Is There Any Benefit Of Micro-Guides?

[Rhino68W]

I have seen rods with and without micro-guides. Are there any true benefits of having them, or is it just a perception/placebo thing?

[J Francho]

Less mass, especially on a spiral wrapped custom.

 

 

[lordpaxin]

"If I only had micro guides I would have caught that fish / won the tournament"

Said no one. Ever. And never will

That being said I fall for it myself

The desire for better under the delusion it will enhance my game

It's been said on here before

Give KVD a snoopy spin cast and he will still out fish you everytime

[WRB]

Micro guides are lighter weight and help prevent line slapping the rod blank during the cast because you have more guides closer together. Advantage is casting distance and slightly better strike detection for underwater lures.

The down side is micro guides are more fragile than heavier guides and they have small diameter guide rings that make it difficult to pass line with knots through.

Tom

[Logan S]

I honestly don't believe there is significant, tangible advantage to them...I understand the selling points, but in the real world I think it's negligible... And I have fished with them enough to have what I believe is an informed opinion.

 

Not to say you shouldn't buy one... I have several myself.  If the rod feels good to you, it feels good...micro guides or not!  I just wouldn't let the guide style sway me one way or the other.  

[HoosierHawgs]

Lighter better balanced rod, greater accuracy.

[Hogsticker]

I can't stand "standard" size casting guides, and hate true micros. I'm a tweener.

[S Hovanec]

Any time you remove weight from a rod, its a good thing. So called micro guides remove the weight from a location where its the most critical, the tip section. Is it a lot of weight? No. Does it make a difference in feel? Most definitely, especially on lite and medium lite rods.

For years, 6mm guides have been the standard running guide for most manufacturers. Heres a little example. A 6mm alconite fly guide weighs 2 grains. A 4mm alconite fly guide weighs 0.67 grains. A rod with 6 runners would realize a weight savings of 8 grains, or the equivalent of 4 6mm guides.

Is it a mental thing? Maybe. But I know I love the feel of my dropshot rods with the 3.5mm and 4mm TiSiC, and I can feel the difference between my old one with the 6mm guides on it.

You should use the smallest guide to pass your connections.

[fisherrw]

I honestly don't think it helps much....

[fisherrw]

The casting any ways.

[fisherrw]

I had a KVD cranking rod with micro guides and the guides were micro guides and dident help much...

[S Hovanec]

Most people comparing rods with and without micros aren't really doing it properly. Blanks need to be identical. Not a MH Duckett with micros and a MH Bionic Blade without. By identical, I don't mean 2 rods with the same specs. Even rods of the same model will have differences. The blanks are all hand sanded, so minor variations will occur. I have had 3 rods of the same model in my shop before and without lookking at the labels, you couldn't tell they were the same, they felt that different.

Apologies to the OP for derailing your thread.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Any time you remove weight from acrod, its a good thing. So called micro guides remove the weight from a location where its the most critical, the tip section. Is it a lot of weight? No. Does it make a difference in feel? Most definitely, especially on lite and medium lite rods.

For years, 6mm guides have been the standard running guide for most manufacturers. Heres a little example. A 6mm alconite fly guide weighs 2 grains. A 4mm alconite fly guide weighs 0.67 grains. A rod with 6 runners would realize a weight savings of 8 grains, or the equivalent of 4 6mm guides.

Is it a mental thing? Maybe. But I know I love the feel of my dropshots rods with the 3.5mm and 4mm TiSiC, and I can feel the difference between my old one with the 6mm guides on it.

X2  Micro vs. Standard / Braid vs Mono / Tungsten vs Lead / etc. It's all a game of inches, no one factor will likely be make or break. Rather, the most efficient setup you can build may tip the scales in your favor or just make the experience that much more enjoyable. 

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Most people comparing rods with and without micros aren't really doing it properly. Blanks need to be identical. Not a MH Duckett with micros and a MH Bionic Blade without. By identical, I don't mean 2 rods with the same specs. Even rods of the same model will have differences. The blanks are all hand sanded, so minor variations will occur. I have had 3 rods of the same model in my shop before and without lookking at the labels, you couldn't tell they were the same, they felt that different.

Apologies to the OP for derailing your thread.

Being a skeptic at heart, early on I did just this and built a Med / F spinning rod with "standard" guides, test cast and fished it. Then stripped and rebuilt it with "Micro" guides (middle of the road 4.5's) and definitely saw and felt the difference. I can now recommend and use them wherever appropriate. As for fragility, quality guides of whatever size are important. In my experience any handling practices that can break guides are at least as likely to cause blank damage and failure. 

[smalljaw67]

The 2 things I noticed are the weight and what I can only explain as smoothness. I have 1 true micro guide rod and it is a Quantum Smoke in a 7' MH-F and the guides are tightly spaced at the top of the rod yet it is very well balanced and light but making a cast seems effortless. I know this will sound strange but my casts are getting longer, it is like they are made with less effort because it feels smooth, like I said, I can't explain it other than saying the cast just feels smooth.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

The 2 things I noticed are the weight and what I can only explain as smoothness. I have 1 true micro guide rod and it is a Quantum Smoke in a 7' MH-F and the guides are tightly spaced at the top of the rod yet it is very well balanced and light but making a cast seems effortless. I know this will sound strange but my casts are getting longer, it is like they are made with less effort because it feels smooth, like I said, I can't explain it other than saying the cast just feels smooth.

Yup. What I believe you're referring to is the rods improved "speed" as in frequency not action. 

[Hogsticker]

I just don't see any reason to use anything smaller or larger than a 4.5 for runners. They aren't big and clunky, they aren't so small I have difficulties threading my line. Passes leader connections just fine. Even a 6 for a stripper is to big for me. I like a 5.5 or 5. These smaller guides keep the weight down, and due to the smaller guides I feel I have less of a chance with damaging them. Mid micro guide train works best for me.

[F14A-B]

I agree with hogsticker, I like a Fuji macro well enough... A rod should get you years down the road, generally speaking. But micros can't even make it to the brick & mortar places without breaking, inserts popping out, so tiny they cannot even tie them properly. It's a sham, Jury is out... They break more than a macro or standard guideset. If having a custom rod made? Don't skimp on the guides. Consumer market rods? Skip the micros.. Get macros or bigger..

[Kyle46N]

The 2 things I noticed are the weight and what I can only explain as smoothness. I have 1 true micro guide rod and it is a Quantum Smoke in a 7' MH-F and the guides are tightly spaced at the top of the rod yet it is very well balanced and light but making a cast seems effortless. I know this will sound strange but my casts are getting longer, it is like they are made with less effort because it feels smooth, like I said, I can't explain it other than saying the cast just feels smooth.

 

That's exactly how I felt with micro guides on a bait caster.  Casting distance increased without a doubt, but like you said, just felt smoother.   Probably attribute it to what someone said earlier bout the line hitting the rod less.  

[Boogey Man]

We want micro guides to "funnel" the line through the guides, which would seem to create more friction by the line making more contact with the guides, right?

 

But, and I mean this part half jokingly, we praise Daiwa's TWS for better free flow of line off the spool thereby eliminating friction of line make contact with the line guide. Now, I know the TWS has more to do with reducing the angle the line comes off the spool, but I hope y'all know what I'm getting at, lol.

 

I honestly don't know what "line slap" is, never seen it or heard it on a casting rod in about 30 years of bass fishing.

 

I have one micro guide rod, honestly my distance is less than traditional guides and I seem to "hook" my casts to the side of my target.

 

Just my opinion.

[Rhino68W]

Most people comparing rods with and without micros aren't really doing it properly. Blanks need to be identical. Not a MH Duckett with micros and a MH Bionic Blade without. By identical, I don't mean 2 rods with the same specs. Even rods of the same model will have differences. The blanks are all hand sanded, so minor variations will occur. I have had 3 rods of the same model in my shop before and without lookking at the labels, you couldn't tell they were the same, they felt that different.

Apologies to the OP for derailing your thread.

Not a problem, this kind of info is why I asked