Hi all. I was hoping to get some input on something.

A couple of days ago my brother-in law and I were float fishing for steelhead. The temperature was in the zero (or just below) range. My rod had size six Alconites for the running guides, his size size Minimas. Both were fly gulde style. He was having problems with ice in the guides, I had none.

We were trying to figure out if the Minimas were more likely to get ice build up because of their metal rings as opposed to the ceramic Alconites? Anybody else notice this?

thanks
Tom.

Tom,
The ceramics being black will tend to hold some solar heat which will tend to keep them some what warm enough to melt some of the ice. My winter fishing customers by far though prefer recoil guides. The tend to bend slightly which flicks the ice off. If you don't get that lucky its a matter of a quick bend of the guide and your back to work. I have tried minimas myself in the winter and solid ice.

Wow, I've never thought of how easily the Recoils would shed ice. I do a lot of winter fishing, and iced up guides have always been an annoyance. Thanks for the tip!

no problem dave. They really work well for ice rods and for my steelhead guys. I lived in Alaska for a few years and guiding winter was my time to fish. I learned a lot about iceing lol

Thanks for the input.

Bill, what style of running guides do you use? I'm thinking of building a spiral wrap bait caster for float fishing but am hesitant on using the fly style guides as they sit so close to the blank. I built another float rod with that style fly guides -but not recoils - and found that the line would tack to the blank in wet weather.

Tom they make a casting guide. For sure you should look at them. Super light weight and tough as heck. Also the black recoil is a bonus for sun and heat retention. It is bonus to have a guide that will not corrode in ANY environment and is able to bend to any shape and return to it's original shape. Great to use in ice conditions. Also almost entirely all I use for fly rods these days. Mostly single foot but some snakes depending on the customer. I really don't like there tip tops except in the winter. I usually will switch back on forth on my rods using a fugi tip until winter weather then switch off the tip for a recoil.

Janns flex lites also work well for less money then the recoil guides.

Rolly Beenen
Rovic Custom Rods

rolly titanium alloy tat flex and return to shape? never used them.

Have had no problems yet

Rolly Beenen
Rovic Custom Rods

Don't know if it's been discussed here, but I use paste wax on my guides for winter trout trips. It doesn't prevent icing, but, a quick knuckle rap just above the reel seat will knock the ice off most of the time.

hmmmm.. interesting.. Have you looked into this?? [alpsforecast.com]
Ice, Bass, and everything freshwater, etc.. You get the picture. Its a nano ceramic coating that thus far has not have any problem with icing up!!

When the wife is not cooking grab the Pam and spray the guides

Bill - willierods.com

X10 on Bill's comments.

Keep a can of Pam in your pocket and before starting to fish spray the guides with Pam. Then, as the day goes by, spray again. Pam on - ice off.

Be safe

Hi Bill.

Could I ask what Pam is? Is it like an oil. I don't know if we have it here in Australia.

Thanks

Kris,
It is just cooking oil that is normally sprayed onto the bottom of a cooking pan to prevent food from sticking to the bottom of the cooking or frying pan.

[www.pamcookingspray.com]

[pascoes.freshdesk.com]

Yup. Minimas with no ring ice up way more than any insert. It could be because the insert is slippery and rejects water.

It could be because metal is a better conductor than ceramics so cools down much quicker?

Tim

Pam has not worked well for me. Maybe I don't apply it often enough. Do the Janns Flex lite guides flex and spring back like the REC guides?
thanks Steve