Stripping Guides

Not Just For Looks!
Stripping guides are the first and most important link from your hand and line to the fish. We have experimented with several options for stripping guides and have come up with the following recommendations.

A stripping guide must be large enough to allow line to flow freely, yet not too large as to where it is not flowing smoothly when the next guide is reached. Additionally, stripping guides that are too large just add excess weight to the rod and decrease efficiency! Stripping guides are the first point where the line contacts guides, so a slick ceramic is necessary.

Some factory rods use Fuji Hardloy guides as strippers. While these are good heavy-duty guides for spinning rods and such applications, they have no place as fly rod strippers. Zirconia ceramics are much better as they are at least twice as slick as Hardloy.

We use both single and double footed guides for stripping guides. On heavy duty and saltwater rods, double foot guides are preferred for durability. Lighter weight rods are best with single footed guides which function just as well as double footed guides, except they weigh less!

Typically, stripping guides match the guide sets used on the rest of the rod as well as the thread combination. Our standard stripping guides are Zirconia Ceramics, pictured at right.

Usual sizes:

Single foot=SF, Double foot=DF

0-4 weight: #10 SF
5 weight: #12 DF
6 weight: #16 DF, #10 SF
7-8 weights: #16 DF, #12 DF
9-12 weights: #20 DF, #12 DF, #8 SF