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Guide Spacing Chart

Rod Length Line Weight Rod Pieces Guide Size/Spacing Guide 1 Guide 2 Guide 3 Guide 4 Guide 5 Guide 6 Guide 7 Guide 8 Guide 9 Guide 10 Guide 11 6'6" 2-4 2 Guide Spacing 4 1/2 9 15 21 28 35 1/2 45 Guide Size 1 1 1 2 2 3 8mm 7' 2-4 2 Guide Spacing 5 10 1/4 16 1/2 23 3/16 30 1/4 37 1/2 45 3/4 55 1/2 Guide Size 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 8mm 7'6" 2-4 2 Guide Spacing 4 1/2 9 5/8 15 5/8 21 5/8 28 34 7/8 42 1/2 51 1/4 61 1/4 Guide Size 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 4 10mm 7'9" 2-4 2-3 Guide Spacing 4 5/8 9 5/8 15 3/8 22 29 1/8 38 46 7/8 56 1/4 65 3/4 Guide Size 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 4 10mm 8' 2-5 2-3 Guide Spacing 4 1/2 9 3/8 15 1/2 22 1/4 30 1/4 38 1/2 47 3/4 56 1/2 66 Guide Size 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 4 10mm 8'6" 2-4 2 Guide Spacing 5 10 1/2 17 1/2 25 3/8 33 1/4 41 7/8 51 60 5/8 71 Guide Size 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 4 10mm 8'6" 5-6 2 Guide Spacing 5 10 1/2 17 1/2 25 3/8 33 1/4 41 7/8 51 60 5/8 71 Guide Size 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 5 12mm 8'6" 7-9 3 Guide Spacing 4 1/2 10 3/4 17 1/4 25 5/8 34 42 3/8 51 1/4 60 1/2 71 Guide Size 3 3 3 4 4 5 5 12mm 16mm 8' 9" 3-5 2 Guide Spacing 5 10 1/2 16 22 1/8 28 1/2 35 1/4 43 1/4 52 1/4 62 3/8 73 1/4 Guide Size 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 4 10mm 8' 9" 3-5 5 Guide Spacing 4 1/2 9 5/8 15 1/8 21 1/8 27 3/4 35 3/8 43 5/8 52 3/4 62 1/2 73 Guide Size 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 4 10mm 9' 2-4 2 Guide Spacing 5 10 1/4 16 1/4 22 1/2 29 3/4 37 1/8 45 3/8 53 3/4 65 77 Guide Size 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 4 10mm 9' 5-6 2 Guide Spacing 5 10 1/4 16 1/4 22 1/2 29 3/4 37 1/8 45 3/8 53 3/4 65 77 Guide Size 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 12mm 9' 7-9 2 Guide Spacing 5 10 1/4 16 1/4 22 1/2 29 3/4 37 1/8 45 3/8 53 3/4 65 77 Guide Size 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 12mm 16mm 9' 10-13 2 Guide Spacing 5 10 1/4 16 1/4 22 1/2 29 3/4 37 1/8 45 3/8 53 3/4 65 77 Guide Size 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 16mm* 20mm* 9' 3-4 3 Guide Spacing 4 9 15 21 1/4 28 7/8 36 1/4 44 53 1/2 63 1/2 75 1/4 Guide Size 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 4 10mm 9' 5-6 3 Guide Spacing 4 9 15 21 1/4 28 7/8 36 1/4 44 53 1/2 63 1/2 75 1/4 Guide Size 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 12mm 9' 7-9 3 Guide Spacing 4 9 15 21 1/4 28 7/8 36 1/4 44 53 1/2 63 1/2 75 1/4 Guide Size 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 12mm 16mm 9' 10-13 3 Guide Spacing 4 9 15 21 1/4 28 7/8 36 1/4 44 53 1/2 63 1/2 75 1/4 Guide Size 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 16mm* 20mm* 9' 4-6 4 Guide Spacing 4 1/2 9 14 1/8 20 3/16 27 3/8 34 7/8 43 7/8 53 3/4 64 5/8 76 1/2 Guide Size 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 12mm 9' 6" 5-6 2 Guide Spacing 5 10 3/8 16 3/8 22 1/2 29 35 3/4 43 51 60 3/4 70 3/4 81 3/4 Guide Size 1 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 12mm 9' 6" 5-6 3 Guide Spacing 4 1/2 9 1/4 15 1/8 21 1/4 28 1/8 35 42 1/2 51 1/2 60 3/4 70 1/2 81 1/4 Guide Size 1 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 12mm 10' 4-6 3 Guide Spacing 5 11 17 23 29 7/8 37 1/4 46 3/8 55 5/8 65 1/2 75 1/2 86 5/8 Guide Size 1 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 12mm 10' 7-10 3 Guide Spacing 5 11 17 23 29 7/8 37 1/4 46 3/8 55 5/8 65 1/2 75 1/2 86 5/8 Guide Size 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 12mm 16mm The above measurements are from the tip-top with the sections assembled to the center of the guides. This chart covers the most popular rod sizes. If your rod is within a couple of inches of the chart, a minor adjustment of guide spacing is acceptable. For instance, a 7'1" rod would still use the 7' chart with the 1" adjustment either applied at the last two guides near the butt section or spread over the entire rod. The * indicates a braced guide for strength. This chart is something I've come up with over the years, and is by no means the absolute rule. Manufacturer's recomendations may differ. Feel free to experiment on your own, but remember you can have too few and too many guides. The general rule of thumb I follow is that for every foot of length, you need a minimum of one guide. For example, a 9-foot rod would have as a minimum 9 guides, but no more than 11. I split the middle and prefer 10 guides. This does not include your tiptop, but does include your stripping guide. If you would like to compute your own measurements, I recommend Dale Clemens' Advanced Custom Rod Building. On pages 192-196 there are several guide spacing formulae to use. You can also use the trial & error method of taping on your guides and test casting your rod.