Arra question - Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating

Circlehook · 02-24-2008, 01:15 PM

I will be buying 2 Lami Arra's for my 2 penn 704's. My question has to do with guide width, why do some of the arra's have large diameter guides, and some have smaller? What is the advantage of a wider vs smaller, or vice versa? My quess is longer cast on the wider, but why so many with smaller ones?

confused and this is a big purchase for me.

Mike P · 02-24-2008, 02:11 PM

I think what you'll find is that the 10' and longer Arra spinning rods have a 50 mm first guide because people tend to use bigger reels on longer rods, with bigger spool diameters. 9'6" and under probably have a 40 mm, or even 30 mm first guide.

Also, you may be comparing spinning models to conventionals in the 11' length models.

Guide size, number of guides, and their spacing is an area in transition. Old school thinking--which prevailed when the Arras were first designed--was that bigger and fewer guides equaled less guide friction, resulting in longer casts. Modern thinking, the so called "New Concept" idea first put out by Fuji, is that a greater number of smaller guides results in longer casts by preventing coils of line from building between the guides and between the reel and first guide. Especially when using braided lines. That concept is reflected in Lami's new Super Surf rods--the 10' models come with 7 guides and the first one is a small, low framed 40 mm Alconite.

eelskimmer · 02-25-2008, 09:27 AM

Circle,

Ask Ron himself at the Lamiglass booth at MSBA expo.
Also many Lami retailers there so you can shop around.

SeaWolf · 02-25-2008, 09:50 AM

i assume you are talking about production lamiglas ron arra series rods, correct? the production rods do not have the best guide sizes and number for a good stress distribution throughout the rod. yes, they did have the principle of 'less is best' for distance and that may be one of the reasons why you see more of these blanks fail due to poor stress distribution. in reality, the length of the rod has little to do with the size of the catch guide you will be using.

if you are going to use braid, the largest catch guide you will need is a 40mm and you can even go smaller, but it does depend on your reel choice. if you plan on throwing mono a 40mm will still work, but with a wider reel such as a 704/706, the 50 may be better.

best advice, ask you local rod builder.