# CTS Striper guide distance from reel



## berlix

I am building a CTS3-6 spinning rod.

I plan to put a Saltiga Surf 4500 reel on it. 

I want to put this rod together so that I am getting maximum distance from this combo, the weak link will be only me.

I will be using only 15lb braid on this rod.

Can anyone give me the proper distance from the striper guide to the top of the spinning reel spool? 

I have read where some people use large stiper guides, and where some people use low rider guides. If I had my rathers, i would rather use the lower guides if it would not have a negative effect on distance.

What model Fuji guides would you suggest that I use for this build?

My casting rods have a distance of 26" from the butt to the center of the reel, is this a good distance to put the center of the spinning reel on this rod?


----------



## Tacpayne

Couple of things here, FIrst put the reel seat where you are most comfortable with it. Second if you are planning on fishing braid only I would go with Fuji Lowriders. I cant give you teh exact place for your stipper guide, but it will be in the neighborhood of 47" from the lip of the spool. There are a few guys on here that have this setup and will hopefully chime in with some distances. I would do a static test and then go out test casting. You can tweek your setup then for maximum distance.


----------



## Tacpayne

Oh the model for the lowrider in black is BLCAG


----------



## berlix

Thanks for the numbers on the low riders and the other information. 

I am looking at Mudhole, the largest low rider guide they have is a size 20, is this the size of the lowrider to use as the stripper guide?

I feel that I am good on the spacing of the rest of the guides. 

I hope there is somebody here that has this reel on a surf rod that could share this measurement with me.


----------



## Tacpayne

Yes a 20 is what you need for your stripper. Its the heigth of the guide that allows such a small ring


----------



## berlix

Thanks for your help. 

Now, I read 49348475948 different posts, and tried to make out the fuji spacing chart, and I believe my old age has finally kicked in. 

I am asking can anybody help me with the spacing for the guides on this spinning rod. 

I am going to mount a new Diawa Saltiga Surf 4500 reel on this rod. will use only braid.

Rod is a SURF CTS3-6 (13' 6" long)

I had planned to put the real seat 26" from the butt, but after looking at the fuji chart, looks like I may need to place the reel seat at a different spacing. 

guide sizing I was going to use: 20,16,16,12,12,10,10 plus tip.

If you have a CTS 3-6 and would share guide layout measurements, or can help me place these guides correctly, I really would appreciate your help.

Thanks for your comments.


----------



## Tacpayne

Hopefully Sarge will chime in, he probably has the same set up with the rod you are going for


----------



## berlix

I hope so, I have read many many of his posts, all good stuff.


----------



## billr87

actually you have to determine where you want the reel seat. to get the best distance you need to get the best leverage for yourself. it may be that the center of the reel seat will be around 30-32" from the butt. the butt guide about 30" from middle of reel seat.if a fairly stiff rod then put first guide 5-7" from tip.

use the guides you prefer. i like fuji hardaloy. if you want the low rider[in hardaloy] go for it. 

because of the back and forth action of the line coming off reel i would go with 30-25-20-16-16-12-12-10. this is 8 guides, if you want seven, drop a 12 and use the 10.

hope this helps. pm me if you want to get placement of guides.


----------



## surf rat

*Low riders*

The ones I have had built with low riders either the first or last couple were backwards on purpose. Jimmy at Hatteras Jack in Rodanthe N.C. has a lot of experiance building rods with them. He has built several Zipplex bass and 2500's and 3500's for me with them. He has built several C.T.S. rods for me as well. The thing you have to look out for on a conventional rod is the line hitting the blank when bowed up on a big fish. Braid will cut your blank if it is rubbing the blank because of bad guide placement under a load. The rods Jimmy has built are perfect. The line never touches the blank even under an extreme load.


----------



## DougVNg

surf rat said:


> The ones I have had built with low riders either the first or last couple were backwards on purpose. Jimmy at Hatteras Jack in Rodanthe N.C. has a lot of experiance building rods with them. He has built several Zipplex bass and 2500's and 3500's for me with them. He has built several C.T.S. rods for me as well. The thing you have to look out for on a conventional rod is the line hitting the blank when bowed up on a big fish. Braid will cut your blank if it is rubbing the blank because of bad guide placement under a load. The rods Jimmy has built are perfect. The line never touches the blank even under an extreme load.


Sorry Gents did not mean to hijack tread .David !I tried to pm several times,did not go tru,Please pm me or call me.THANK YOU Gents!Doug.


----------



## Tacpayne

Bill, the lowriders dont come any larger than a 20. They were designed to be used on spinners with braid, and have had a lot of success. Berlix, just shoot Sgt Slough a pm, im sure he would help


----------



## billr87

i'm sure rod has built many rods, so i'll back out. i've only built rods for about 40 years.


----------



## berlix

OK... 
The fuji chart does not have my exact rod length, so I estimated the differences. Here is what I came up with, what do you think????

Rod length is 13' 6".
Rod is a CTS Surf 3-6

Using Fuji Low Rider guides.

Measurement from butt to center of reel seat.......88cm (34.65")
Reel stem to stripper guide.........120cm (47.25")

Tip to first guide......16.27cm (6.41") SIZE 8 GUIDE
first guide to second guide......18.52cm (7,29") SIZE 10 GUIDE
second guide to third guide......23.53cm (9.26") SIZE 10 GUIDE 
third guide to forth guide.....26.03cm (10.25") SIZE 12 GUIDE
forth guide to fifth guide.....31.04cm (12.22") SIZE 12 GUIDE
fifth guide to sixth guide......41.55cm (16.36") SIZE 16 GUIDE
sixth guide to reversed stripper guide.....46.55 (18.37") SIZE 20 GUIDE
TIP RING SIZE 8

What do you think? Am I ok to put this rod together this way?

Should I push the stipper guide forward another 3/4 to 1" ??

Reel to be used Saltiga Surf 4500 with only braid.
will be using for weight and fleas only, no lures.

Comments???


----------



## Tacpayne

billr87 said:


> i'm sure rod has built many rods, so i'll back out. i've only built rods for about 40 years.


Im not saying you dont know how to build a good rod. I was just pointing out that the Lowrider system only goes up to a 20. Rod more than likely has a rod with the exact setup he is wanting, seeing how he is a great fan of CTS and spinners with braid. I dont know if Rod has even built a rod, but I do know that he is very knowledgable with the lowrider system. Your initial setup seemed to be correct for a new concept guide setup, thats just not waht he is wanting here. Berlix your #'s look pretty good, at this stage I would tape the rod up and go do a lot of test casting. Moving that stripper guide around may allow for more distance.


----------



## berlix

Will do, thank you


----------



## billr87

the low rider guides are available from size 50 down tosize 6. if building a rod to use a large spool spinning, i'd use the larger guides.even with the wide spool conventioal i'd start with a 30.

if casting with a slight or more wind the line comes off that spool with a wide loop. the line will flare out and even go past the tip of the rod. that's alot of line to gather back through a small guide.


----------



## Tacpayne

Bill I think we are talking about 2 different lowriders. THis is the lowrider in question, It does not come larger than a 20. The heigth of the guide off the rod seems to be what is the most important with this system, not the diameter of the ring
http://www.mudhole.com/Shop-Our-Catalog/Concept/BLCAG-Surf-Guides


----------



## Hooked Up

i did learn the hard way just because mudhole doesnt list it .....doesnt mean they dont make it.....one step further.....anglers resource doesnt list all that can be had from fuji


----------



## Tacpayne

Hooked Up said:


> i did learn the hard way just because mudhole doesnt list it .....doesnt mean they dont make it.....one step further.....anglers resource doesnt list all that can be had from fuji


No neither list all that they make, but they cant be had, I have never seen a lowrider larger than a 20 show it to me if they make it. Its simple find one and show me, I have looked through over 15 catalogs from around the world and havent found one yet.


----------



## billr87

i mmentioned the fuji hardaloy on page 79 of the 2009 mudhole catalog. you are talking alconite [page 77] which is a more expensive guide. also on page 77 is the lowrider type i am talking about. they go to size 40. on page 79 is the hardaloy which go to size 50. i haveused hardaloy for over 25 years and i have never seen them wear.

from what i understand here is a spinning rod is to be used. use what you will, but [my opinion only] a size 20 is much to small to be used with a spinner. the loop coming off is too large to efficiently go through the smaller guide.


----------



## surf rat

*small guide*

If you think the low rider is small check out the interline rod. Both cast spinners with braid a long ways.


----------



## billr87

hasn't the interline rod been taken off the market?


----------



## surf rat

*rod*

Not that I am aware of.


----------



## bigeye47

just a question
are u confusing concept surf guides to concept all purpose????
surf go to 20j and all purpose to 40j
:fishing:


----------



## berlix

Can I ask one more question? I will then go away and build this thing!

The spacing of the guides per the Fuji formula came out like this:
tip to first guide:17.685cm or 6.96".

first guide to second guide:20.25cm or 7.97".

second guide to third guide:25.65cm or 10.09".

third guide to forth guide:28.22cm or 11.11".

forth guide to fifth guide:33.62cm or 13.25".

fifth guide to sixth guide: 44.82cm or 17.66".

sixth guide to Choker guide: 50.63cm or 19.93".

Do you feel I am ok with only 7 guides? 
Is the spacing to great?
Should I add one more small guide up near the tip?

thanks again


----------



## billr87

built it the way you want as it is your rod. you asked for advice. you got it. some was good, some not so good. make your choice and go with it.


----------



## rchipbrown

"size 20 is much to small to be used with a spinner"

Smaller is better with braid. Controlling the line quickly and aggressively is the key to maximizing distance.

7 guides does not seem like enough for a 13+ ft rod low-rider braid spinner.


----------



## william1

*diatance*

Sorry to disagree with you guys . there are several different ways to build this rod depending on what you want. For a rod like yours you have to do a weight distribution test this will tell how far apart to put the guides.and the how many guides you will need for the job depending on the length of the rod. As far as guides are concerned some are heavier than others, and some are multi purpose. My favorite site is rodbuilding.org its run by IMHO one of the most informed builders in the country Tom Kirkman , He and his site will answer all your questions regards. IMHO cookbook recipes will not give you the maximum performance rod you are looking for.....regards


----------

