Hello all,

I purchased some Pac Bay Minima guides with stainless steel inserts from one of the biggest online parts dealers. I ordered the BF3XG and BM3XG and put them on a 7' MH Spinnerbait rod. I only used 20lb mono. Two years later, the 2 guides closest to the reel and the tip top guide are grooving pretty substantially.

Has anyone else had any problems recently with these guides? Did I goo too heavy with my line selection?

Oddly enough, the Tiblack Minima guides I ordered are in perfect condition, although those rods haven't been used as much and I used braid with them.

I use minima 4 guides in saltwater with 20-40# braid and catch fish from 5# -40# on them. I haven't had any grooving problems with the guides. Years ago I did have grooving issues with the minima 3 tip tops. If you do a search you might find more info, but I do remember another builder having the same problem as you. Someone posted the problem might be debris on the line etching the guide ring. Good luck

I have been using minima guides for the few years now and so far so good. However I have been using the minima 4 guides with braided line, and have not used the minima 3s. The minima TiBlack guides are minima 4s. From what I understand both the minima 4 and minima 3 guides use the same hard chrome insert with the difference between them being the way they are swagged into the frame. It has been reported that mono is more abrasive then braid. So my guess is that the mono line is at least partially responsible for your grooving problem. When I first started to use minima guides I was concerned about grooving, but over the past few years that concern has diminished somewhat. I am positive that the minima guides will never wear as well as ceramic guides, but that is one of the trade offs one makes for lighter guides whose rings do not pop out or crack. As an edit PAC Bay does not use the terms 3 and 4 anymore and this was to avoid any confusion. In some past post it was mentioned by Geoff Staples at Batson that people having grooving problems with minima guides to send the guides back to him.

Norm

One of the biggest contributors to guide grooving is dirty lines (any type) the dirt acts like sandpaper when passing in both directions through the guide.

I have wondered how well these would hold up. Once upon a time we got away from hard chrome guides and went to ceramic due to wear problems. I have seen many posts saying the Minimas will not groove but posts like yours make me wonder.

RJH

Hi All,
Just to clarify, I was working at PacBay when I requested that Minima guides be sent back to me. Current Minima issues would need to be addressed with PacBay and not sent to Geoff at Batson, obviously. ;) Vic or Scott at PacBay can address any current issues folks may have with PacBay products.

-The Batson TEAM
BatsonEnterprises.com

Carlos,
Replace the guides and tip with Minima 4 guides and move on.

Take care

Geoff - Your past posts were a major factor in getting me to try the minima guides. I have been impressed with thier lightness and performance, so thank you.
Norm

Gelspun braids seem to be impregnated with some substance. Lines used to fish the surf or off the beach encounter very fine sand on the bottom and suspended in the water, and these sand particles may adhere to the wax or ? filler in braided line. Sand on a string has cut through many prison bars.

Hey Phil.

Carlos said he only used mono on this rod.

Bob,

New Bern, NC.

Robert: Right you are. I suspect more grit adheres to braid than to mono and I know the composition and density of suspended particles varies from place to place. Still, if I built a rod to fish off or near fine sand beaches, lakes, or rivers this fact would influence the type of line and the type of guides I would use.

Robert: Right you are. I suspect more grit adheres to braid than to mono and I know the composition and density of suspended particles varies from place to place. Still, if I built a rod to fish off or near fine sand beaches, lakes, or rivers this fact would influence the type of line and the type of guides I would use.

Robert: Right you are. I suspect more grit adheres to braid than to mono and I know the composition and density of suspended particles varies from place to place. Still, if I built a rod to fish off or near fine sand beaches, lakes, or rivers this fact would influence the type of line and the type of guides I would use.