Would like to attemp a spiral wrap, on a 6'6" 20-50# class rod, paired with a Penn 4/0 senator. This will also be my 1st conventional build, and the amount of different guides/styles out there is overwhelming. Would anyone mind recommending/steering me in the direction of a make/model/style of guides for this application?

Alps XN's. Utmost keeps them in stock.

Hello Ken.

Fresh Water or Salt Water, if salt get titanium guides, or at leased a good stainless steel.

I'm partial to "Virtus" .

You would need the lights, I use a lot of the NIRLVL & NIRLVH.

These are not "Cheep" guides butt are great guides, I have never had trouble with them.

At 30# I choose by what the client is fishing for, and how much they fish but at 40# and up it's almost always "Virtus".

I have a friend that likes to fish for big Spanish mackerel he uses an old TLD-5 on a HS-9000 with "Typhoon" guides spiraled in a 0-90-180* wrap, and it works for him, he has 7 catches over 10# (last I heard) but no 13#ers.


Tight Wraps & Tighter Lines.

Bob,

New Bern, NC.

Thanks for the replies, guys.

I know I need to go through the growing pains and learn this stuff on my own. Unfortunately, that gets expensive so any little guidance (no pun intended) I get is welcomed and appreciated. Does anyone know of any good reference material that dives deep into the differences, pros, and cons of all the different types of guides out there?

Saving weight on a 50# stick by going with titanium frames doesn't make sense, unless you just have deep pockets. Good quality aluminium oxide inserts are proven performers. Zirconium and SIC inserts have been around a long time.Recessed rings have a slight advantage over pressed rings. SS 316 stainless steel is a bit better than SS304 at corrosion resistance. Every manufacturer will tell you why their guide is the best choice. Alps has a guide lineup for every type of build, at a reasonable cost.

I guess I should ask more specific questions; like what are the differences between these three guides? All three are for conventional rods, but they’re shaped different/have different frames, what is it about these differences that would make you select one over the other for a particular application?

[www.mudhole.com]

[www.mudhole.com]

[www.mudhole.com]

Hello Ken.

All the guides you picked are Fuji 1st. one is their newest (I Think, they change so fast) the 2nd. isan older model for medium duty the 3rd. are boat guides for heavy duty.

They can all be had in different types of metals, the most expensive is Titanium because it is a rare metal, the reasons for using titanium differ with the rods, a standard freshwater rod sees little need for titanium where a rod built for it's lightness would use them, with a large rod or a rod that sees a lot of saltwater fishing would use titanium for the lack of corrosion these guides give you, Stainless Steel is pretty good at corrosion control too but not quite as good.

You can use a piece of bent fence wire for a guide if you want (and in the past I have), most guide choices are just that Choices, it's up to the builder to learn what they can by reading, asking questions and experimenting on your own.

Guide material properties can be checked out on the web, and I don't mean with guide mfrs, but with metallurgists and other science types.

Tight Wraps & Tighter Lines.

Bob,

New Bern, NC.

Thanks everyone. I did some digging and found a good thread explaining guides and the different brands/materials.

[rodbuilding.org]