The reduction guides are the typically 3-4 guides from the reel. The first and largest sometimes referred to the Stripper guide (technically a fly rod term but commonly applied in spinning). The size, height and spacing affect affect how well or poorly they tame the line coils coming off the reel. On a typical bass rod you want a stripper of 1/2 the diameter of the spool on the reel you’ll use spaces approximately 20” from the spool face with 2-3 gradually smaller guides leading to one size of runners out to the tip. A good custom build is substantially more technical but this gives you some trouble shooting back ground. The last thing you want is an old cone of flight system where every guide is graduated all the way out. Far outdated technology. 

11 hours ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

The reduction guides are the typically 3-4 guides from the reel. The first and largest sometimes referred to the Stripper guide (technically a fly rod term but commonly applied in spinning). The size, height and spacing affect affect how well or poorly they tame the line coils coming off the reel. On a typical bass rod you want a stripper of 1/2 the diameter of the spool on the reel you’ll use spaces approximately 20” from the spool face with 2-3 gradually smaller guides leading to one size of runners out to the tip. A good custom build is substantially more technical but this gives you some trouble shooting back ground. The last thing you want is an old cone of flight system where every guide is graduated all the way out. Far outdated technology. 

Thank you for this very good explanation and the detailed information! Based on this info my General finesse 6-9 spinning rods (Berkley E-Motion) have 4 reduction guides graduating up to 4 equally sized runners plus 1 equally sized tip top guide. The first Stripper guide appears to be about half the size of the spools diameter; and everything looks good to me and this has helped me rule out the rods design as a problem. I really just think a 7-0 or 7-3 Medium Light with backbone could perform better with these 1/8oz to 3/16oz jigs. But do you think switching from a 6-9 Medium to a 7-3 Medium Light will offer another 8 to 10 yards of casting distance ? 

30' difference

 

 

3 hours ago, J.Vincent said:

Thank you for this very good explanation and the detailed information! Based on this info my General finesse 6-9 spinning rods (Berkley E-Motion) have 4 reduction guides graduating up to 4 equally sized runners plus 1 equally sized tip top guide. The first Stripper guide appears to be about half the size of the spools diameter; and everything looks good to me and this has helped me rule out the rods design as a problem. I really just think a 7-0 or 7-3 Medium Light with backbone could perform better with these 1/8oz to 3/16oz jigs. But do you think switching from a 6-9 Medium to a 7-3 Medium Light will offer another 8 to 10 yards of casting distance ? 

For sure. It’s vital that a rod load well with the weight to be cast. The sweet spot usually lies near the middle of the range. Keep in mind casting weighs are total weight not just the lead/jig. For example 1/8 jig with skirt, and trailer could be 3/8 or more actually weight. One more thing, slower action rods are incorrectly perceived to load better and have more power, the opposite is actually true but in a fast action the release must be near perfect. A slower action is more forgiving so if your timing is off slightly you won’t notice.  If you have a well designed guide train, properly loaded rod, good form, light supple line, evenly and tightly spooled to just below the bevel on the rim you’ll get max distance and accuracy. Some baits are limited in casting distance by shape and weight. A wiffle ball will never fly as far as a baseball no matter how much force is applied. 

6 hours ago, QUAKEnSHAKE said:

30' difference

 

 

Thank you for sharing this video clip, I’ve settled on 15lb Braid as kind of a happy middle ground, but I may just consider 10lb, if I’m not able to improve casting distance by changing to the longer spinning rod.