Does anybody have a Spacing guide for a5'6'or 6 Ft tuna stick
will be using 5 Aftco rollers 50-80# class

How long is the butt and what reel are you going to use? It would be hard to give you good spacing without that info. You could check some factory rods and copy them if your butt and reel set-up is going to be similar. I know that's not the best way to do it but it would get you by.

Hi Barry- You should really do a deflection test after you have fitted the angler and installed the grips and seat. On a 5 1/2' rod I normally use 5 Aftco HD guides, while on a 6' rod I normally use 6 Aftco roller guides.

Tape the guides onto the blank with the tiptop on as well. Install the reel to be used, or a similar model where the line will come off the top of the spool at about the same height as the reel to be used. String the guides and top. Have another person hold the rod while you manually deflect the tip with your hand. Tug gently on the line with your other hand and see if clears the blank- even during the deepest flex you can achieve. If the line stays clear of the blank, you're in the ballpark.

Doing the deflection test manually is a lot less frustrating on relatively heavy rods- The tape will break or the guides will shift if you pull directly on the line to deeply flex the blank.

Also, normal deflection tests may go to about 90 degrees, but on this type (stand up rods) of gear I go a lot farther during my test- when a tuna is circling and dogging below the boat, the rod is often bent more than 90 degrees- so (I believe) the deflection test should mirror potential reality!!! When the fish is far away from the boat, the rod won't be flexed as deeply as when the fish is close in and dogging deep (that's when the rod gets really flexed deeply)- that's what you need to duplicate in your deflection test to get the best functionality.

Hope this helps...

Tom

Or for a deflection test you might try installing your tip top and then putting the butt in a holder of your choice and tying a line to the tip and to a heavy weight of some sort and flex the rod to what ever the degree you decide you need. Then run a 2nd line from the reel through your temporarily installed guides and through the tip top down to a light weight. now you can look at your line running through the guides and make adjustments as necessary to the guide locations. this way you don't have a lot of weight on the guides causing them to slip off to the side.

Kerry

Thanks guys, Went to the tackle shop and measured a factory rod as a bench mark will go from there using your tips Thanx