Hi,

New member and it has been 30 years since I built a fly rod. Needless to say, technology, resources, and opinions have changed. I've already "binged" on a lot of very useful and interesting forum content (threads, FAQs, library) - but forgive me if I've overlooked the following.

When I built my rods, I followed the advice of L.A. Garcia who, as I understand it, was a proponent of extra guides and oversized guides. While that approach is still pretty ingrained, I'm reconsidering it.

With that said, I'd be interested in the opinions of others as whether or not to go with oversized guides for a 6 1/2' 2wt fly rod.

Thanks.

Mine on that would be a 10, 3, and 1/0 for the remaining running guides

hi James, i was just wondering how far that 2wt. would cast one of my 5/0 deer hair bugs..lol. might snap the rod..lol..i,m still a big fan of Mr. Garcia,s..i like his ideas on extra guides and his use of CP and applying the epoxy to just the top of the wrap..i have yet to have any water damage to my wraps but i only fish fresh water..and it makes for easier guide removal and clean up..and the wraps still look sharp..

Don't know who or what entity determines what is "normal", "under", or "over" sized guides.

My thinking is close to Ron Weber's but I'd use a 10 mm agate or 8 mm ceramic followed by a light wire #2 snake then light wire #1/0s for the rest. After all it's a short, 2 weight; it will not be the rod for 70' casts!

Use the correct size and number of guides rather than using guides that are too large, too small, too many or too few. Something along the lines of what the two gentleman above recommended should be about right.

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Use the smallest guide size that will pass your connections, using larger sized guides does nothing for performance. All you are doing is adding extra weight, which will dampen the blanks recovery.

I'd use an #8 Stripper, then a #1, rest 1/0 or 2/0. Snake Brand has the Universals which go as small as a 1/0 and the Originals which go down to 2/0.

Hi all,

Apologies for the tardy reply...

Ron - thanks. I appreciate the input.

Ben - I too am wondering what the 2 wt will be able to cast and looking forward to testing it out on the small creeks.

Donald - I see your point. I was using "oversized" to describe what would be larger than "traditional" or "standard". I had considered light wires and will take a second look at them.

Tom - having read the FAQs I appreciate your reply and advice.

Bill - thanks also for your thoughts. Now I'm curious to know how much extra weight "oversized" guides would add. Hmmm... I appreciate your size recommendations too.

Again - thanks to all. This will be interesting and I think I'll mock-up several of the suggestions.

I have built a lot of short 2 wt's, and others have given excellent advice. I typically follow the advice in Tom's book on the number of guides. I have found that for me and my customers, size one or 1/O running guides meet the requirements for looks and performance. I like single foot snake guides for all guides except the stripper. They offer a tremendous weight savings by using half of the thread and finish, imho. Best of luck!

Thanks, Brian! I appreciate the input.

The advice above is great. I built a 7.5' 3wt fiberglass rod recently and did the size 10 agate, followed by a 2 litewire snake, and then 1/0 lightwire snakes the rest of the way. As Brian mentioned, single foot snakes can help reduce the weight, but I would recommend stepping the size up to 1s on the runners if you're going to use single foots.

Thanks, Nick. Really appreciate the input and vote of confidence for the above advice.

We got to remember what time frame Mr Garcia's books came from, what he fished for, and what rods he used for those fish. The little fairy wands weren't in his vocabulary and not even available yet. Knowledge and thoughts in books are static. I would hope rod building would evolve over time, the information here has certainly changed my thoughts and building over the years.

Spencer,i was just thinking about what you just wrote..my first build back in the sixtys was a fly rod herters kit about a 4# or some kind of level line..it still performs quite well and looks like any 71/2 foot glass rod made today..all i ever did to it was change the line to a new taper..if it were not for graphite, fly rods would still be pretty much un changed..snake guides still rule..cork grips still rule..9 foot rods basicly rule..it looks like we,re going to have to wait another 60 years for the next big change..maybe lithium alloy fly rods..lol.

ben belote Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Spencer,i was just thinking about what you just
> wrote..my first build back in the sixtys was a fly
> rod herters kit about a 4# or some kind of level
> line..it still performs quite well and looks like
> any 71/2 foot glass rod made today..all i ever did
> to it was change the line to a new taper..if it
> were not for graphite, fly rods would still be
> pretty much un changed..snake guides still
> rule..cork grips still rule..9 foot rods basicly
> rule..it looks like we,re going to have to wait
> another 60 years for the next big change..maybe
> lithium alloy fly rods..lol.


Next big thing - micro-bots, interconnected with graphene runs, powered by quantum computers, programed to monitor wind, air pressure, humidity, temperature, and the make the perfect cast for the type fly, fly line, and water fished. And after the fishing is done, it will make you a hot, gourmet lunch. I mean, we have fly by wire aircraft, why not a fish by wire pole. Bwahahahahaha!

Tight Lies and frisky fish

RJF

Bwahahahahaha - indeed!

Yes - I recognize that technology has changed and appreciate the point that knowledge in books is static, which is why I reached out. Nevertheless - there is good stuff in old books and trying to chase down copies of some of the old rod building classics can be pricey because I think we recognize this. I would point out that while IM8 graphite and "fairy wands" might not have been around - single foot guides were available and Mr Garcia was building 6 1/2' and even 5' rods. Something that has stuck with me was a comment made by Mr Garcia in a letter where he advised against single foot guides. Apparently he made several rods where they were requested, only to have them returned to have "traditional" 2 foot snake guides put in their place. I've never had a rod w/ single foot guides but I now have a set for this rod and I'm looking forward to seeing how they pan out. Maybe I can convince my wife I need a second blank for a 2 foot version to compare in the name of science - ;).

James,all my fly rods are single foots ,mostly ceramics from pan fish to 720 grain line bass bug rods..i have never, never had any problems with them..my only problem is with the traditionallist who for some silly reason are annoyed by it and they will bug you too..they even get annoyed if anyone uses singlefoot wire guides..my 720 bass bug rod isa 71/2 foot pitchin' stick blank but that was the only rod i could find to cast a 160 grain 5/0 moose hair bug that i make for night fishing after big bass..if they saw this rod, they would have a hissy fit..lol..enjoy your rod and remember it,s your rod..

Hello James.

I'm not a big fly guy but I don't think Mr. Garcia was using the Forhan wrap on those single foot's.


Tight Wraps & Tighter Lines.

Bob,

New Bern, NC.

Ben - I'm - or was - one of those traditionalists that's making a change and looking forward to it - ;)

Bob - I was really jazzed to find the Forhan locking wrap detailed in the Library. I'm also building some spinning rods w/ my 11 and 14 year old daughters and that locking wrap will serve us well.