What really amazes me about all these "high end" rods is that everyone tries to go for "lighter", even if it is at the expense of casting differences in some instances. I've yet to see a factory produced rod with the "ultimate" of casting guides - Fuji's Gold Cermet. I havn't seen a ton of high-end rods produced with SIC anymore either, which is also a very high end guide and very lightweight - particularly with the Titanium frames. What I am seeing is all kinds of TiCH guides, most of which are PacBay, made either with stainless frames with TiGold plated SIC rings, or Titanium frames with plated SIC, aluminum oxide, hialoy, or one of their funky named "TiOX Blue", "TiGold", or other trademarked names that tell me absolutely nothing. Don't get me wrong - PacBay and American Tackle make excellent guides, and both have come a far way in recent years. They have some awesome looking colors, and I was drawn in by several of the newer materials, colors, etc... - but nothing, and I mean nothing on earth allows a line to flow through quite as nicely has a Gold Cermet or Fuji SIC guide. They are the ultimate, and I feel that if rod companies are going to spend all this time and money making the "ultimate" rod, then they should have the decency to place the "ultimate" guides on it.
... Otherwise, it's like putting vinyl seats in a Ferrari.
Want some proof for yourself? Do this - simple, inexpensive test. Take you favorite rod and reel setup, put some new line on it, adjust it properly, and then make several casts for distance. Mark your longest cast. Make no further adjustments to your setup. Remove the tip top from the rod, order and replace it with a Fuji SIC FST concept guide. They are about $6 average retail. Here's a link to them at Mudhole tackle:
http://shop.mudhole.com/Shop-Our-Catalog/Silicon-Carbide_2/FST-Concept-Spin-Cast-Fly-Top
Line it up properly, glue it in place, and without making any adjustments, start your casting for distance all over again. I can almost gaurantee you will see a difference in longer casting. And that is with ONE guide - the tip top. Want even more? Replace one other guide with a Fuji SIC - the stripper guide - the first one you come across on the rod. As the style and type will vary, look through various online catalogs for a suitable replacement, remove your old one and wrap it in place. You will see a difference again - I can almost gaurantee it. Now, that's just two guides. Imagine a whole rod full of them. Expensive? Yes. Quite a bit moreso than standard Aluminum Oxide, Hardloy, Alconite, etc... but every bit worth it if you want the ultimate in smoothness and casting distance.
The last rod I owned that had a full set of Fuji SIC guides from the factory was a Team Daiwa Tournament series rod - $190 retail. I think it was way ahead of it's time. 54 million modulous blank (equates to about a "IM9" rating) with a full lineup of Fuji SIC guides made for the ultimate in rods. But at the time (approx 1993-1994 timeframe), that was too much for anyone to stomach. That rod, nowadays, would sell like hotcakes in my opinion. Rod companies should take lessons from that... but unfortunately, we are continueing to see the same stuff from most everyone. Lighter with funky shaped handles, futuristic sounding guides names that nobody can equate to (I'm waiting for the Kryptonite guides myself
), etc... is what everyone is putting out lately.
Oh, and don't even get me started on the rods not being spined correctly before they wrap the guides on.... that's a whole other couple of pages. :lol::lol::lol:
All the best,
Glenn