Rod guide repair

[3wt]

A friend of mine has a rod that was custom built by an experienced builer. I noticed the other day that the top line guide is slightly out of line with the others. I have seen this before on other rods, and have always assumed it is a defect. Is there any reason to offset the alignment on purpose? If this is a defect can it be fixed easily?

[Rolan Duffield]

If the guides are out of line, then someone made a mistake. Alignment of the guides is the last thing a builder should check before they apply sealer or finish to the guides.

Guides that are out of line will make the rod harder to cast and could cause undue wear on the fly line.

This can be fixed by removing the guide and reinstalling it in its desired alignment.

Rolan