I usually build flyrods but I am putting together a couple of inshore saltwater spin casting rods and need some help on guide placement. We are using them to throw 2oz pencil poppers as teasers for rooster fish in Baja and then do a bait and switch with a flyrod. I was looking back through my RB magazines and I have the RB Mag CD with all the back issues. Which acticles help with the guide placements for a spinning rod? I keep seeing the 27x concept showing up and I cannot seem to find the articles. The distance from the reel to the first guide is where I question myself. After I have that I can do a static deflection and the rest of the guides will fall into place. I know I have read about this in Rod Builder Mag somewhere. Help.
Will

There are 2 good articles on the new guide concept in the library above that should get you going with spinning rod guide placement. I have to ask the question what is the point of the bait and switch? If the fish want to bite the lures on the spinning rods why not just catch them on the spinning rods?

There is a good artical in the library that should answer all your questions.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

Mike,
Verty simply put.
Start at the tip and deflect the rod. Put a guide at the location where the blank begins to bend. Then, continue to deflect the blank, again, as the blank continues to deflect, simply add guides as required to insure that the line will follow the curvature of the loaded blank.
By the time that you near the non bending portion of the rod, you will be at about the 20 inch distance from the reel seat which will be the position for the first guide.

Again, temporarily tape the guides in these locations, clamp on a reel, and do some tests of line - letting out and reeling in - both in a straight blank configuration, as well as a loaded blank configuration.

Simply put - if the blank gets deflected under load - insure that you have a guide at the location to keep the line following the general curvature of the blank and its placement will insure that the rod is loaded at that point. Simply tweak the guides as needed, moving back and forth, and or adding or eliminating guides to have enough, but only enough guides to insure that the line will properly load a fully deflected blank.

This might mean 3 guides or 23 guides - depending on rod length and action.


Take care
Roger

Roger
At the point where the blank begins to bend when deflected is that about the same place that the choker guide would be if I used the 27x the reel spool diameter suggested by the "new concept method. One method relies on knowing the reel to be used and the other on how the blank bends under load. I am not sure which reel I am putting on the rod but I know it will be pretty good sized - something that can hold about 250=300yds yds of 25# mono.
It is fun to fight rooster fish on a fly rod and sometimes it is hard to get them in close enough to get a cast to them. We catch em and take a picture and let them go. We have done the same thing with sailfish. Tease them in with conventional gear with no hooks and then cast a big pink popper on a 14wt flyrod. It's a good fight.
Will

No, because blanks have different actions (where the rod initially flexes) and the 27X placement is based on the factors that have more to do with casting - the reel spool size and line used.

The 27X method is interactive and tailors the rod to the reel and the line. These are the more important factors if you're really after good casting qualities. Of course, you can get there with other methods too, but you will have to spend more time casting and testing than with the 27X NGC.

At this stage you should try a few different methods to see which one/s suit you best.

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