Micro Guides: All That?

[E. Guido Soda]

I dunked a Duckett Micro Magic yesterday, so I'm in the market for a new rod.  I have another Micro Magic (Pro), and I like them alright, but I'm not really sure I want to pay the extra $$ over, say, a Veritas / Veracity or a similar piece.  I guess my question is what good, in reality, are the micro-guides?  I'm not noticing any significant casting distance or accuracy on topwater or swimbait casting, nor am I noticing any less line wear than on my other casting rods.  Any reason to plunk down another $180 rather than $119 - $139 for a rod in the same general class?

 

Thx,

 

EGS

[WdyCrankbait]

I have an Okuma Helios with micro guides and yeah, I am not drinking the Kool-Aid either on micro guides.  For me, my big adversity to them is I always forsee myself have to string up on the dock in pitch black before a sunrise and what a pain that would be.

 

Personally, it does not sound like you should spend the extra money on a micro-guide rod from what you're saying.

[E. Guido Soda]

I have an Okuma Helios with micro guides and yeah, I am not drinking the Kool-Aid either on micro guides.  For me, my big adversity to them is I always forsee myself have to string up on the dock in pitch black before a sunrise and what a pain that would be.

 

Personally, it does not sound like you should spend the extra money on a micro-guide rod from what you're saying.

 

Yes, gettinig the line through the guides is a pain in the a$$, but not necessarily a deal breaker.  Again, I don't dislike the rod at all, I like the action fine, they seem to be pretty tough, but if I can get something of similar quality for $50 less or more, that's what I think I'll do.

[Jrob78]

If you think the Duckett rods are no better than the Veritas rods, that makes the decision pretty easy.  Micro guides don't add $50 of value to a rod by themselves.  In fact, I think they make Veritas with micro guides and Ducketts with regular guides.  

 

The main benefit of micro guides is they remove weight from the tip end of rods.  This makes rods more responsive and fish closer to the raw blank.  The more weight you add, the less efficient a rod becomes.

 

Most of my rods have some degree of micro guides.  The weight savings and benefit of said weight savings is "all that" for me.

[S Hovanec]

I'm not gonna beat this dead horse too hard today, I've done that enough in the past. There are people that don't like micros and have made that decision based on poorly executed rods or using micros for an application where they have no business being used. From a cost standpoint, Fuji 4mm thru 6mm guides are exactly the same price, so there is no difference there.

[E. Guido Soda]

If you think the Duckett rods are no better than the Veritas rods, that makes the decision pretty easy.  Micro guides don't add $50 of value to a rod by themselves.  In fact, I think they make Veritas with micro guides and Ducketts with regular guides.  

 

The main benefit of micro guides is they remove weight from the tip end of rods.  This makes rods more responsive and fish closer to the raw blank.  The more weight you add, the less efficient a rod becomes.

 

Most of my rods have some degree of micro guides.  The weight savings and benefit of said weight savings is "all that" for me.

 

I'm pretty sure I didn't say that duckett rods are no better than Veritas rods, I *asked* why pay the money over a Veritas or a Veracity.  And I also own a Duckett Ghost (regular guides) and it's a decent rod, but nothing stands out over any other $99 rod I've used. 

 

What I'm really asking, and you answered, is what good the micro guides are - weight and response.   Thx - I guess I should take that into consideration when looking for a new one. 

[S Hovanec]

What I'm really asking, and you answered, is what good the micro guides are - weight and response.

Think of this when you're looking at rods: one 6mm guide weighs more than 3 4mm guides (Fuji Alconite).

[BassinLou]

One of my rods has micro guides. After fishing with it for several yrs now, I don't find there is any significant advantage over regular guides. Save yourself the $$ and go with regular sized guides. 

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

I'm not gonna beat this dead horse too hard today, I've done that enough in the past. There are people that don't like micros and have made that decision based on poorly executed rods or using micros for an application where they have no business being used. From a cost standpoint, Fuji 4mm thru 6mm guides are exactly the same price, so there is no difference there.

X2 thank you.

[Jrob78]

I'm pretty sure I didn't say that duckett rods are no better than Veritas rods, I *asked* why pay the money over a Veritas or a Veracity.  And I also own a Duckett Ghost (regular guides) and it's a decent rod, but nothing stands out over any other $99 rod I've used. 

 

What I'm really asking, and you answered, is what good the micro guides are - weight and response.   Thx - I guess I should take that into consideration when looking for a new one. 

I assumed when you asked, "why pay the money over a Veritas or a Veracity," you meant that you didn't see the Duckett as being a better rod.  That's why I responded the way I did.  I have no personal experience with any of those rods so my comments are based on the benefits of micro guides alone, not on any specific rod.

[Glenn]

[Big Bait Fishing]

i totaly agree with what Aaron Martens says about the line being tighter to the blank and less slack in the guides ! totally makes a LOT of sense ! i use micro guides on ALL my rods (spinning casting and even my swimbait rod ) plus all my rods are long (7'8'', 7'10'' , & 9') so weight reduction on already tip heavy rods are a major plus !!!

[E. Guido Soda]

 

He lost me at "it's almost like your line lasts longer...it's really weird."  In doing more research, it seems that the micro guides would be best for flipping, punching, soft baits, etc. where you're maybe not looking for as much distance but needing to feel everything you come in contact with on the bottom / in structure.  But maybe they are not the best idea for cranking, swimbait fishing, and certain topwater baits, where you need as much distance as you can get while not necessarily needing to feel every single tick of the line.  Thanks for sharing.

[poisonokie]

I'm not gonna beat this dead horse too hard today, I've done that enough in the past. There are people that don't like micros and have made that decision based on poorly executed rods or using micros for an application where they have no business being used. From a cost standpoint, Fuji 4mm thru 6mm guides are exactly the same price, so there is no difference there.

 

that's right. I love them on my bfs rods, they pass a 20# braid->6# fluoro uni/uni knot just fine when I use one and do seem to allow for more controlled and accurate casts and probably contribute to sensitivity and balance. They are k series micros, which aren't as micro as others and I wouldn't want them on a flipping/pitching type setup. Every innovation has its place, but none is all-encompassing so everything's a compromise. The upshot is that if you want the most versatility, don't use micros; if you want the best for specific techniques that benefit from micros, by all means use them.

[gulfcaptain]

He lost me at "it's almost like your line lasts longer...it's really weird."  In doing more research, it seems that the micro guides would be best for flipping, punching, soft baits, etc. where you're maybe not looking for as much distance but needing to feel everything you come in contact with on the bottom / in structure.  But maybe they are not the best idea for cranking, swimbait fishing, and certain topwater baits, where you need as much distance as you can get while not necessarily needing to feel every single tick of the line.  Thanks for sharing.

Sorry, I use quite a few rods for cranking and topwater with micro guides.  And when you get to a point where you can tell what your bait is doing when you crank you do want to feel every little tick for anything that is different.  And I can get just as much casting distance out of them as say a rod with larger guides. But I use mulitple rods with different styles which could be regular, micro, or minima guides.  Just depends on the rod.  But as far as paying the difference you were talking about, that would be tough.  I can do the $25-30 extra, but higher then that, I think I'd go regular.

[Bluebasser86]

If you fish anywhere that gets very cold then don't even think about it. I have a few rods with micro guides that I can't use when it's cold because they jam up with ice so fast I can't make more than a cast or two with them. Overall I like them though because they make the rods fish so much like just a rod blank and reduce the weight of the rod. 

[Mike L]

At 1:01 is why I use them, but only on my plastics rods.

Especially on the punch setup.

Mike

[Maxximus Redneckus]

I had them before all i can say is they hang up on anything really quick .i didnt see any benefit using them for anything i do.im sure they will do something good but im ok for now.im surprised rods with micro guides aint marked up 30$ more bucks then regular rods since like lures you gotta have what won a tourney that week.

[E. Guido Soda]

At 1:01 is why I use them, but only on my plastics rods.

Especially on the punch setup.

Mike

 

This is my thinking as noted a few posts back.  I think the finesse baits need that added sensitivity micro guides allegedly give when you are dragging on the bottom or throwing into cover / structure;  I say "allegedly" as I don't think my Duckett Micro Magic provides heightened sensitivity over my dedicated plastics rod, the Loomis E6X...no less, but certainly no more.  And crankbaits simply bang into things giving you all the feedback you need with regular guides.  Just my $.02.

[Jaw1]

I don't pay that much attention to what size guides are on a rod when I pick it up. It's more about how the rod feels. If it happens to have micro guides that's great if not it's not a deal breaker. As for the duckett / Abu comparison it's no contest for me. Duckett wins. They just feel better to me. I had a few veritas/vengeance/veracity and the only one left is the veracity. Vengeance break every other cast and I grew to hate the veritas reel seat. Talk about uncomfortable. The veracity is as good as gone also I'm sure.

[WRB]

Take a look at Aaron's Edge rods, @ $119, $50 off AOY sale.

Tom