Hello,

New to the forum but have been a lurker for a while and always appreciative of the knowledge shared on this site.

Looking for some advice, currently wrapping a surf rod for throwing hardware mainly jerkbaits, swimbaits and spoons 3/8 to 5/8 oz for bass, halibut, perch in southern california. Wanting this setup primarily to cast light lures very far. Will find other uses including light bait, and throwing lures for bass fishing lakes and harbors. Will match the rod to a 2500 sized reel with 15 to 20lb braid and a short lead 10 to 12 lb mono.

I selected a lamaglas GP1142MJ Steelhead jig blank.

9'6 2-Piece Medium Power
6-15 Line Wt. | 1/4 - 3/4 Lure Wt.

Currently looking for recommendations on guide selection and location. Was leaning towards fugi k series concept guides because from what I have read they cast further than standard and decrease weight at the tip increasing performance. I have always wrapped with standard guides.

Currently thinking KL20H KL10H KL5.5m but wanted to know if I increased the guide size to 25H, 12H, 5.5m would it effect casting distance?

Would follow with 1 kb 5.5 and then the rest would be kt5 but open to suggestions.

Planning on using anglers resource website to find guide spacing. Are there better ways to determine?

Leaning towards a AT aero reel seat size 17 with cork or shrink tube covered eva foam rear grip approximately 11 to 12" long.

Though about a Carbon front grip as its supposed to transmit vibration better as I might be able to feel the lure swim and bounce off the bottom better. Not sure the durability and if its worth the exta cost.

With all the expert builders on this site i wanted to ask if there are any issues with the proposed or any advice to increase casting distance from this blank?

Thank you for reading, your responses and for your time.

My 130 lb wife can stand on a bare carbon sleeve/foam core rear grip, no blank inside for reinforcement and done it more than once to the same grip. I don't imagine the foregrips would be much less durable. The factory length grip for that blank/rod is 12 inches.

As Spencer pointed out, the carbon fiber grips are very tough on their own. and, based on about 3 years of experience on one of my rods in particular, show zero signs of wear.

And they transmit vibrations wayyyyyyyyyyy better than cork, or EVA, and they aren't slippery at all.

Your guide choice sounds good to me. Anglers Workshop website has plenty of resources for determining spacing. I would start with their program, and perhaps make minor adjustments from there if you feel those are needed. Are you planning on using Alconite inserts? I am gearing up to build a 9 ft steelhead rod with Fuji's KR system, but will use SeaGuide MKGs with steel rings (size 4) with their Adaman coating as my running guides. They are cheaper than ceramic inserts, hold up every bit as well as running guides, and the gun smoke Adaman coating SeaGuide offers is a very handsome finish when paired with Fuji's CC Grey finish for a tip top and stripper & reduction guides. The setup I will be using (on a blank rated for 8-12 lb line) will be Fuji Alconite 16H, 8M, and 5.5L, size 4 SeaGuide MKG runners with ss rings and Adaman coating, and a Fuji LG Alconite tip top with CC Grey finish. I have used this setup on other rods. It performs well.

Regarding carbon fiber grips, it is hard for me to imagine ever using cork or EVA foam again. I tried my first carbon grip last year, and have never looked back. My handles are quite minimalist though, so grip material is not a huge expense. I use a FUJI real seat with a 3 inch carbon fighting butt, leaving much of the blank exposed.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/09/2022 11:56AM by Eric Garza.

For your rod, reel, and line choices a 20 H based reduction train will work very well, so will a 16H based reduction train. However, the 16H based reduction train does remove a little versatility, if you want to use a larger reel with heavier line. In my opinion, a 25H based reduction train is over kill and will not increase casting distance. It would only be justified if using a much larger reel with heavier line. The KR GPS at Anglers Resource will give you a very good starting point. I would use 11 to 12 guides total, don’t be afraid to move the stripper and/or the choke guide in or out a little to get the spacing you like. Do a static test to fine tune the layout, and then test cast. Laying out a guide train is quite flexible and thus very forgiving.
I really like CF grips, they are light, sensitive, feel good, look good, and are almost bullet proof. In addition, they are not much more expensive than a good cork grip.
Norm

The blank you mentioned is very versatile, the basic design was at one time done in 4 rod lines, makes a better than decent hardware and drift bait rod also and popular with guides. I agree, as long as you use braid a 20 mm stripper will be great with that reel, a 4000 reel and 12 lb mono I would use the 25 mm guide.

When I build rods like you reference, I do not build a rod for use with a particular reel.
The reason is that I never have any dedicated reel for any given rod.

The reason for that is that for myself, a rod can easily last for 50 years. But, in that time a reel may change many many times. It may be smaller, larger, lighter and or heavier.

As a result, I would never go with a guide train starting with less than a size 25 and nothing smaller than a size 6 guide.

Simply put - 25,12, 8 and runners to the tip. This setup simply works and works very well with very little deviation no matter the reasonable reel that is placed on the rod, nor the type of line used on the reel.

In addition, many folks build these rods these days with no fore grips at all. With your hand directly on the blank you can feel any vibration with nothing between your hand and the blank.

Best wishes and enjoy the fish that you catch with this rod and the reel of your choice.

In my opinion, in order to avoid confusion when discussing a guide’s ring size you need to indicate the type guide you are talking about. For example, match-type guides, which include the Fuji KL-H , and SeaGuide XOHG guides (among others), have a higher frame for a given ring size than other style spinning guides. So a Fuji KL25H, or another 25H match-type guide, will be approximately the same height as a size 40 V-type guide or a size 30 Y-type guide, but will be lighter than either. A 20H will be approximately the same height as a 30 V or a 25 Y. So based on this, I still contend that a KL25H is overkill for a size 2500, 3000, or 4000 size reel using up to 30 lb braid. When you start talking about using mono or Fluorocarbon the game changes.
Norm

In my humble opinion, your choice of guide ring size is spot on. That's what I would do mine with and the lighter the better for casting artificial lures. With a 2500 reel there is no need for a larger stripper guide than a 20 and the height of the KH is ideal at the correct spacing to the choke point. Using a larger stripper than a 20 with that reel spool diameter will cause you to get more of a wave in the line when casting and it will take away distance. I would also go with a KB 5 KT 5 running train after the KL 5.5, I believe that will get you the most distance, especially with lures. Keep it light as possible and that will dictate the type of foregrip you use. I believe a foregrip is essential on a spinning rod and a good butt piece to hold on to. The grip between the reel seat and the butt is not that important on a spinning reel but a comfortable reel seat is.