hey all. Quick question - working on adding guides to my 7 ft 3 casting rod. The stripper is a Fuji RV6. I've had folks tell me it should be 20 inches from the reel seat and others say 24 inches. Was wondering what your opinions are. Also, should I be measuring from the middle of the reel seat or where the line is actually coming out of the reel, or somewhere different? Thanks!

I think it is depend on the reel and the next guide up.
The line from the reel passing thru stripper guide to the next guide should form a straight line. Also the line from a full spool just barely touch the highest top of stripper guide.

Bob Nguyen Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I think it is depend on the reel and the next
> guide up.
> The line from the reel passing thru stripper guide
> to the next guide should form a straight line.
> Also the line from a full spool just barely touch
> the highest top of stripper guide.


Thanks, Bob. The next guide up is a KW 5.5 followed by 4.5 KT KBs. I did as you suggested, but couldn't quite get a straight line from the reel thru the stripper to the next guide. Not sure if this is possible.

May I know what reel are you use.?
You may want to move the stripper guide out farther or change to different reel to get 20 inches from reel seat.
When I build my rods. The stripper guide especially Rv6 could be as far as 26 inches or could be at 18 inches from the reel seat.

For a particular fishing rod, there is (are) only a certain reel could be a optimum match.
I normally selected the blank, components and reel together.

David, try this. This is how I approach the guide train to a typical bass rod. I let the static test of the rod dictate the placement of the guides. If you are unfamiliar with the technique take a look at the article in the Library section of the site. The folks here can provide some pointers if needed. It's important that the load be affixed directly to the tip top and a secondary line coming from the reel with a light weight tied on to maintain tension.

I start at the tip and work my way back. If the guides are on top of the blank and the fame is really low such as a 3mm or 4mm single foot fly type guide, I'll allow the line to touch the top of the blank between each set. If the frame is a little taller, like the K series guides, I'll keep the line just a bit off the top of the blank between each pair of guides. I generally load the rod by hand when placing the guides loading a bit deeper with each successive guide.

Once I get the butt guide placed, I'll do a full on static test with a weight similar to the max load I expect the rod to dead lift to make sure things look good on the lower end and the line flow looks good near the tip. With the full weight added, the rod under first few guides near the tip will likely be straightened out and no longer flexing much. This is why I progressively load the blank, each guide will be places to keep the line in the right place when that section of blank is flexing the most. When done right, you should have a nice line path at all different loads.

As a result, I don't use a recipe, rule of thumb or other guidance to place the butt guide on a casting rod.

With spinning rods, it works a little different. In this case, those straight lines become more important.

Edit: In order to get that straight line path between the reel and second guide may require changing to a larger diameter butt guide, if that is the layout you want. An 8mm or 10mm should get you there with most low profile reels. A 12 or even 16 may be necessary if you are working with round reels depending on their size.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/07/2020 03:28PM by Joe Vanfossen.

Bob Nguyen Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> May I know what reel are you use.?
> You may want to move the stripper guide out
> farther or change to different reel to get 20
> inches from reel seat.
> When I build my rods. The stripper guide
> especially Rv6 could be as far as 26 inches or
> could be at 18 inches from the reel seat.

I'm using a Daiwa Zillion 1016SV-SH

Joe Vanfossen Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> David, try this. This is how I approach the guide
> train to a typical bass rod. I let the static
> test of the rod dictate the placement of the
> guides. If you are unfamiliar with the technique
> take a look at the article in the Library section
> of the site. The folks here can provide some
> pointers if needed. It's important that the load
> be affixed directly to the tip top and a secondary
> line coming from the reel with a light weight tied
> on to maintain tension.
>
> I start at the tip and work my way back. If the
> guides are on top of the blank and the fame is
> really low such as a 3mm or 4mm single foot fly
> type guide, I'll allow the line to touch the top
> of the blank between each set. If the frame is a
> little taller, like the K series guides, I'll keep
> the line just a bit off the top of the blank
> between each pair of guides. I generally load the
> rod by hand when placing the guides loading a bit
> deeper with each successive guide.
>
> Once I get the butt guide placed, I'll do a full
> on static test with a weight similar to the max
> load I expect the rod to dead lift to make sure
> things look good on the lower end and the line
> flow looks good near the tip. With the full
> weight added, the rod under first few guides near
> the tip will likely be straightened out and no
> longer flexing much. This is why I progressively
> load the blank, each guide will be places to keep
> the line in the right place when that section of
> blank is flexing the most. When done right, you
> should have a nice line path at all different
> loads.
>
> As a result, I don't use a recipe, rule of thumb
> or other guidance to place the butt guide on a
> casting rod.
>
> With spinning rods, it works a little different.
> In this case, those straight lines become more
> important.
>
> Edit: In order to get that straight line path
> between the reel and second guide may require
> changing to a larger diameter butt guide, if that
> is the layout you want. An 8mm or 10mm should get
> you there with most low profile reels. A 12 or
> even 16 may be necessary if you are working with
> round reels depending on their size.

Thanks, Joe. I was going to static test after the initial placement of the guides, but I'll try your method.

Are all these recommendations for distance from the SEAT or from the REEL level wind guide? Might not make any difference, but all seats/reels are not identical.

Perhaps it's because I use fluorocarbon line, but I want the line from the reel to enter the butt guide at a slight angle. Anytime I have tried pushing the butt guide out from the reel face to get a straight line path, test casting has been a little inconsistent. My thought is that the slight angle adds a bit of line control.

With the reels and reel seat that I use, I've settled on 21.5" as the distance from the reels face, to the ring of the butt guide. If you're going for optimal placement then line type, line size, reel type, reel size, and of course, guide height and size will all go into the equation, but 21.5" seems to be the magic number for the components I use.

The RV 6 has the correct height for placement from the low profile reel face or level wind at about 20" to 22". In order to get the line in straight alignment you will need to adjust the next KW 5.5 and the KB 4.5 spacing, then you can start your running train and space as needed per static testing. The RV 6 has the height enough height, so it is not needed to use a larger guide. The stripper guide and the next 2 guides are usually far enough up the thick end of the blank that the placement will have minimal affect for static testing. On a rod like that with micro guides I would have at least 10 guides with perhaps 11 being necessary to keep the line off the blank mounted conventionally on top.

i kinda struggled with this at first them listed to Jim and i go out and cast alot

i use this to mock up the guides [www.mudhole.com]

then i go out and just cast for a few days and move the guide up and down

ive built a few 73's my last 2 were point blanks a mh and heavy, i want to say after a good bit of casting that the heavy ended up being about an inch closer to the reel, but all are usually around 20inch give or take .5 to 1inch

but both are casting great, love the rv6 to kw5.5 to runners as a set up