I understand the lack of rod torque advantage, but what are some others? Casting distance? I'll be using micro guides on my build, so will the spiral wrap effect how well a leader knot passes through the guides?

The biggest is rod torque, but when you add in micro guides you can lengthen the distance between the guides after the transition, therefore using less guides equals less weight equaling better sensitivity, and with less guides you are lessening the amount of friction with the line going through the guides and you "may" get more distance from the cast.

The leader will pass thought no differently then that of a spinning guide with micro guides.

I feel a Revolver style layout allows the line the most natural line path and may cast a hair better but it's still an ancillary benefit after torque and weight savings . I lean toward a simple spiral on heavier pitch and flip rods that will likely encounter more pressure and stress on the guides.

I feel a Revolver style layout allows the line the most natural line path and may cast a hair better but it's still an ancillary benefit after torque and weight savings . I lean toward a simple spiral on heavier pitch and flip rods that will likely encounter more pressure and stress on the guides.

Okay. So I'm bout to do a build a 7MH. I originally ordered nine guides plus the tip top. Sizes from the tip down are tip top, 5,5,5,5,5,5,5,6,7. How should I go about changing this if I do a spiral wrap? I plan on going with a 0,45,90,135,180...... configuration. I'll do some static testing to see if I need to move any guides around, but thats the initial plan.

Instead of preconceived degrees of transition try this: put a double foot 6 20 in. From the reel then the tip top at 180. Run line through those two. put a size 5 at the 180 intersect and at other line/blank intersects using normal guide spacing. Static test for running guides.

Except for trolling rods and really heavy duty rods, like salt vertical jigging rods, I've never found a detectable advantage for spiral wrap for any fishing action.  And they look goofy.  I know, pile on, guys; sacrilege for sure.

 

Regarding spiral micros, with micros so close to the axis of the rod even the supposed torque advantage is minimized.  

 

The recipe for the simple spiral is to place all guides in the same position as you would any casting setup, with the second guide from the butt at 180.  Halfway between the first and second guide put a very low guide at 90.

Looks cool and you can brag about all the bass you catch that are so large you need a spiral wrapped rod. In practical terms it is like those big spoilers you see on Honda Civics. They cannot go fast enough to take advantage of the spoilers benefits and 99.5% of the Bass caught will not torque a rod enough  to make a difference.

 

Allen

Instead of preconceived degrees of transition try this: put a double foot 6 20 in. From the reel then the tip top at 180. Run line through those two. put a size 5 at the 180 intersect and at other line/blank intersects using normal guide spacing. Static test for running guides.

What about you, Mike? Do you think the spiral wrap is worth it for bass fishing?

Short answer is yes. Please see my post in "spiral wrapped guides" in the rod n reel forum

I just finished my first spiral wrap and the reason I chose to do it was sensitivity. I fee that the line is in contact with more of the guides 100% of the time similar to a spinning rod.  It may not make much difference, but a 10% increase in sensitivity on a moderately priced blank is a big plus in my book.

I just finished my first spiral wrap and the reason I chose to do it was sensitivity. I fee that the line is in contact with more of the guides 100% of the time similar to a spinning rod.  It may make much difference, but a 10% increase in sensitivity on a moderately priced blank is a big plus in my book.

Thank you for the reply. I thought this as well, but I thought about it and decided since the line is always touching the guides anyways, it wouldn't matter. Who knows though. Another thing I was considering as a possible advantage would be hook setting power. With less rod torque it would make since that more energy would be translated into the hookset. Whether that's negligible or not is another question.