Hi guys I need some help with guide sizes for an Ultra light rod I am building for a fund raiser for my brothers kids school. I have not built an ultra light rod yet so I need a little advice for the guide sizes to use. I am using a white MHX 6'6" ultra light blank, with spinning guides, I am not providing a real for the rod so I am not sure how big to start and end with. I am planning on using the flex light wire guides from Janns Netcraft. Any advice for this rod would be great, I am also building an ice fishing rod and a medium light rod for walleyes as well. Thanks Justin

I have never used the flexlite guides you mentioned, so I can't give you advise as to what sizes to use. For ultra light rods I build, I like to use PacBay minima guides. I combine Minima Match (M) guides for the reduction train with Minima Fly (F) guides for running guides. Since this is an ultralight rod, a size 1000 reel is probably going to be used with light line. So I would use a size 16M as a stripper, followed by a size 8 M, and size 5 M for the reduction train. These would be followed by four to six size 4F runners and a matching tiptop. This is an extremely light guide train which I would guess to be as light if not lighter than the flexlite guides. Using the chrome colored Minimas also give you a very inexpensive set of guides. Go to Anglers Resources and use thier KR GPS to determine guide positions ( [anglersresource.net] ).
The minima guide links are:
[www.mudhole.com]
[www.mudhole.com]
[www.mudhole.com]
Norm

flexilite guides are shown out of stock on janns site.

'Hi Norm, I was wondering if the size 16 stripper guide was big enough or do I need to put a bigger guide before it. I was just courious. Thanks Justin

I just talked to my brother and he decided he wanted to add another rod for walleye fishing. I am getting 6'9" medium lite blank and I was wondering if I should go with the Pac Bay Single Foot Minima Guides Model SV guides for this rod and also should I use the same concept with like a size 30 sv25sv and 20sv then go to a smaller size for some runners like size five or six? Any advice would be great. In the past I would just order the CRB Kits from mud hole but I was thinking for these I wanted to go with some lighter guides Thanks Justin



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/20/2017 08:19PM by Justin Carlson.

Justin, the Minima match guides are a high frame small ring guide. In my opinion guide height is more important than ring size for controlling line coming off a spinning reel spool. The size 16 M guide is higher than a size 25 V guide. This high frame small ring concept has been around for a long time and Fuji recently perfected this with their KR concept. The minima M guides are very similar in height to the Fuji KL-H guides and thus can be used as a lighter option. By keeping the guide weight low the rod has a lighter and more responsive feel and just performs better. This KR concept controls line flow by rapidly choking down the line coils coming off the spool to get a smooth flow of line through running guides. This enablles smoother and longer casts.than any other guide concept I have ever used, and believe me I have used them all. It really excels when using braid and light line. All of my personal spinning rod now use the KR concept (using minima M/F guides or Fuji KR guides, or Seaguide KR-like guides) I have not used V guides in years except for repairs and seldom use Y guides anymore. The microwave spinning guide concept is also based on high frame small ring and rapid choke, and works very well. I like the KR concept better because it offers more versatility by taking into account reel size, rod length and action.
A size 16 stripper will work very well with light rods and reel size of 1000 to 2500 using braid up to 15 lb test or mono up to 8-10 lb test. With reels 2500 - 3000 using heavier line try a reduction train consisting of minima 20M, 10M, and 5M (or Fuji KL-H equivalent) with size 5 or 4 runners. You will really be surprised and impressed by how well these guide trains will perform.
I have posted this KR concept video before, but just in case you have not seen I have posted it again. It does give one a feel for the concept.
[m.youtube.com]
Norm

Thanks Norm. I had not seen that video before and now I understand this way of doing things a lot better.

So my plan is for the ultra light rod is to use the 16,8,5M guides for the reduction along with the size 4F runners that you suggested before with a matching tip top.

So for the walleye rod that I am going build as well that is a MHX SJ812-W | 6-12 lb. | Fast Action | Medium-Light Power with a reel size 2500 I would be looking at a Minima 20,10,and 5M then a train of size 4F runners and a matching tip top. Is this correct?

Thanks for the help I really appreciate it. Justin

Norm.

I read your comments with interest. I too like the Minima/KR style guides. Minima is great value though KR w. titanium frames have better rings.

However, have you actually done the same build and same reel/lines compared to Microwaves in terms of casting distance?

Thanks.

For a ML rod with a 2500 reel and light line the size 16 train will work well. However, if you are using mono bumping up to a size 20 train will work just fine and gives you more versatility when it comes to changing reel and line types and sizes. The size 16 train will be slightly lighter overall but really no difference in the weight of the guides in the tip section where additional weight is more critical. The reason I like the minima guides is because of thier light weight a low cost. A complete set of the SS minima KR-like guides plus tip top weigh less than a single size 25 V or Y type SS guide with a ceramic insert, and less than the ceramic microwave stripper. This SS set of minimas cost around $10 if you get the titanium minimas you pay much more but they are even lighter. A titanium framed Alconite KR set is also very light but cost about $80, with Sic insert over $100, and with Torzite insert about $150.
Mo, I have a set of identical test rods in my shop that have Microwave guides, Fuji KR guides, minima M/F guides, and NGC guides. Used to have a rod with cone of flight guides, but stripped it down and rewrapped it. This allows someone to take all these rods out side and test cast them with no bias. They all cast very well and within a few feet of each other. Most people chose the KR concept setups using either the minima or Fuji guides. Others like to the microwave set up mainly. because the stripper looks cool. The SS ceramic microwave set is slightly lighter than Fuji Alconite size 20 KR set up overall, but the Fuji KR guides are lighter in the tip section. Everyone seems to have their personal likes and dislikes when it comes to making a rod so the choices are yours; these are the things that make a custom rod custom. Hope this helps.
Norm

For any of these rods using a size 25 reel, I would always use a match guide for the butt guide. Generally it will be a size 25 match guide.

Especially with a spinning reel, don't get all hung up on making the butt guide the absolute smallest size. I have seen too many rods underperform because their butt guide was too short or too small.

Good luck

Thanks Norman. Helpful to know. I build most often for size 1000 UL reels so it is good to hear your finding.

Thanks Norman, this is all great information, that's what I like about this forum everyone is happy to share their information. Thanks Jusitn