While setting up our flyrods today my friend ask…
“Why does this flyrod have guides like a spinning rod?” (single foot guides)
“And my other rod has these swirley type guides” (snake guides)
I had no answer… Usually a flyrod has one or two stripping guides and then the rest are the single wire snake guides. Can anyone shed some light on this?
Aloha,
Stan
i dont think its a weight thing—
untwist this
and you get this
I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest that snake guides produce less friction because of their design. At least, that’s what the shape suggests to me.
There will be a slight weight saving because of fewer wraps and epoxy and there will be a very slight stiffening of the action because of the longer lengths of the snakes.
Will this be discernible when casting or fishing? Probably not.
I have no idea either…however, I will add that ALL of my rods with single foot guides have outfished ALL of my rods with snakes.
Coincidence? Probably.
…
…but that didn’t stop me from looking for a new 7wt that featured single-foot guides. 
…which has also proven itself a fish-catching machine. 
Try “definately not”.!!!
How can a person make such a statement?? “OUT FISHED”…?? No way to PROVE positive or negative. Had you stated that it normally is able to cast further…?? Or because of its cosmetics you prefer using it than the rod with snakes…??..but OUT FISHED???
i think either one provides the same amount of friction. there’s only a single point of contact between the fly line and either guide
SNAKE guides ( NOT single footed wire guides) were made in the beginning ( way back when people even had to walk to work…let alone ride a horse) because they were the easiest to MAKE
Correcto! There cannot be anymore than the tangent point of the line itself running across the face of the “guide” ( regardless of style) for a short distance generating a “line of contact” ( and its mighty small)
Snake guides are traditional
Nothing more, nothing less
Back in the day when the guides were handmade it was just plain easier
They were actually a step up from the ring guides
Sorry, I can’t speak for every person.
Some folks are actually very good fly fishers who have the opportunity to use and compare many rods.
I’ll leave it to you with a whopping 5 years experience though to set everyone straight! 
Before you ridicule someone with “5 years experience” let me add that I have been flyfishing since 1979…the second time i went “west”. The “5 years” is just what I put into my info HERE…
As far as how good a fisherman I might be…Im still confused on that part! As to using and comparing rods…I still have SEVENTEEN here at home that I constructed and kept for myself and my wife…and that certainly doesnt count the ones that I bought ( factory rods ) the ones I built and SOLD…nor the ones I made and gave away…so Ive had “a couple” in my hands before
Okay…easy now…
…with all of my rods, I have caught noticeably more fish with the rods which have single foot guides than with those which have snake guides, proportionately.
Also, I’ve fished 2 of my rods with snake guides for a combined time nearly double that of the 2 with single-foot guides…and I’ve landed far more fish with the two fished less-often, but with the single foot guides.
So, yes, OUTFISHED.
:rolleyes:
Snakes have two points of contact with the blank. Secondly, when the blank flexes, the snake guide must flex to accomodate the blank flex between the two feet. The ring guide does not. The increased stiffening of the rod blank with a snake has two causes, and not just the one that most folks know about.
I believe that a significant, if not most, of the frictional losses on a cast are due to line slap against the rod and not from friction of the line against the guides. I think it was Charlie Brooks that wrapped his own rods with single footed spinning guides to try to elevate the line away from the rod to minimize line slap. If you compare a current fly rod with older fly rods you will see that the newer fly rod have larger snake guides to try to move the line away from the blank. Previously, small snake guides were thought to be better because they had less weight and a smaller foot print on the rod blank.
Modern fly rods with higher modulus graphite can be made thinnner. That means less surface area and less air resitance, and also the additional benefit less chance of line slap.
But unless the rods are all the same brand, length…etc…there are far too many variables in the mix…but in essence…you are saying that THE difference in each rod’s “fishability” if simply because one has wire snakes and the other had single footed guides! Is that what you truly believe?
No kidding…are you for real?
Thanks for reading my whole post, ace. You know…the part where I said “Coincidence? Probably.”
:rolleyes:
Im definitely “for real” and only trying to determine what you actually said ( posted) to what your meaning was / is.
You start by stating the rods you have with single foot guides out fish the rods you have with other guides. A declaration! Then end by stating it could be nothing more than “coincidence”…???
Yes.
Also, adding extra question marks at the end of every question you type doesn’t make it a better question…just sayin’
Snake guides require twice as much thread and epoxy. The additional weight may not seem like a lot. However, blanks only weigh a couple of ounces, and the tips are much lighter than that. It wouldn’t take much to affect the inertia of the tip of the rod.
That said, I doubt single foot guides would add 10 feet to your cast. The main reason that I use them for rodbuilding is that they require half as much work. They may be more prone to pulling out of the wraps, but I have never had a problem with that.