The guys in my club found out that I've started to build some rods, only three so far so I'm a total newbie. Some of the boys have asked me to replace a few guides and tips and such. I'm totally happy to do it. My question to you all is how do I match the existing type of guide? I understand sizing and color but what about ring material and brand. Some of the rods will newer models and some older etc. Is this more of a visual and functionality thing or is there a more correct way to go about it?? TIA,, Mychael

There really is no science to it. Most of the time getting "close enough" visually is fine. A lot of rods have pretty generic guides. Most of the high-end guides are recognizable (ie Fuji guides have that stamped on them) You can sometimes tell ring material by the look, but about 0% of fisherman would notice that their rod with regular aluminum oxide guides has one alconite guide. Certainly can ask on the forum here as well, folks have seen an awful lot of rods.

Hello Mychael.

You can go to a seller who has a lot of info on guides like MudHole.

Hope this works:

[mudhole.com]


Tight Wraps & Tighter Lines.

Bob,

New Bern, NC.

If they are current production rods a phone call to the manufacturer will get you what you need. If older rods, than you can simply match visually

Mychael,
Other than vintage agate or shock-ring guides, commonly available present guides offer enough choices to closely match those of most rods to be repaired; maybe not perfectly but usually close enough. If the owner complains that the guide is not a perfect match, tell him he should have been more careful with the rod in the first place lol; beggars-can't-be-choosers! You can’t make chicken soup from chicken poop!
Your bigger “match” concerns will undoubtedly be the thread color; the wrong color will stand-out like a red-headed-stepchild. Making a “thread swatch” of as many colors as possible on a sacrificial blank or even a wood dowel can prove invaluable. In doing so, make the wraps of each color wide enough to allow the first ? coated with PG, the first and second ? coated with epoxy, and the last ? bare with nothing on it. Since even NCP can darken when coated, having the bare thread available to compare will aid choosing the correct thread color.
Most owners have no problem (if not expecting to) paying $8.00 for a color you may not have; and then you can add the new color to your personal stock on his dime.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

Mychael,
This is a re-write due to the site not recognizing fractions:
Other than vintage agate or shock-ring guides, commonly available present guides offer enough choices to closely match those of most rods to be repaired; maybe not perfectly but usually close enough. If the owner complains that the guide is not a perfect match, tell him he should have been more careful with the rod in the first place lol; beggars-can't-be-choosers! You can’t make chicken soup from chicken poop!
Your bigger “match” concerns will undoubtedly be the thread color; the wrong color will stand-out like a red-headed-stepchild. Making a “thread swatch” of as many colors as possible on a sacrificial blank or even a wood dowel can prove invaluable. In doing so, make the wraps of each color wide enough to allow the first THIRD coated with PG, the first and second THIRD coated with epoxy, and the last THIRD bare with nothing on it. Since even NCP can darken when coated, having the bare thread available to compare will aid choosing the correct thread color.
Most owners have no problem (if not expecting to) paying $8.00 for a color you may not have; and then you can add the new color to your personal stock on his dime.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

A lot of companies list the guides and components they used on a paticular series in their catalogs. Fuji and SeaGuide are stamped on the guide, Kigan guides are on the Hydra site to the left, St Croix and others have used them recently. Black guides are going to have to be somone else than Fuji now. You can't get some of the threads anymore, you just do the best you can as mentioned above.

Mark has nailed it down, the thread is actually harder to match. A lot of us have been building rods for many years and can pretty much make an educated guess as to who the manufacturer is because we have looked at buying them at one time or another. Measure the ring size from the OD of the ring and match the color of it to get close. Most manufactured rods use stainless or plated frames on their general models and may use titanium frames on their high end stuff. To me, that is part of the fun of trying to match guides and thread on repair rods and you can also sell them a better rod that you made. Many times damaged guides come along with a damaged blank, so the rod may need to be replaced / retired.

Some manufacturers use proprietary guides and you will not find a match unless you can reuse one from an existing/broken/sacrificial rod. I've changed all the guides on a few rods over the years to at least have a matching set. I will always recommend to change just the guides needed and just getting close to the originals to keep costs down. Sometimes the time and effort involved is worth more than the rod is. Lol

The type of line you use (mono or braid), the diameter of line you use, and the ambient temperature will all influence what diameter guides will work best on your rod - but many builders worry more about appearance than they worry about performance - and beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Phil? Do you have any published verifiable data that can substantiate your claims concerning line type, line diameter, and ambient temperature having an influence on proper guide sizing? Or are these just your personal observations and opinions?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/15/2022 03:22PM by David Baylor.

David: Line type, line diameter, and ambient temperature most certainly affect the flexibility of fishlines, and I don't need to read a book to know this. You apparently believe that ONE perfect guide train best handles lines of any and all sizes, made of any material, used at any temperature. I'll pass on any book which ignores the line material, line diameter, and ambient temperature to pronounce THE "proper" guide sizing?

We ARE replacing one or more guides on an existing rod here. Very little thought involved. Sorry.

Sorry Phil, you're not getting off that easy. Earlier you mentioned that "many builders worry more about appearance than they worry about performance". Your tying temperature and its' affect on the properties, and ultimately the performance of various types and sizes of fishing line, relates directly to the on the water performance of a rod and reel combination. And since I am big into the actual on the water performance of a fishing rod and reel combination, I'll need to know more about how you came to your conclusions.

Surely there is a specific temperature, or range of temperatures where each type of fishing line performs at or near its' peak. Would you be so kind as to share the results of the dynamic mechanical analysis you did for each of these line types and sizes, so that going forward I and others can select their guides accordingly?

Of course you could have done what I should have done, and not interjected this type of nonsense into a thread that concerned matching the type and size of an existing damaged guide.

My apologies to the other members of this forum.

I have built nothing but fly rods for the last 35 years, and I have fished almost exclusively in Florida for the last 22 years. Still, after 50+ years of winter fishing and ice fishing in Finger Lakes country I have observed the fact that in near and sub freezing temperatures nylon monofilament line and fluorocarbon monofilament lines "stiffen up", and the larger the diameter of the line the worse the stiffness problem. I would like the names experts in books or on line who deny this phenomenon. Feel free to cite scientific sources which refute the conclusions my observations have led me to - or take your book-learned rods with their all-weather guide sizes to a Steelhead river in January and do some casting.

Phil Ewanicki Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The type of line you use (mono or braid), the
> diameter of line you use, and the ambient
> temperature will all influence what diameter
> guides will work best on your rod - but many
> builders worry more about appearance than they
> worry about performance - and beauty is in the eye
> of the beholder.

Thanks for the laugh this morning!

Send me an email Phil, yours is hidden. Its about fishing... fishing in Florida that is...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/17/2022 06:42AM by Kent Griffith.

These rambles up the garden path sure are fun! Hope you got some help here Mychael. Always cast repeatedly to the same spot if it looks good, sometimes you might get bit. Right Dave? Works for Phil. Lol

LOL Lynn ......... my problem is, when I see a carp, I can't help but drop a bait straight on their head. lol

I switched from bait to flies for carp 50 years ago. The Cotton Poplar seed "hatch" is the best. You won't catch many casting flies "on their head" - better to lead them, cast, and wait for them to spot the fly and take it.