ScowMan wrote:
Does anybody use micro guides on there poles?
Thanks
UL Fly, yes. Spinning, no…not yet, anyway.
Main impetus for their use was and is alternative flylines. Wanted to close the guide train a bit and eliminate sag/slap for low diameter lines without adding full size guides and associated weight to the blank. Works great. I went down to 4mm Fuji (probably Alconites) on one rod, used 4mm Amtak RingLocks on another and won’t go back to full size unless line choice dictates such. These guides were bought a while back, styles and offerings change, but one has to dig the “keeper foot” contour on the American Tackle micros. Don’t even need a Forhan lock on ‘em, they stay secure with a standard wrap and a few in front just fine.
Here’s a comp of micro v/s regular single foots, it’s a noticeable difference.
Spacing of guides relative standard guide size/spacing. I originally had the 4mm project regular spaced and added a few on the redo and reposition to close it up as seen below. Again, noticeable difference in performance with non-industry spec lines.
No idea why any offerings in EuroNymph specific rods don’t go for the micros and closer spacing. Some of these concepts are actually intended to be used with 20lb Maxima all the time and often in windy conditions. Best WAG I can throw out there is this is governed by a traditional preference and arbitrary notion of how a flyrod
should look…even if they’re fishin’ a friggin’ 35' French leader with the fat flyline dry and forgotten about on the reel all day.
That said, I will posit traditional snakes are indeed the most elegant and beautiful of any guides. Is kinda painful to lose the aesthetic while exploring single foots in any size, but the functional utility makes up for it. We can always balance that equation by justifying a new 6wt build using traditional snakes, anyway, so it’s all good.