Hey Guys,

I'm gettting ready to start building up a Loomis GL3 9'9" 6 wt. Normally I stick with traditional snakes or single foot wire guides. However after reading about the Fuji Alconite guides and Concept spacing I was thinking that this might be a great opportunity to give them a try on a flyrod. My problem is trying to figure out the proper ring size and spacing for a flyrod of this length. All of the guide spacing charts that I've seen lately cover spinning and casting rods only. Lastly, other than the weight savings is there really that much of a performance increase in a flyrod application? Thank you!

Mike

Spacing is no different than usual - guide type has little or nothing to do with spacing on a rod of this type. I do not personally like using charts, as they do not take into account the particular action of the specific blank you are using. A static stress distribution test is your best bet. Failing that, I would take a stab at the spacing which Loomis uses on their factory rods. I believe they have a listing on their website.

I very much like using ceramic guides over snake guides. Not that snakes are bad, but I have always felt that ceramics offer a host of advantages that make them the better choice, at least for me and my customers. They are truly lifetime guides that will never groove or wear. You may find you get a bit more life from your fly line too. If you keep your wraps short you may even see an incremental savings in weight. As far as longer casting distances - it's probable, but not going to be the yardage some have stated. An extra 5 to 10 feet is sometimes possible, but not 5 to 10 yards as I have often heard.

For starters, I'd look at sizes of maybe 16, 12, 8, 7 and 7's on out, including a 7 top. Then I'd try it with 6's for the running guides and see if I lost or gained anything. Go with the better set-up, whichever one proves out. This is a starting point and if you have other ideas you should try them as well. Takes only minutes, but you will fish and enjoy the rod for a lifetime.

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