Hi Folks,
I've got a few fly rods under my belt, but guide trains remain a weak spot for me. I'm have a 7'6 glass 4wt, an 8' glass 5wt, a 8'6 glass 6wt, a 9' carbon 9wt and a 9' carbon 10wt. Below is my current thinking. I welcome any and all comments.

7'6 4wt (single foot) - 9mm - 4 - 2 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 1

8' 5wt (snake) - 10mm - 3 - 2 - 1/0 - 1/0 - 1/0 - 1/0 - 1/0

8'6 6wt (snake) - 12mm - 4 - 2 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 1

9' 9wt (snake) - 20mm - 16mm - 4 - 2 - 2 - 2 - 2 - 2 - 2 - 2

9' 10 wt - Any issue using the same train as the above 9wt?

Thanks so much,
Chris

You only need 3 sizes at most. From the top, drop the 2, 2, 2 and 4 and replace with the same size running guide. Using a bunch of different sizes doesn't make anything more gradual, just a little heavier.

As far as actual sizes, the minimum size really depends on what sort of knots and/or connections you need to pull through the guides. If you're only retrieving a fly line and no knots have to pass through the guides, you can go pretty small. On the larger 9-weight rods, think about if you'll ever be using a shooting head with loop to loop connections. That may require a slightly larger guide size.

.............

Thanks for the input, Tom.

I don't use shooting heads personally, I'll be sure to ask when building for others.