Hi all,
I have built about a dozen fly rods for family and friends so not a ton of experience. I have two rods that I exclusively use mono line on for tight line nymphing. I have used the rods for about 3 years and I am noticing grooving in my snake guides. Anybody else experience this? Are there better guides to use for a dedicated mono fly rod?

Thanks

John

Dirt and grit on your mono is your main problem, you can change to ceramic guides, but my Snake brand guides don't have grooving problems, I use fly lines exclusively or shooting heads and unless it's a slime line, I keep the lines clean religiously. They last longer that way.

Agree. For this type of fishing, ceramic running guides would be preferred and last forever. We do the same when fishing on the Kenai for sockeye salmon. I’ve built numerous 9 weight fly rods with ceramic guides for everyone we fish with. It looks non traditional, but works extremely well. I prefer the Fuji KT or KB in with alconite rings. If you want to save a bit of weight you could use titanium frames. Also, be sure to use a ceramic tip-top

Mono is much smaller in diameter than any fly line so the pressure per square inch on such guides is much higher with mono. Grooving steel guides has always been an issue with mono.

..........

First question... What specific product# were you using for guides?

Second, what mono line diameter? and size of fish?

Once we have that we might be able to recommend something.

I don't have the product numbers but I do know I used light wire chrome snake brand double foot on the 11' 2/3 wt and black nickle snake brand single foot on the 11' 3/4 wt. I have been using Adams nymph mono line .260mm diameter from Tactical Flyfisher. I just noticed it says ceramic reinforced on the spool. The size of fish from 10 to 26 inches.

That mono line is thick ! I am running .016mm and using REC RSFX.

You could try the REC RSFX or the REC Recoil Snake if you absolutely want to stick to snake guides.

All guides will groove to some degree over time given how much the rod is used, the type of line, and how well the line is maintained in terms of cleaning or dressing.

Most anglers will not notice any guide grooving.

But if you use one rod a lot and the line creates enough friction...

Go to N.A. Fly Fishing Forum and search posts by Akos (owner of the Stickman Rod Company, maker of superb rods) and his experience and thoughts on guide grooves. You can also look at his sight the blog entry on guides. He knows as much about fly rods as anyone on planet Earth. You could email him as well.

To all that have responded. Thank you for the help and ideas.

David. I will try searching his posts and getting a hold of him.

:)

[www.stickmanrods.com] Here is the blog.... And to save you time, the guides are the "Single Leg Round" from Seymo which is the range of "hard" guides Hopkins & Holloway launched back in the days. I ordered some but did not tested them yet, they sure feel thick and strong but that's looking at them on my desk. Not in the field...

In some Forum posts at the N.A. Fly Fishing Forum, Akos mentioned how lawn casting and the contaminates on grass, once they get on the line, can vastly speed up guide grooving. Yes, he claims the H&H guides to be the hardest. Not many U.S. outlets sell them. REC website sells the traditional snake style H&H, as does Proof. Lure Parts Online has some on closeout, but sizes are limited.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/02/2024 12:10AM by david taylor.

I just finished an 11 foot 3 wt CTS Affinity X with size 6,7 and 8 titanium guides with ceramic inserts. It actually looks good. They are slightly lighter than the single foot wire guides that I had for it. The rod recovers faster than the same exact rod wrapped with single foot wire guides. I haven't fished it yet but will this weekend.