ultralight casting rod guide placement

[ShimanoFan]

On this early attempt, I crammed the entire 180 degree spiral wrap into about 2 feet of rod length closer to reel. This rod works, but it does not have the zing the exceptional wraps have! I can't get some of those out my head... 4 in particular I have built over the years that are just pure gold to me.

I don't use this rod any more because of my mistakes. Maybe one day I'll strip it down and bring it up to date...

But there are problems with doing that... such as I used double footed titanium oxide guides for strength back then. Overkill big time. But the problem is removing all the epoxy from the blank so it is a clean slate for the single foot guides. There will always be some blemishes when doing this refurb thing.

Today I use exclusively single foot micro guides. I get better rod balance, less weight closer to tip. Handles and casts like a dream.

[Bronzeye]

So im ...planning on using the airwave guides.

I've never done a spiral wrap, but question this choice of guide when your line is going to meet it at the side of the ring on the first few guides up from the reel--if you are ever going to use line-to-leader knots. The inserts on Airwave guides appear to me (from photos) to be thinner than normal and closer to the frames. Seems to me a junction knot and its tag(s) would be more likely to slam into the guide frame when approaching a thinner insert at an angle than with a thicker insert. Maybe not a problem with a short leader or thin enough line (you are building an ultralight rod), but just thought I'd put it out there for consideration.

[adam lancia]

"And it matters which side the wrap is on. Gotta keep the wrap on the reel's handle side! Pure physics dictates this is the best choice for good reasons to than can easily be seen by measuring line flow angles of the 2 choices and then going with the best of those choices." Plus it keeps the guide off the carpet when you lay it down, since the reel handle is up.
I've always thought of spiral wrap as really important on rods for big fish, like tuna, but not as critical on bass rods. Now, big stripers are another story...

Don't forget that light powered, conventionally wrapped casting rods are more likely to twist at the tip under load making a spiral wrapped rod feel more powerful since the blank isn't trying to twist out of your hands. I've noticed this especially with fishing for native brook trout since we often use really light lures but the fish still get up to 2 pounds on average and as big as 7 pounds in the bigger bodies of water.

[ShimanoFan]

Another guide placement detail to factor in...

Take a look at the spiral rod above. Notice where the line lays in the spiral guides closest to you in the image?

When spiral guides are in the correct locations as dictated by line flow under load, when the rod is loaded the line puts pressure on the center of the guide- straight down the middle through the stem and foot to the rod blank. Correct line flow does NOT want to pull guides off to the side unless the rod bends that way under fish load.

So on the above rod, under load, the line flows through the first 3 guides with line right over top of the guide stem at 6 0'clock position.

[ShimanoFan]

Guide placement and line flow under load that is not straight...