Hope this helps. They are ALPS Guides FYI..

R. McBride

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

[alpsforecast.com]

Hope this helps. They are ALPS Guides FYI..

R. McBride

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