MICRO Guides

Here's an article (slightly updated from the original I penned in 2009) that has shown up on a few other websites. It has some great info regarding micro guides (the latest craze right?). ALX Rods has been using micros since June of 2008... so we laugh a little when it's called the "hot, new thing"...


Micro Guides – What, Where, When?

A new approach to fishing rod guide trains appeared at ICAST 2009 (on a mass level). Since then “New” micro guides have appeared on no less than 5 major rod manufacturer product lines. Micro guides are generating great interest in the angling community regarding what “micros” are and the details about them. Let’s examine micro guides – the history, advantages, disadvantages, and beyond!

A guide having a ring size smaller than 5 is considered to be a micro guide. This may not mean much to the average angler. The average single foot guide on the tip section of most production rods is a size 6 (left side of photo below). The smallest micro guides go down to a size 2. This size is a measure of diameter in millimeters. Imagine this - you can fit FOURTEEN size 3 micro guides on the head of dime (right side of photo)!

Guide Size Comparison

Micro guides have been in existence quite some time. Fuji has been producing very small guides for squid fishing in Japan for several years. Very small guides have also been used in Europe on match rods for a longer period of time. While they are new in the US market, they are not new to other parts of the world.


Credit goes to custom rod builders for first bringing these to bass rods, creating a demand for them, and then pushing manufacturers and distributors to create options available in the US market for use on freshwater and inshore rods. Since 2007, many custom rod builders have been successfully using micro guides on rods used to flip and pitch all the way to drop shotting and other spinning rods. Don’t be fooled by the smaller stature. These are some tough little guides!


Micro guides have their share of advantages and disadvantages. The advantages include, but are not limited to:

• Increased sensitivity by less add weight to the rod blank
• Increased sensitivity by less added build weight (less rod finish and thread)
• Increased line control
• Increased casting distance by reducing the amount of line slap through the guides
• Increased durability by providing a smaller lever for bending
• Smaller “footprint” on the blank - this decreases the amount of influence on the rod blank’s natural flex
• Fewer wind knots
• Less tangles on deck and in rods lockers
• Easier entry into rod lockers and tubes

Disadvantages include:

• Can clog easier with dirty water (cottonwood blooms, heavy slime in water, etc)
• Can ice over easier in sub 32 deg F environments
• Smaller sizes may have trouble passing knots between main line and leader
• Larger sized micros (5s, 4.5s, 4s) may be needed for larger diameter fishing line (ex. 25# monofilament)
• Availability – there are still some limitations in variety but this issue is quickly disappearing
• Lines with lots of memory (old mono) may not perform well

Micro guides are not for every angler or every rod. As with any rod selection, the buyer needs to be aware of what is available and how it will help or hinder his or her abilities on water. The greatest thing is that micros are a "new" option that really does impact rod performance.