Guide preferences?

[Shane]

Don't know how much of a drama this thread will cause

I am to the point of figuring out the components I want to put on a rod. What guides do people prefer?

I know it should be single foot for great weight reduction, I was liking the look of the metal REC guides.

[Hotrods]

TATSG / TLAG combo for me...titanium Alloy t frame with SIC rings, light AS a feather, rust proof, and just darn sexy !

dont like recs personally and refuse to use them...

[Shane]

Is that just because of the look?

[splashy]

I've got two rods with RECs on them and love them. I especially really like the extra sensitivity they provide in feeling braid line movement over the guides. On graphite rods you can really feel the vibrations - they are transferred through the guides to the rod and to the hand. Now that I have tried them, I plan on building some rods with them, and maybe retro-fitting them to some of my existing rods. Thumbs up from me. I know some people don't like them, and one of the common complaints is the noise factor, with the rattle from the guides. Again, personnaly, I love it when I get smashed by a solid fish and the line rattles out through the guides. All part of the experience.

[Hotrods]

mm not really, im not Super excited about the look..its mor the pros cons side of things..anytime anything new comes out i try to sit back and watch how it goes for a while..
so they are totally rush proof, and rust proof and light..nice
but after hearing repost of the barra guys carving them up in a season (that means a rebuild) and the bream guies getting NASTY tangles with UL braids..more of a headache...

[Brad Y]

recoil recoils recoils but with a sic tip. You have to love the noise they make when your loaded up on a big fish

Had a fish wth the Smiths Dancing Bream up on the Goldcoast, has "PE concept guides" casts very nicely, and guides set up this way to stop tangles.

http://www.australianangling.com.au/DANCING%20BREAM.htm

Mark

[brad mcdonald]

been using reoils for about 3 years now - first rod i had was recoils top to bottom and i had a few dramas with tangles. now i use a sic tip and striper (but any "normal" braid friendly guides would be fine) with recoils in the guts.

as far as i can tell the only limitation with that set up is that every rod has a lot of silver in it thanks to the recoils ..... i can live with that

[Kustom]

I have to admit, i love my Recs.

The sesitivity and lightness continues to amaze me and also , i use a Sic tip aswell. I simply cannot go back!

WILL

[Shortlite]

Fuji or American Tackle Titaniums for light weight, performance and corrosion resistance. Within the two ranges there's plenty of scope for bling and good looks. Fuji: TYSG, TATSG, TLSG, TSG, TFST tips. AmTak Titan: NIA, GNIA, NIF (or NRILF Ring Lock), GNIF, tips NHLT, GNHLT. Only problem with the AmTaks is that the tips are 316 stainless, not titanium.

Fuji's titaniums use SiC, AmTak's use Nanolite, which I am pretty sure is high grade Zirconia. The Zirconia is the same ring that you see in blue, silver and gold finishes. Both titanium ranges offer a silver Ti guide frame, although the Fuji TYSG are less bright.

Personally, I hate the look and noise of REC recoils. They are metal (softer than ceramic), and can groove over time. Undoubtedly the lightest, but they look crap.

For less money, there are the other high frame offerings from Fuji, in SiC, Alconite, Aluminium Oxide, and Hardloy (all heavier frames, using stainless steels and various finishes, rings can be heavier also), and high frames from Batson, AmTak, Pac Bay, etc., using Duralite, AlO. Just a matter of knowing how much you want to spend, what you want to achieve, and the look you like.

[Leethal]

Recoils for sure (2 out of 3 of my bream sticks have em), but only for light/ultra light line fishing.

I can't see the point of using them on medium to heavy tackle eg. barra fishing??