I have a 7' med.heavy diawa rod that I have been using for salt water fishing. However the guides didn't stand up to the environment (even though I rinsed them after each trip) I would like to replace them with a good saltwater guide, but I don't know what sizes or kind to order. Is there a rule of thumb to use? It has lost the first guide and last guide not including the tip. there were 7 guides originally. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I would go with a good Titanium oxide guide. This material holds up very well in saltwater. Choose either a stainless or black frame, these oxidize less than say gold. If it is a spinning rod, I would start with a 30 stripper and go down to the matching ring size of the tip. Others may have different guide setups, but this works well for me. Use at least the original 7 gdes., more if you want to, but no less.

Good luck!

Thanks for the reply. The rod is a conventional bait caster.

John