Arra 1322 with low rider guides

[Saltheart]

As Numbskull has posted , there are a million details in some of the specialty guide layouts. There is absolutely no way to predict how your rod will function with the details given. No guide numbers , locations , sizes , handle length , etc. Now CMS are good guys and good rodbuilders so I would assume some testing was done after the first build or two using low riders. I have no way of knowing for sure.

Just some things to clarify about what's already been posted.

I believe the largets Low rider is a 20. I do not like low riders near the tips of most rods we use for stripers. i like to use then for maybe 3 guides from the reel then switch to other designs , like MN or the now K styles. Titanium guides are "break the bank" guides. I do not think they warrant the huge price premium however if money is no object , they may help a little . A big mistake that happens when using low riders is that all the attention is paid to the first few bigger guides. just read the posts above and most of the specifics are about location of the gathering guide., etc. A big problem is that people decide how many guides and how far to place the bigger guides then just fill in with the small ones towards the tip. This will result in the line bunching up if the low riders near the tip are too close together. Overall I would rather see a NGC layout using K guides than a lowrider set up unless the caster is using very thin braid and is a powerful caster. even at that , i really think Fuji has two competing lines when they introduced the K guides on top of the low roders. i also think that k guides in an NGC layout more closely approaches what we normally like for a dstriper rod which is the fewest number of larger guide , often called cone of flight. Now all the top builder modify the cone of flight theories and incorporate some of the Fuji Concept or NGC concepts into their builds. Its all a compromise between fishability , (most important) castability , (important to some but seldom needed by most), reel requirements for the appllication and a builkd that must match that reel , very application specific things for rods such as canal rods or breachway rods , beach rods that must heave a large simker and bait , etc.

There are no one liners to cover all these details. each rod is different and each needs to optimized around some of the things I just mentioned.

Most who I have built for knwo i seldom make a rod the same as the high volume shops. I have great respect for the guys who build hundreds of rods and must do 2 a day but for something really special , it takes a lot of time and information to get things right.

To me , your best bet in 2011 is a NGC build using K guides that is modified if possible for your particular fishing application.

Now back to the lowroder Arra rod. i think you will love it. assuming the guides layout at least does not detract from performance , the lami XRA 1322 is such a nice blank that you would have to work at screwing it up for someone not to like it. I don't knwo samurai braid but in general , 55 LB sounds a little heavy to me but the way braids go , it could be rated 55 lbs and be thinner than a human hair. I just don't know the line.

[fishbones]

Originally Posted by Saltheart

I don't knwo samurai braid but in general , 55 LB sounds a little heavy to me but the way braids go , it could be rated 55 lbs and be thinner than a human hair. I just don't know the line.

The 55lb Samurai has the diameter of 10lb test mono. It also feels real smooth and supple as compared to the Power Pro.

As for the OP, he typically casts it about 20 to 30 feet using a 2.75 oz. pencil popper. He always blamed it on the rod, even after I told him that a spinning reel should be underneath the rod and not above it. Hopefully, he figures that part out this year.

[Saltheart]

Originally Posted by fishbones

The 55lb Samurai has the diameter of 10lb test mono. It also feels real smooth and supple as compared to the Power Pro.

As for the OP, he typically casts it about 20 to 30 feet using a 2.75 oz. pencil popper. He always blamed it on the rod, even after I told him that a spinning reel should be underneath the rod and not above it. Hopefully, he figures that part out this year.