Hello gents! Finally finished a couple rods and ready for the next project. I'm looking to build a 20-40 lbs class rod for live bait. I have a 6000 series Baitrunner spinner. I built a 15-25 lbs class rod for it, but I decided to put 30 lbs line on it to live bait fish for yellowtail. This reel can put up a lot of drag.

So now I'm a bit more versed in this hobby and have taken a liking to the concept layout. I can't seem to find double footed high frame guides, at least for less than $2.75 for the running guides. Don't really want a $50+ guide train for this rod. I've got conventionals with zirconium guides as my main rods. So what do you guys use for salt water spinners to accommodate the concept layout?

Randy there is actually a very specific selection of guides designed for the KR Concept. I

1) The KL-H high-frame, small-ring, single foot spinning reducer guide series.

2) The RV high-frame, small-ring, double foot spinning reducer guide series

3) The RV6, a small, reverse, double foot used as the stripper on KR Casting rods.

The other, wholly separate concept is the New Guide Concept (NGC). NGC can handle much heavier line and much bigger reel sizes than KR and should be your choice for a rod as heavy as the one you want to build. Many guides from Fuji are suitable for the NGC but in K-Series it would be

1) The KL guides series (note there is no "H" in this one") single foot, spinning reducer

2) The KW guide series, double foot casting and/or spinning

BOTH concepts use the same running guides: The fat-foot KB for mid rod use under high stress, and the KT top section runner.

Hope this helps you (and others) with decisions about which concept might be best for a particular build.

Interesting concept (no pun intended). It makes sense based on an article I read, because the tip and butt section don't put much stress on the guides. However, I've never seen a rod of this class and intended use with single footed guides. Does anyone have experience with heavy rods for yellowtail (or greater amberjack on the other coast) using single footed guides?

For reference, I was talking NGC not KR. I will not do much casting with this rod; it will be primarily to bridle a bait fish and letting it swim away from the boat or kayak with no weight, aka fly lining. The baitrunner reel is perfect for this.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/27/2017 12:10PM by Randy Weakley.

Randy,
As Jim mentioned, the KW would be a perfect choice. I also live on the left coast and built a 30# Black Diamond Hybrid with KWs but for casting. No problem taming 30# YT or 50# WSB. I’m certain the KWs would handle 100# tuna. If you need more height with a smaller ring for the stripper, try a RV-25H at 55.9mm vs KW-25 at 41.2mm. The RV is reversed so the line coming off the spool won’t slap the guide braces. While designed as a Concept guide, I don’t see why it wouldn’t work if needed for a NGC. Although primarily used for surf rods, another option is the LC but the biggest ring is a 20 at 45.5mm. It can also be reversed to eliminate line slap and its long, swoopy legs look pretty sexy. I used three LCs as reducers on a 9’6” surf spinning rod but with a 5000 series reel.
While a lot of veteran builders use KBs / KTs, I feel more confident with double foot guides if there is a possibility of hooking into 50# + fish.
Just my newbie offerings.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

Ha ha the RVs look great, but I don't have that kind of cash. That guide layout alone would cost damn near as much as two whole rod builds that I normally do! I'll be putting these on a 50 dollar Rainshadow RX6/E-glass blend.

Ok maybe a little exaggerated, but still. The 25 costs more than the blank!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/28/2017 02:14AM by Randy Weakley.

I agree with Mark. Use KW as runners regardless of the final reduction train, and KW would probably be best for the reduction train as well.

I can swing those. What size runners do you recommend for passing a 30 to 30 braid/mono connection. I use the FG or an Aussie quickie (Bimini in the braid with an uni connection to the mono).

With the double line you get with a Bimini I might opt for as large as 8's.

Randy,
If in doubt, no question that a size 10 would handle anything that would come off the reel.

I think I'm gonna go with 8. I'm putting together my cart at mudhole. Thinking about using a Calstar 20-50 fast action on this build. Looking for my coupon code for mudhole!

So I'll post this here, but I don't know if anyone will still be checking. If I don't get a response I'll start a new thread. I just plugged my reel measurements into the GPS on Fuji's website to get spacing for the KW. It came out unexpectedly. They are (in distance from each previous guide):

Reel at 0 inches
30 @ 17.3
25 @10.6
20 @7.55
12 @ 6.7
8 @ 5.3

So I've never done a concept layout on a rod like this before, but I have done them on bass and crappie rods. I have never needed 5 reduction guides and I have never gone down a single ring size for any other rod. I usually need 4 (including stripper and choke) reduction guides. And they usually skip (i.e. 25-16-10-6-6-6-6 or 20-12-8-5-5-5-5...you get the point. Going from 30-25-20 seems odd to me.

I just want to get some info on this before I place my order. I'd rather not spend an extra $30 to have every size guide in the series so I can figure it out at home.

Is this normal for heavy spinning rods with large reels?