I'm new to fly rod building and could use some advice on striper guides. I am preparing to build a 9'9wt. rod using snake guides. I am not sure of what striper guides to use . Are these simply casting guides or is there a specific style for fly rods?

Many thanks

Tom Wood



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/30/2023 09:13AM by Tom Wood.

A guide is a guide. Most commercially made fly rods utilize a low frame casting rod guide in that position. I have always preferred a higher framed spinning rod guide for the stripping guide on a fly rod. Doubtful it makes much difference, however. Either works fine.

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One common occurance is using stripper guides larger than necessary. Not a functional problem, but they cost more and take up more room in a rod case. I used a 20 on a son's rod at his request, a 12 on mine, identical 8 wt blanks, and I don't think there is a difference in how they cast and clear line. Maybe a fly expert will chime in on the right sizes for the first two. I use titanium for salt water .

Here are three different choices that I have done for stripper guides.

1) Fuji KW 20 or 16 with the following KW 10.

2) Seaguide TiXTG 20 or 16 with the following TiXTG 10.

3) REC Cerecoil Double Foot CSG 20 with the following CSG 10.

If it is for saltwater get Titanium frames.

Thanks so much. It is for salt water and I will follow your good advice. I had planned on going with a 20,16, followed with six 3s. Will adding a 10 benefit casting?

On a 9wt, a 16 is plenty big enough, follow that with 2 #4’s and #3’s rest of way out. No need to use the same style as your stripper guide for the second running guide. All it does is add extra weight to the blank. Just make sure you are using guides rated for Saltwater use. If you’re using Snake Brand, just use the ECO coated Universals or go with the REC Brand Recoils.

Tom,
Eight guides on a 9'0" fly rod would be very unusual.
Usual is 10 guides - at least.
Herb

Thanks so much, I forgot to mention a 5 and a 4along with the threes.

Got it,

Many thanks

Tom

On a 9 wt rod I would use two stripper guides: a 16 and a 12. From there you can go to snake guides and your choice to taper them or just use one size. A 9foot 9 wt should have 10 or 11 guides on it.

16-12-5-4-3-3-3-3-3-3
16-12-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3 or
16-12-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4



The blank you purchased should have a guide placement chart available. What is the blank?

Tom Wood Wrote:
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> Thanks so much. It is for salt water and I will
> follow your good advice. I had planned on going
> with a 20,16, followed with six 3s. Will adding a
> 10 benefit casting?

I believe in a more rapid reduction on the strippers much like a spinning rod. The larger 20 mm ring is for errant cast where your hand is farther from the blank. It gathers the line with the least amount of resistance. The next 10 mm ring controls the wave in the line and straightens it out. A larger 2nd guide ring will allow the wave to continue to the next guide and it will slow the line down. If you keep your hand close to the blank and can control the line better, then a 16 mm ring will work fine, but I would still do the 10 mm ring for the next guide. I would do close to what David is doing. Mine would and has been a double foot (DF) 20 mm or 16 mm, DF10 mm, and the rest REC DF snake guides. I do not like plated guides because the will eventually corrode in saltwater. The RECs are a Titanium nickel allow that won't corrode and are not plated. If you do use the REC Cerecoil guides for strippers, the ring is fairly thick, so a 20 mm ring is more restricted on the ID. That is why I did not recommend 16 mm ring in that particular guide.

20-10-strippers 5-4-4-4-4-4-4-4 running guides and large loop tip top.

16-10-Strippers 5-4-4-4-4-3-3-3 Running guides " "

I put the 3 DF snakes on the tip just to lighten it up a little. You could just do all 4s as running guides and not really notice a difference. I like the 5 to create a more straight line path to the 4s.

Keep the size changes down to 3. Your final size, just needs to be enough to pass your line to leader connection. On 8wts to 10wts, #3 work for most. Oversizing guides does not gain you anything except added weight. The goal is to create the straightest line path that will allow line connections to pass without a hang up when you are fighting a fish.

Yes, on factory rods you’ll see more than 3 sizes of guides, they do it that way for aesthetics.

Second guide is not a stripper, it’s a running guide regardless of frame style.

Bill Hickey Wrote:
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> Second guide is not a stripper, it’s a running
> guide regardless of frame style.

Correct. There is only one stripping guide on any fly rod. It's the first one past the reel, regardless of whether is'a ceramic or other type.

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Thanks to all for the great advice. The tip is 1.8mm, should I use a standard, large or extra large tip top?

The tiptop doesn't need to be any larger than your last guide, but I would not go smaller than your last guide.

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Tom,

I have been using the AT Microwave Stripper guides and absolutely LOVE them!, they go on ALL of my fly rod builds from now to when I stop building rods! I had to back off on my casting because I was over-casting my targets, and I am a marginal fly-caster! They come in two sizes, 18/8 and 12/6. I would use the 18/8 in your application.

The format of the guide assists the collection of the loose line and shoots it through more efficiently than a regular stripper guide. I consistently get 5 to 10 extra feet per cast, and there is no affect on accuracy. While they may weigh more that a basic double-foot casting guide, that isn't an issue in the butt section of a fly rod. The weight issues for a fly rod are at the upper end where excessive weight directly affects blank recovery.

Rich

Thanks Rich, for recommending the AT Microwave alternative. I have two rods to build and will likely use the AT on the one I'm keeping.

TYom

I have been going smaller on the strippers of late. My last 9 was cerecoil 16-10-3-3-……. Just started wrapping a 7 with 12-8-2’s. (Maybe1’s :) )

I don’t notice any difference casting ,but my distance is also not what it once was.

Curious if folks are getting breakage with recoil double feet or just the single?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/01/2023 03:48PM by Tim Scott.

A 16 is about as large as you would ever need to go for any fly rod including blue water fly rods.

I agree, Mike!

My 12 wt. sailfish fly rod starts with a 16 stripper and it is plenty.