Spinning rods, guides, braid to leader knot

[FishnMtlHd]

I'm looking to get some new spinning rods, price range $130 or so, may go more. My 1st priority is rods with guides that are ideal or best for braid to leader knot pass through. Surely there's anglers here that have experienced rods that are better than others at this. I know to stay away from micro guides and I'm thinking maybe there's a specific guide brand/type/model/material that is best to look for. Any insight or recommendations?

[Jig Man]

I have St Croix, Gloomis, and Fenwick spinning rods rigged with 15# braid and 10-12# fluorocarbon leaders.  They all work just fine.

 

I have tried many connecting knots.  The fg is the strongest and thinnest one that I have ever tried.   

[MN Fisher]

St Croix - my Victory, Mojo Bass and even my Panfish models have no issues with braid-leader knots. FG or Alberto is what I use whether it's 8#braid/6#FC or 20#braid/10# YZH.

[casts_by_fly]

With an fg or Alberto, you can use micro guides up to 12# leader or so with no issues. Pick the rod you like and don’t worry about the guides. 

[GetFishorDieTryin]

Pretty much all the mas produced spinning rods today use guides that are designed to work best with braid.  At that price youre not going to get a big selection of guides.  The vast majority are going to be concept, fazlite ks, or another smaller company's equivalent.  I think Phenix actually offers SIC, inserts on SS frames at that price point, but I've no experience with Essex guides, so I can't comment on them. 

So long as you trim the tag on the connection knot, you won't have any serious issues.  If I were you, I would choose rods by the feel, balance and blank quality since most the guides are very similar at that price point.    

[Bird]

I throw a Dobyns Sierra significantly more than any of my other spinners.

15# braid 12# flouro leader, Alberto leader knot and never an issue.

[WRB]

Measured my Victory spinning rod tip guide inside diameter is .150.

Tom

[papajoe222]

Your best bet is a rod with #5 or larger tip and running guides. For a 7ft. spinning rod,that would be the last three or four guides. That's approximately a .200 in. diameter. Smaller may work, and with a spinning rod, a little catch of your knot running through the guides isn't a big concern.

My question, though, is why go braid to leader? A quality mono has the same amount of stretch as its fluoro equivalent and you don't need to concern yourself with the question of 'how short should I let my leader get before I retie. Your monkey.....your circus.

[casts_by_fly]

24 minutes ago, papajoe222 said:

Your best bet is a rod with #5 or larger tip and running guides. For a 7ft. spinning rod,that would be the last three or four guides. That's approximately a .200 in. diameter. Smaller may work, and with a spinning rod, a little catch of your knot running through the guides isn't a big concern.

My question, though, is why go braid to leader? A quality mono has the same amount of stretch as its fluoro equivalent and you don't need to concern yourself with the question of 'how short should I let my leader get before I retie. Your monkey.....your circus.

because braid to leader on a spinning rod is better. Fluoro and mono have about the same amount of stretch but if you’re throwing a 15’ leader but on a 100’ cast there is a big difference in how much stretch you’ll get with 15’ of leader vs 85’ of line. 

[BrianMDTX]

Braid to leader on a spinning reel? Absolutely. Why? Well, I went from respooling fresh mono 2-3 times a season due to coiling/line memory to having braid on the reel for several years and only retying on leaders as needed. 
 

I use a Lefty Kreh leader knot (also known as a Seguar knot). I have St. Croix, Fenwick and Daiwa rods and the knot passes through the guides without issues. 
 

I like mono on my baitcasters (except my frog rig). But unless braid disappears from the face of the earth, I’ll never spool mono on a spinning reel again. 

[DogBone_384]

I have Abu, Fenwick, BPS, and Kistler spinning rods.  I run braid to leader with a FG knot on half of them and don't have issues.  Get the rod you like the most.

 

Good luck with your choice.

[Junk Fisherman]

I don't doubt that FG is a superior knot but the Alberto is easy to tie and I have caught so many big fish using that knot with a leader that I don't even question it anymore.  

[F14A-B]

9 hours ago, papajoe222 said:

Your best bet is a rod with #5 or larger tip and running guides. For a 7ft. spinning rod,that would be the last three or four guides. That's approximately a .200 in. diameter. Smaller may work, and with a spinning rod, a little catch of your knot running through the guides isn't a big concern.

My question, though, is why go braid to leader? A quality mono has the same amount of stretch as its fluoro equivalent and you don't need to concern yourself with the question of 'how short should I let my leader get before I retie. Your monkey.....your circus.

Totally agree with you papajoe.. I’ve been catching fish on mono, co-poly, and fc coated lines for 40 years. I slack line fish with senkos , I fish Texas rigged plastic worms on it, I fish jig n pigs on it. The ideal that it’s inferior to braid to leader isn’t a true statement. It’s a fishing industry manufacturing statement. Another thing, this ideal that it’s laborious in changing out mono or like lines two or three times a year is just laziness.. I can literally remove and reinstall fresh line on a spool in under 8 minutes (spinning) baitcasters in 5.. but, I know you know this as does @Catt  It’s personal choice and I do respect that, it’s a right of being American. 🇺🇸 

14 hours ago, GetFishorDieTryin said:

Pretty much all the mas produced spinning rods today use guides that are designed to work best with braid.  At that price youre not going to get a big selection of guides.  The vast majority are going to be concept, fazlite ks, or another smaller company's equivalent.  I think Phenix actually offers SIC, inserts on SS frames at that price point, but I've no experience with Essex guides, so I can't comment on them. 

So long as you trim the tag on the connection knot, you won't have any serious issues.  If I were you, I would choose rods by the feel, balance and blank quality since most the guides are very similar at that price point.    

Fuji fazlites are absolutely solid guides both frames and inserts. I have them on two IMX rods, one is a saltwater rod and the other is a crank bait rod. Oh, make that 3, I’ve got a recent Kistler Helium ML/Fast with fazlite guides. It’s an awesome rod for the money. I do use mono/copoly/fc coated lines on all my rods though. But I’m certain Fuji wouldn’t put out a guide insert material that couldn’t handle braided lines.. 

[bulldog1935]

A note for the OP's normal vs. microguide observation.  

I run fluoro leader primarily for shock tolerance, and tie them with improved Allbright knot.  

On BF rods with microguides, my leader is 18" and doesn't have to pass the microguides.  

I fish longer leaders, 4 feet, on rods with normal size guides, and of course no worries about the knot passing the guides.  

[GetFishorDieTryin]

14 hours ago, F14A-B said:

Fuji fazlites are absolutely solid guides both frames and inserts. I have them on two IMX rods, one is a saltwater rod and the other is a crank bait rod. Oh, make that 3, I’ve got a recent Kistler Helium ML/Fast with fazlite guides. It’s an awesome rod for the money. I do use mono/copoly/fc coated lines on all my rods though. But I’m certain Fuji wouldn’t put out a guide insert material that couldn’t handle braided lines.. 

Yeah, functionally I dont think there is a difference between them and alconite inserts.  I do think fazlite is slightly heavier than alconite, but admittedly it could be a subconscious bias or just simply the balance of the rods.  As for the SS k frames, I cant tell the either. They replaced the Ti Sic K frames on the Avid Inshore with the CC SS Ks, which is a real shame for SC. They did a good job balancing the new blanks with the heavier SS eyes.  I expect the CC SS to eventually corrode, but Ive got less than a full season on the only rod that has them.