Guides and spacing on a 1201M

[SeaWolf]

could be, mike. the perfections i use are a heavier wire than the old mildrums. they are not plated in the same fashion as the mildrums were either. you will never chip the chrome on them. never had any issues w/ pits either. just an occasional brace separates from the frame or ring. i look at it that it happens about as often as a ceramic ring cracks from abuse or neglect. i have perf wire guide on my of my "retro" glass surf rods and i abuse that rod to death in the fall. it falls, bangs against rocks, used as a cane, etc. for the first time last year i had to replace the catch guide as the middle brace separated from the ring. andn, that was 7 years of fishing. not bad. no rust, bent rings or chipped chrome. on that rod, i dont care about line slap or any of the other reasons we use ceramics. it's retro and i cast as far or farther than otheres at times. catches me just as many fish too. i would say that the major disadvantage of wire are the forces applied to the guide and braces when it supports line going thru it under stress. you only have 3 contact points holding that ring versus a more solid support of the fuji svlg-type frame. fuji frames are one-piece. occasionally, you'll have a ring pop out of the frame, but that's rare.

[In The Surf]

If I stay with all Fuji and start with a 50, what size guides and distances would you recommend. I know many builders suggest six guides plus tip but I'm not big on the idea of so many guides. Does it really make a difference using six guides plus a tip vs. five guides plus a tip?

[Saltheart]

50 , 40 , 30 , 20 , 16 and a 16 tip. I wold use all BSVLG and a PST tip. Put the 50 about 36 inches from the reel face, put the 16 about 6.5 inches from the tip. Space the rest increasing the distance between each by about an inch or so for a progression that looks smaooth when stress tested. You can also move them around to optimize if you do a stress test.

[Swimmer]

SALTHEART,
THE BSVLG DOUBLE FOOT GUIDES HAVE THE LIGHT PURPLE HARDALLOY ON THE INSIDE OF THE BLACK METAL FRAMES?

[Crow]

Saltheart is there any particular reason you don't use single foot BLVLG for the 30-20-16? I find it lessens the weight a tiny bit which seems to help in recovery and allows for a smoother flex thru the tip section. I've used them for years in most of my rods and have been very satisfied. Not on the gatherer guides just the first 3 down from the tip. And they are surprisingly tough.

[In The Surf]

Saltheart, what would be your preference on the number of guides you'd use on this rod and why?