Guide material for baitcaster (using braid)

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Emerald90

Emerald90

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 19, 2012
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Im planning on buying a new baitcaster and I have some questions regarding the eye/guide materials

1) stainless steel vs ceramic: I heard that ceramic guides are better than stainless steel, especially when using braid, as they tend to last longer. Is this true?

2) if a guide popped out, where can I buy replacements?

3) are the "micro guides" better than regular ones?
 
ceramic
basspro, sail or tightlines
yes

ceramic will last a bit longer and give better distance, guides can be bought anywhere and micro guides are better because they remove the flutter in the line when casting giving an extra 25% distance
 
Ceramic will give the distance to help with casting, use the Super Slick braid for anything other than pitching/flipping. The Micro Guides can be good but depends on what you are doing. Can't say they are always better. If you want casting distance they do help but minor differences depending on what baits you toss. If you pitch or flip, use a regular guide. Fuji Guides all the way though,
 
alwayscatching said:
Ceramic will give the distance to help with casting, use the Super Slick braid for anything other than pitching/flipping. The Micro Guides can be good but depends on what you are doing. Can't say they are always better. If you want casting distance they do help but minor differences depending on what baits you toss. If you pitch or flip, use a regular guide. Fuji Guides all the way though,
Click to expand...
i love fuji guides, i like micro guides but its kinda preference thing but alwayscatching is more knowledgeable at this than i am
 
thanks for the reply guys.

Ceramic would give better distance, but would stainless steel wear down faster than ceramic? Im going to be putting 20lb powerpro on it. I dont really mind the distance, but I want the durable one.

Right now im planning on getting the ugly stik casting rod, and it comes with stainless steel guides.
 
They both ar fine, you mainly see a difference if your tourni fishing like I think alwayscatching does
 
aren't all baitcasting rods made to be used with braid? assuming it is not a 30 dollar rod.
 
then just use the rod till or if you destroy it then buy new rod. cause good guides will cost you more than your rod lol.
 
Yea Klik is right. If it is just an ugly stick, do not worry too much. You can beat the crap out of those things. If your looking for a future rod for a specific bait set up. Let me know. Baitcasters can be tough for baits/line/rods. Also, Klik, Baitcasters work best with at least 30 lbs braid. But I have been experimenting lately, I do not recommend this to everyone but for jerk baits I have starting using a 10 lbs suffix mono on a baitcaster. I still like fluorocarbon better though.
 
I have Fuji alconite guides and am impressed with them so far....theyre durable and feel like they'll hold up for a long time. Not the most expensive guides in the world but I'm happy with them
 
here's my 2cents, ceramic or steel. Steel can absorb heat faster than ceramic. Steel will retain heat longer than ceramic. Steel is more flexible. Ceramic will dissipate heat faster than steel. Ceramic will always be more expensive. Ceramic is more brittle than steel. You drop your ceramic will crack or break easily depends how high or how hard you drop it. Ceramic will last longer. This are property of materials.
 
hmmmmmm..........all interesting comments.
True that Fuji rod guides are still number 1 on the market and ceramic ring guides are the preferred ring material for using braided lines. Unfortunately they are brittle and will pop out of the frames easier than others. The ring itself cannot be replaced and therefore the guide must be removed from the rod blank and replaced with a new one. I have replaced more ceramic ring guides than most others I know of strictly for that reason. They will not take rough handling or much abuse. They are also not the only guide used on casting rods.............hardloy and alconite are just as good unless you're a tournament angler.
Micro guides are just a new thing and perhaps a preference for some anglers, but the real issue has to do with overall rod weight, not casting distance. Guide ring type, size and placement along the rod blank determines the best overall casting distance and only if the rod is balanced properly with a correct reel using the recommended line ratings for the rod & reel combination.
As for your Ugly Stick......................it's been already said...........use it as is............
 
just ordered my abu garcia revo sx.

Still deciding which rod to order.........after taking a good look around, the BPS graphite rod seems like a good rod as well :( hard to decide.


David Parker said:
Unfortunately they are brittle and will pop out of the frames easier than others.
Click to expand...
Can I just use some superglue around the ring and glue the guide in place if it pops out?
 
Giant Hippo said:
Can I just use some superglue around the ring and glue the guide in place if it pops out?
Click to expand...
well its like taping a reel to the seat, it may work till you need it then it will simply fall apart
 
I dont know how effective superglueing a guide to the ring might be, but its definitely not the same as taping a reel to the seat lol. Its probably going to stay in place pretty good, unless you drop it, since the only forces acting on a guide are the downward pressure on the line, and the minor friction when the line goes through the guide. The downward force shouldnt be THAT much of a problem (superglue, right? and you got the ring to support it), and dragging a line acrodd a guide shouldnt cause even the crappiest ones to pop out.
 
alwayscatching said:
I would not use the graphite series unless its a budget reason.
Click to expand...
Whats wrong with them? and what rod would you recommend?

Im not looking for anything fancy, but it must be a 2-piece rod. IM6/ fiberglass/graphite composite prefered. I do drop my rods occasionally and I need something not too expensive and fragile.
Its going to be a general fishing rod, from panfish to pike.

I thought the graphite series might be good cause its got a full rating (although only 8 ratings), and its pretty cheap.

I thought about this rod as well, but Its got metal guides instead of ceramics ones (thats what it looked like from the pics) of the graphite series.
 

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