Starting to plan my next ( second ) rod build. Just wondering what you folks prefer, and what you think are the pros and cons to using single foot guides vs. double foot guides ??
Thanks in advance for whatever help you can offer.
John
John,
I like single foot ceramics in general for alot of reasons. Some don’t like their extra weight, but I haven’t had any problems with them. They are quieter, and they shoot line better from my experience. I tend to shorten the foot and keep wraps and finish minimal. After hearing both sides of this arguement ad nauseum, I think it is personal preference on this issue.
If weight is your main concern, single foot snakes are the lightest style, since they only need a single thread wrap and finish per guide. I used them on one rod, and they work fine, but you probably want to rn your wrap a couple of turns on the top side of each to help keep them from coming off.
You might check this out for more opinions:
http://www.rodbuilding.org/read.php?2,155622,155634#msg-155634
My preference is for single foot wire guides due to fewer wraps and the weight savings. I also think they give the rod a cleaner look. But it really boils down to personal preference.
John;
The 2 Sage rods I’ve built have Titanium single foot guides.
Building a custom rod will be an addiction. Traditionally snake guides have been used but building your own will allow you to modify to your hearts content. The above post tend to lean toward single foot guides. Overall this will give you a lighter rod and better performance of the blank since you will have less restriction of the blank due to the single wraps. Casting, if set up properly, will be better . Be sure to balance your rod.
Which is better as all have stated is a personal choice, both should catch fish. Good luck.
Check the rod building section of this site and you can ask all the rod building question you would like on www.rodguild.com and www.rodbuilding.org both sites will give you a lot of answers and will have a lo of archival material that you can search.
pb
John;
I have my flight reserved and my room reserved in Lowell, ID for the Idaho Fish-In. I hope you will be there also. Really want to meet you and wet a line togather.
Thanks to all who responded and for a PM from another member of the BB.
Yes - I can see that rod building could be addictive, if by that you mean I’m thinking of selling all the rods I’ve bought to finance replacing them with rods I’ve built ??!! Need to do this second project first to be sure I am confident that I can take it to the level I want.
Hard to believe the Idaho Fish In is only two months away. Really leaning toward going to this one. Wonder if Jack would back up his invitation to “wet a line together” by letting me try out his Z Axis ?? for a day or two !!
John
John;
Just an FYI. The Titanium guides are not cheap but they do save some weight.
P.S. I would be glad to let you use the Z Axis. How ever it is now loaded with a SA “SnakeSkin” 5WF-F line and you may not like the noise!
If you plan on using single foot guides practice the forham wrap - I perfer the traditional look of snakes - using recoil guides - as for weight - single or double foot - my thread starts 1/16" from the end of the guide - anymore you add weight - thread finish - Threadmaster Lite - first coat to bond the thread to the rod, second coat to form the shape
I had single foot put on my Lamiglass. They are sexy, but to be totally honest, I don’t know if I can really tell the difference between mine and my old mans as far as casting.
I do know (from listening to him building my rod) they are harder to work with and line up straight.
I am going to stick with tradition on the Boo I am building, but the thread looks kewl on them.
Don’t know if it matters for your particular rod, but to me, it seems as if my single foot wire guides ice up faster than the double foot guides. Also, the ceramic single foot guides, which I had on a rod many years ago, iced up REAL fast, but the rod was stolen before I got too fed up and had the rod rewrapped.
I am with the goddess above, I can’t tell any difference in casting with rods with single or doubles, and my arm isn’t calibrated finely enough to notice any weight difference, so…
personal preference.
It’s a matter of personal preference. I’ve built lots of rods with both. As for one being better than the other…I doubt it.
Dennis -
That is something that matters to me since I do a lot of winter fishing ( around here that can be October through April ) and dealing with ice in the guides is a VERY practical consideration. Curious why it would happen, but don’t plan to spend a lot of time on the “why” - I’ll just take it as fact since I know what kind of fishing you do in your part of the world.
My next rod is another experiment in most regards, from the blank to the choice of components. Since I have double foot guides on all the rods I already have, using the single foot guides on this rod would give me another tid bit of experience. AND the rod I have in mind is probably not one that I would use during winter.
Jack -
I was kidding about borrowing the Z Axis until you mentioned the Sharkskin line !! Noise I can deal with, in the right setting.
John
John, if I was building a rod for winter nymphing or streamer fishing, I would put oversize guides and tiptop on it, with icing in mind. I mean, the whole point of building your own is to have the perfect rod for every condition, right?
Dennis -
In search of the perfect rod for all conditions, maybe we should experiment with velcro fasteners for the guides so we can change them out to match the hatc… conditions ??
John
P. S. If I do another rod after this one, I’ll probably be looking for some opinions on oversized guides. I have a feeling that one could provoke some interesting responses.