How many folks have built a spinning rod, or a bait casting rod with no intermediate guides.

Rather, just put a stripper guide of an appropriate size on the rod blank and then, increase the spacing to the first runner, and then just run runners to the tip and the tip top.

Is there really any absolute needs for any intermediate sized guides?

I speculate that with the braided lines, that one really does not have a need for such guides, but am wondering if any one has tried such a build and how it turned out for a spinning rod and or a casting rod?

Take care

You can put a butt guide (stripping guides are on fly rods) and then go right to the small running guides. It'll work but it won't work nearly as well as if you place at least one intermediate size between them. You also have the problem of getting good static stress distribution when going from a high frame butt guide to the small running guides.

The only real option for doing this well is with the MicroWave guides.


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I've built spinning rods with only two reduction guides and with 15 pound braid, they work just fine.

I agree that the light braids we often use today make all the analysis and attention to detail a lot less important than it used to be.

If you can keep the line path straight to the choke point I think it would work and cast. They just don't make them in the right height.

I have done the experiment, A single butt guide and no transition guides will work with very light braid, but not nearly as well as using a butt guide with at least one transition guide. For ultra lights and light rods a two guide reduction train (butt guide and 1 transition guide) works as well as a three guide reduction train when using 10# braid or less. For most of my rods, I still like using a three guide reduction train, it just gives a better line flow and casts great. Braid is certainly forgiving and allows for a lot of flexibility in setting up a guide train.
Norm