Suggested Guide layout

 

To read the below the number represents the millimeters from the tip of the rod. Your guides can be the same size or you can taper the size down to the tip - single foot or snake guides should be 7-9mm in size. 

10' Fly rod - uses 2 x stripper guides, 1 x tiptop and 8 single foot wire guides; 

Tiptop

100/-

230/-

380/-

560/-

760/-

990/-

1220/-

1470/-

1775/-

2190/-

9' Flyrod - uses 1 x stripper guide anything above #7 we recommend 2 x stripper guides, 1 x tiptop and 8 x single foot guides;

Tiptop

100/

230/

380/

560/

760/

990/
1245/
1545/
1900/

8' Flyrod - uses 1 x stripper guide, 1 x tiptop and 7 x snake guides

Don't forget that you may want to add a hook-keeper just above the cork grip. There are a number of different grade guides and corks available - with all our XLS & ICT rods we use titanium coated single foot or snake guides & silicon carbide stripper guides. The corks we use are graded 4A which is the highest grade available; the higher the grade the better the quality of cork and the less imperfections you will find. When building our fly rods we generally use a half wells grip for all fly rods up to a weight 7. Weight 8 and above uses a full wells grip and a small fighting butt for angler comfort when fighting larger fish. You may also want to consider the volume of the cork handle taking into consideration the angler the rod is built for. Our Diva rods are built with a thinner cork grip to cater better to females with generally smaller hands. The reel seat you use is also important our XLS rods use a titanium coated reel seat to give extra strength and weight reduction. Bear in mind that every component, every thread and every amount of resin added to the blank will in some way alter the rods flex and performance. If you purchase an XLS blank and apply heavy components the benefits of a high modulus light weight blank will be partly lost.

What ever the choices you make for components and coloured thread are - enjoy the process. You can be assured that if you are building up a Composite Developments blank you are starting with the best available!