Single foot or snake

[Saltybum 0]

A lot of great information here. Thanks for all the replies.

[artimus001 0]

A lot of great information here. Thanks for all the replies.

i totally agree. i was asking myself this very question last week.

[ditz2 0]

Yep....Lots of good info here. I seem to remember that Capt Bob has mentioned turning the rod upside down when a fast run is anticipated. I had forgotten his previous comment probably because I have never been confronted with such a situation.

[Philly 0]

I'm one of those who loves the single foot Fuji guides though with an SIC ring rather than ceramic. The first rod I built I used snake guides, didn't like the way they cast the line, so I replaced them with single foot fly guides. They didn't work well with the 8 wgt line. Inside diameter of the guides was too small. Next time I went to pick up a blank I talked to the owner of the place and he suggested I try the Fuji spin guides. I've used them on all the fly rods I've built since then. They definitely shoot line better and they give the rods an unique look. Of course I've been told by other fly fishers on fly fishing only stretches of some local streams to leave because they thought I was using a spinning rod.

[vicrider 0]

Philly, I'm not a traditionalist by any means but if you're using guides big enough for people to thing you've a spinning rod that's too big for me.

 

At one of the bamboo gatherings held around the country that was put to the test by identical rods being built, one with snakes and one with Fuji SIC rings or lightweight ceramics. I wasn't at that one but guess the verdict for distance and ease of shooting line went clearly to single foots. Yet, most of the guys said that single foot guides on a bamboo rod are just too far a leap into the future for a tradition based fly rod.

[RoyalRenegade 0]

I don't think it matters much to me either, but, I can tell you that you'll probably appreciate the single foots better when your fishing in really cold weather. Then, you normally don't have to worry about ice in the guides. Just have to worry about the reel freezing up. Its some fun when you hook a good sized fish and have to dip the reel under water to keep the fish from breaking off.

[switch10 0]

I don't think it matters much to me either, but, I can tell you that you'll probably appreciate the single foots better when your fishing in really cold weather. Then, you normally don't have to worry about ice in the guides. Just have to worry about the reel freezing up. Its some fun when you hook a good sized fish and have to dip the reel under water to keep the fish from breaking off.

Actually, it is opposite. Single foot guides freeze up a little easier than snake guides do.

 

In my opindion, the best guides for winter fishing are the REC Recoil snake guides. They flex so they shed the ice build up pretty easily without having to stop fishing to clear out your guides.

[Philly 0]

Vicrider:

They stand out if you're use to seeing snake guides on a fly rod. They're not that big. More the size you would see on the top half of a spinning rod. The top of the largest single foot sits about 15 mm is above the blank, the smallest about 7 mm. They keep the line from slapping against the rod which helps shoot the line. I certainly wouldn't use them if I were building a bamboo rod.

[J-Kno 0]

From purely an aesthetics point of view, snake foot guides are the only way to go.... For me.

[Steeldrifter 0]

 

I don't think it matters much to me either, but, I can tell you that you'll probably appreciate the single foots better when your fishing in really cold weather. Then, you normally don't have to worry about ice in the guides. Just have to worry about the reel freezing up. Its some fun when you hook a good sized fish and have to dip the reel under water to keep the fish from breaking off.

Actually, it is opposite. Single foot guides freeze up a little easier than snake guides do.

 

In my opindion, the best guides for winter fishing are the REC Recoil snake guides. They flex so they shed the ice build up pretty easily without having to stop fishing to clear out your guides.

 

 

They actually both ice up about the same. The only way to combat icing of guides is with the ID size of the guide. A larger opening takes longer to ice up, but then you are just left with a bigger chunk of ice to have to clear so it's not really better or worse when it comes to SF vs Dble for ice up. As to Recoils I personally don't care for them myself, the noise they make when casting/shooting line just irritates me to no end lol

[mikechell 0]

Just a bit off topic, but ... If you spray the guides with a water repellent ... will that reduce the icing problem?

[Steeldrifter 0]

As a life long Michigan steelheader I've tried everything under the sun to avoid iced guides Mike, Pam cooking spray is the main thing I have found to help a tad. Still ice up at some point though. Best way to keep the guides from icing, move to FL. Then again you are already there lol

[heavynets 0]

Steeldrifter, do both the standard and light-wire Recoil guides have noise issues? I know the light-wire single foot Recoil guides sing. The double foot light-wire type have not been a problem for me. What about you?

[Steeldrifter 0]

The double foot recoils don't have the singing issue like the SF ones. With single foot recoils you get the singing because of the light wire creating harmonics and the single contact point of the guide. That isn't an issue with dble foot recoils. I haven't used any of the HD recoils so can't speak on if they sing like the light ones do.

[mikechell 0]

Hey, I had an icing problem a few days back ...

I dropped my rod in a cupcake I'd been saving for a snack. Got icing all up in the second guide from the end.

Of course, the icing was melting in the 77 degree heat outside, anyway, so no big deal.