MickD

I was not referring to Sea Guide, nor to Alps, Fuji, REC, CRB. I have no experience with CRB. All my builds use Fuji or Alps, did one Sea Guide. Had one ring come out of an Alps guide many years ago. Put it back in and it's still in service with a friend. Yes, I know that doesn't always work, but it did this time. Probably because it was a 25 mm with lots of area for the glue. I grooved cheap tiptops on my old factory rods before I started building again after many years "off." Never have grooved a SIC tiptop. Most titanium frames can be bent a few times before failure, and they are very hard to bend. The questionable ones bend easily and can only be bent a couple times and they break. You can probably tell the integrity of titanium frames this way: If they are very difficult to bend, they are probably not the ones I referred to.

Eric 26, I have not measured it yet, so don't know its diameter. It seems round and smooth, tightly woven. I'm using on an Ark Gravity BFS reel casting very light lures. It seems to cast well so far, but we'll see better on the water. I've had trouble with some braids before seeming to do well in the back yard but not so good on the water. Maybe they get waterlogged/heavy and spin out contacting the reel structure? I won't have it on the water for another month. Regarding thinner braid on casting reels, I think most BFS reels have a more aggressive wrap angle on the level wind to prevent digging in. Update 3/5: Mine measures .0085 inch diameter. Sufix calls it .008.

I have it on a BC reel, have test cast in the yard, not yet in the water. Mine is 10 pound test and it looks and feels very good. I suspect if it's frayed, it got cut on something, possibly a cracked tiptop or guide? I have never had what everyone always suspects: "A bad spool of line."

. . . because? most likely because they were very light. The lighter the guides on most rods and the higher the TNF, the crisper and cleaner the rod feels, and most likely more sensitivity.

I prefer Fujis because they are very high quality, like jewelry for the rod, have a good number of ring and finish options, and their software for locating the reduction guides on spin is bulletproof with KLH reduction guides. The KT's for runners way out on the the blank are very light. I have never had a Fuji fail or cause any problems. Alps guides are high quality also, but I prefer the look of Fujis for most rods. There is one brand which I won't mention here, but I won't use because their titaniums break easily. There are a lot of brands to chose from , but I don't know what to expect from them, not having used them.

The major difference in guide performance on the completed rod is as others have said, weight. The lighter the guide (titanium vs SS), the less the guides will slow down the recovery from deflection of the bare blank. You achieve the lightest guide set with choosing the smallest size you can get away with and the lightest guide in that size (titanium frame vs SS). This can be measured by checking the True Natural Frequency of the blank, then repeating it with different guides. You will see the advantage of lighter guides with higher TNF numbers. The big question is whether or not one can feel what might be a 10 % or so difference in TNF. It should result in longer casts and a crisper, cleaner, feel AND most likely better sensitivity (ability to feel a bite). Out on the rod, in the area of running guides on spin, is where the difference is the greatest. Yes, I have numbers to back up my statements. When I am after the highest performing rods, rods intended for finesse, I use the smallest titanium-framed Fuji guides (and titanium framed tiptop) I can get away with. Usually 4mm runners and tiptop.

https://online.flipbuilder.com/myart/kqin/ This is a good one. HFFcustomrods.com sells it.

I'll not use it under certain conditions, like where thick weeds or other cover would make it problematic trying to get fish out of it. Most of my fishing is in pretty clean water, so it will work for most.

It's fun to cast really light lures on a baitcaster. If you don't want to use 4 pound test, don't. Try 10 pound braid with an 8 pound leader. Or 8 pound mono all the way. There are many ways to enjoy BFS. But if it's all about landing the big fish, maybe it's not the right technique for you.

To keep them off the bottom tie a "drop shot fly" instead of a hair jig and fish it drop shot. It works.

Build your own, then you know exactly how it's built. Seats come "both ways," sized to the blank and one size for all with a sleeve between the blank and the seat. I use the Fuji ACSM seat which is ordered to fit whatever blank I'm using. No sleeve. Blank goes all the way to the butt knob of the split grip. Anyone discussing sensitivity have a "sensitivometer" to objectively measure sensitivity, so that advertising, expectations, price, looks, etc. don't affect the evaluation? Didn't think so.

I have never found a Daiwa that needed oiling before use. If you do oil it, just a drop on the bearings, other pivots/moving parts. Don't take it "apart," just take the side cover off. NO NEED to go into it farther and you would have a good liklihood of screwing it up. Most often needed oiling on casters is the level wind worm gear, just turn it over to expose the worm and a few drops along its length. Check this now and then. When it looks a little dry, oil it.

Easy to check, and gets rid of a possibility, even though rare. If it's a guide, it's most likely the tiptop that is cracked. But keep in mind that FC line is very finicky, and when it gets backlashed, it's likely, very likely, that it will be damaged in getting the backlash cleared. It won't take kindly to the plucking and pulling on loops that it often takes to clear a backlash. AND, it backlashes very easily, IMO.

Great advice! I have NEVER had a "bad spool" of any line, any type, any material. Exc early Vanish, but all of that stuff was bad, not just a "bad spool."

I still can't figure out what the simple question was. What is the simple question?