Topwaterspook Posted February 14, 2013 Posted February 14, 2013 I've never used a rod with micro guides. Is this just a gimmic or is there a definite advantage to them ? Quote
GoneFishi'n Posted February 14, 2013 Posted February 14, 2013 I don't know if there are any advantages, but the company's say there are. I love my micro magics(duckett). I have one medium and one heavy. The heavy is so light and strong. The medium has a beefy backbone and a light tip. Quote
Super User new2BC4bass Posted February 14, 2013 Super User Posted February 14, 2013 I personally don't like the looks of the micro guides. They are suppose to increase casting distance....according to the rod builders. However, I have read from an Average Joe that he didn't notice any increase in distance. They are suppose to be lighter. They should be since they are smaller, but for me personally, that .05 oz. savings isn't enough to overcome their looks. Quote
Super User SPEEDBEAD. Posted February 14, 2013 Super User Posted February 14, 2013 I've got them on three of my swimbait sticks. I like the looks but their effect on my casting distance and the weight savings is negligible on a 8' or 8'6" rod. Spiral wrapped micros for me from now on. The spiral is the way to go, regardless of guide type. Quote
thehooligan Posted February 14, 2013 Posted February 14, 2013 I had a veritas micro rod and i thought it was alright. Im hoping to get the new cumara dropshot rod with the micros and see how it performs... Quote
Matt Jungblut Posted February 14, 2013 Posted February 14, 2013 i have a 7 foot smoke rod and i really like the micro guides. i think it casts further. I bought the rod for plastics and spinnerbaits and find i dont ever want to put it down 1 Quote
Super User rippin-lips Posted February 14, 2013 Super User Posted February 14, 2013 Personally I prefer the look of micro guides over standard. The increased distance was minimal if any at all. They are lighter but once again not by anything substancial. For me it did help cut down on some backlashes due to decreased line slap through the guides. They also don't get banged around as much going in and out of the rod locker. Quote
Delaware Valley Tackle Posted February 14, 2013 Posted February 14, 2013 The idea of the weight savings using smaller guides is not for felt weight, it's to allow the blank to retain as much of it's original design charateristics and performance as possible. A half ounce on the tip end of a jig rod is substantial. Increased casting distance is secondary benefit if at all. And you cant compare a micro rod to another rod because there will be other differences. The only way to really settle that debate would be to wrap the exact blank both ways and see if there's a difference. In what I've seen working with blanks I believe there to be a slight benefit casting wise but nothing I've measured or documented. Quote
jeb2 Posted February 15, 2013 Posted February 15, 2013 My newest rod is a Kistler Custom with micro guides. I have bunches of GLX, NRX and Dobyn's Extreme rods. From a casting perspective, I see no advantage at all. Not apples to apples, as delware says, but it's certainly easy to notice it's not a big add there. So I doubt I'd get them again since there are drawbacks, too, like on frosty mornings when they freeze close easier. I'll never get another rod from Kistler, either. Complete disaster getting my "custom" rod screwed up by them 3 times, and it's still not right. Quote
papajoe222 Posted February 15, 2013 Posted February 15, 2013 I only had one rod with micro guides and my dislike of them had nothing to do with their looks, but of their durability. On my third outing, the insert on the tip came off. I was fishing a Carolina rig and didn't notice the small insert wasn't there. My first cast after, I knew something was wrong, but couldn't figure out what it was. When my line snapped of a subsequent cast, I figured it out. If I could find a replacement tip, I'd probably continue using the rod, but I'm sure I'll never purchase another. Quote
Crookedneck Posted February 15, 2013 Posted February 15, 2013 DVT and Jeb2 are both right on with their posts above. Living in the northern part of the country, micros do ice up alot faster in colder weather. One of the benifits is less snags in a locker. Threading your line through the micros can be challenging for some. Quote
Super User WRB Posted February 15, 2013 Super User Posted February 15, 2013 I had 3 custom jig rods made a year ago with Kigan micro guides on a light weight scrimless blank. The key to micro guides is using the high quality guides placed on the rod blank correctly. The first 2 guides must be larger then the other guides, placed to prevent line slap coming out of the reel, done properly casting distance is improved and line drag reduced. Micro guides for bait casting rods are single foot and very low to the rod blank, the guide line holes are very small, other than to 1st 2 guides. The small guide diameter creates a challenge stringing at night or low light conditions. The advantages far out weigh any disadvantage. Tom 1 Quote
Super User kickerfish1 Posted February 15, 2013 Super User Posted February 15, 2013 Micro guide rods will utilize more guides on a given rod. The smaller guides are closer to the blank to help with feel. Some rods will use "semi micro" guides towards the last 1/3 of the blank and regular sized guides towers the bottom of the blank to help with balance and help avoid having a rod get tip heavy. If fish cold water lakes at times during the year and also fish during a fair amount of cotton blooms along with some weedy conditions. Take these things into account and it can be a hassle at times getting line to pass through. To me they are fine during the right conditions but for me I tend to opt for regular guides and semi micro guides. Quote
BenB54 Posted February 15, 2013 Posted February 15, 2013 I have two rods that have semi micro guides and all my others excluding one have micros. I haven't had any problems or been in a situation in which I wished i had one over the other. Quote
TNBassin' Posted February 15, 2013 Posted February 15, 2013 As much as I like Abu, DO NOT buy any of their micro guide rods unless you are in store and can inspect the rod in person. I bought a couple Veritas micro guide rods online, only to get them and have the guides all misaligned or the epoxy was cracked around them. This is the exact reason why I haven't pulled the trigger on a Villain micro guide yet, as no stores here have any to visually inspect. Never seen any standard guide rods with this issue. 1 Quote
BrettD Posted February 15, 2013 Posted February 15, 2013 I have several and the only advantages I feel the micros have over the regular guides is the are easier to get in and out of the rod box, rods dont seem to get tangle together as bad, and I feel pitching and flipping accuracy is better. 1 Quote
BasskingKeith Posted February 16, 2013 Posted February 16, 2013 Not sure if mentioned, micro guides bring increased sensitivity as well. There's an advantage. Quote
jeb2 Posted February 16, 2013 Posted February 16, 2013 Not sure if mentioned, micro guides bring increased sensitivity as well. There's an advantage. Is there something definitive that shows that to be true, or is just a subjective thing? Not putting down your comment at all, just wondering. I'd be interested in reading more information about that. Quote
Dramer77 Posted February 16, 2013 Posted February 16, 2013 As much as I like Abu, DO NOT buy any of their micro guide rods unless you are in store and can inspect the rod in person. I bought a couple Veritas micro guide rods online, only to get them and have the guides all misaligned or the epoxy was cracked around them. This is the exact reason why I haven't pulled the trigger on a Villain micro guide yet, as no stores here have any to visually inspect. Never seen any standard guide rods with this issue. i had these exact issues with the new vendetta rods.. i think abu has quality issues.. part of the reason i returned them and now have a Dobyns Savvy micro guide rod Quote
Dramer77 Posted February 16, 2013 Posted February 16, 2013 Is there something definitive that shows that to be true, or is just a subjective thing? Not putting down your comment at all, just wondering. I'd be interested in reading more information about that. ive read many many tech articles from pro's about how the with there being more guides and sitting closer to the blank that there is a nice increase in sensitivity , along with cutting down on line slap while casting which cuts down on the possibility of bird nesting and helping casting distance... 1 Quote
BasskingKeith Posted February 16, 2013 Posted February 16, 2013 Is there something definitive that shows that to be true, or is just a subjective thing? Not putting down your comment at all, just wondering. I'd be interested in reading more information about that. It's because the guides are so close to the rod, it's almost like the line is part of the rod. If that makes any sense. Quote
Lil'skeeter Posted February 19, 2013 Posted February 19, 2013 I have two Kistlers that had guides come loose so I re-wrapped them with spiral wrapped micros. I love 'em. I've built three rods with spiral micros for club members and they like them as well. You can definitely tell the difference when you replace regular guides with micros, in weight and sensitivity. Quote
jeb2 Posted February 19, 2013 Posted February 19, 2013 It's because the guides are so close to the rod, it's almost like the line is part of the rod. If that makes any sense. I'm not so sure. The line is very close to the blank with normal guides, too. Does a small fraction of an inch make any difference? Paint me skeptical. Quote
BasskingKeith Posted February 19, 2013 Posted February 19, 2013 I'm not so sure. The line is very close to the blank with normal guides, too. Does a small fraction of an inch make any difference? Paint me skeptical. Paint you skeptical? Allow me to paint you a picture lol. The guides sit real close to the blank, all of them do. Not just the tip and 1 or 2 guides down. -That's my painting lol. The only real way for you to see for yourself is by trying a friend's out, or maybe one that's spooled up in a store. OTHER than that though, I believe it's probably a preference thing to have micro guides or not. I do not own one, just used my friends for a day or two. Will I get one, one day? hmm probably not, especially if a rod I want doesn't have that option. Quote
jeb2 Posted February 19, 2013 Posted February 19, 2013 Paint you skeptical? Allow me to paint you a picture lol. The guides sit real close to the blank, all of them do. Not just the tip and 1 or 2 guides down. -That's my painting lol. The only real way for you to see for yourself is by trying a friend's out, or maybe one that's spooled up in a store. OTHER than that though, I believe it's probably a preference thing to have micro guides or not. I do not own one, just used my friends for a day or two. Will I get one, one day? hmm probably not, especially if a rod I want doesn't have that option. I don't have to borrow one. As I said above, I own a Kistler custom 7'6" z-bone with micro guides already. I compared it closely to my NRX 893 and there is maybe 1/32" difference in how close the line sits to the blank. Both are very sensitive rods, but I give credit to the blanks there, not the size of the guides. To each their own and all. Not putting down micros. I've just never seen anything definitive to say they give a rod better sensitivity than other high end rod guides. Quote
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