Finishing up my fourth summer in a row of 2-5 times a week of farm pond bluegill and bass fly fishing. Have worn out my 5 wt WF F new fly line from the spring. I clean it every time I go out. The line wearing does not concern me very much BUT my tip top grooving and my runner guides grooving do bother me. It has happened every summer's end for the last 4 years. I have been using various brands of wire single foots or minimas. My cat like brain concludes it is user, heavy use. I plan to use single foot insert guides next spring. Any recommendations?

Golly, Steve, sure wish I had time to wear out lines and grove guides!

I'm a traditionalist to a fault so I'm not a single foot guy for fly rods. If I were, I'd take a serious look at REC's Recoil single foot guides. Don't think the REC's are offered with inserts. ATC has RingLock single foot guides for the fly with nanolite rings.

If you go with silicon carbide tips and guides you will not have any grooving issues.

On the other hand, it only takes a few minutes to install a new tip and an hour or so to replace a few guides, so you can just continue to do what you are doing.

I suspect that the water you fish has some mud in it that is getting into the line and is causing your line to become like a carbide file on your guides and tip top.



Be safe

Steve,
Rather than using inserted guides on a fly rod and slowing the rod response.
Replace guides and tip top as required, as Roger suggested, or try an Air-Flo fly line. The line has ridges which keep some of the abrasive off the guides. Also do not apply any line dressing to the fly line. Use lines that are refreshed with a Scotch-brite as these don't require dressing.
The dressing picks up dirt which acts as an abrasive. Make sure after cleaning the fly line to remove all cleaning agents that may pick up dirt.

Gene

Steve,
You might want to try a Pac Bay Fly Top with insert.
Or the extra light insert tops from Batson
And for runners, either the Pac Bay single foot Minimas with the harder Gold plating,
or the single foot Pac Bay fly guides all Gold with the Harder "Ti-Gold plating.
We have them in stock

Best wishes,
Ron Schneider
Schneider's Rod Shop
Mountain Home, Arkansas
[www.schneidersrods.com]
mtnron40@yahoo.com
870-424-3381

Zipcast to the left.