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Dave---I wouldn't sweat the number of guides too much--I have some old 10-1/2' glass rods with only 4 guides. It's only recently that thinking has changed, years ago, rod builders thought less guides=less guide friction and longer casts. My 11' 1322 Arra has 6 guides, my 10-6' Arra only has 5. Depends on the stiffness and taper of the blank---as an example, my 9-1/2' Fisher, which is a parabolic blank, also has 6. A stiff rod like the Sabre, you can probably use 5 and not even notice a difference.
As far as guide placement goes, I would think a lot depends on the width of the reel spool you'd use. I would go with nothing smaller than a 25 mm first guide for a 975. If you were going to use a Calcutta 400 or a 6500 size Abu, you could go with a 20. Tape a 25 mm on first at various distances from the reel placement and see how the line flows thru it.
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