Rod Guide Question

[SumoNinja]

So the dobyns 908 xp has 13 guides total. 

The 4th guide from the bottom needs to be replaced. The ceramic insert popped off and its gone. There are 6" between the bad guide and the guide on top of it. And there are 6" between the bad guide and the guide below it. 

My question is, if I just cut off the bad guide there'd be a 1 ft gap between 2 guides, will it affect the performance? My local shop gave me a 3 to 4 week lead time before they can work on my rod. 

This rod is mainly for striper and throwing huge baits like the mattlures 13" deadtwitch. So can I fish this rod for the winter season if I just cut off the bad guide for the time being, and get it replaced later on? 

Keep in mind if I cut it off, there's still 3 guides on the bottom, then there'd be a 1 ft gap, then 9 guides to the tip 

[Bud95]

Not an expert opinion here but I ran into a similar situation a while ago with my old Phenix M1. I removed the guide and used it for months and didn’t run into any trouble or notice any sort of issues with casting/retrieving.

[tHeINFamoUS]

Theoretically, when the rod is flexed, the line should be supported through the length of the blank, so as to not rub the blank (heat and friction will break line) and prevent any hard angle changes that will stress the line.  A foot between guides anywhere near the arch of the rod would most likely touch, and be a no go.  If it’s closer to the butt section where the power is, the rod won’t flex that much and you may be able to get away with it.  You can run line through the rod guides and test it out 
 

Practically speaking, I’ve seen guys with 7’ ugly sticks, factory built with too few guides…..line rubbing all over the place…..land good fish.  So depends on your appetite for risk.  
 

4 weeks is kind of a long wait.  Try to find a local rod builder and see if they can slip it into their rotation for a couple bucks over their normal guide replacement cost.  Or grab a repair kit and do it yourself, it’s not that hard.  

[bassbass]

This happened to my LDC years ago and did as you mentioned. Have never had a issue.

Edited October 26, 2023 by bassbass

[lurejunkie]

It will be OK to fish it without that guide.

If you email Dobyns he will send you a free replacement guide. I've had the same problem in the past so I bought the beginner rod builing kit and now I repair my own rods. I even repaired a rod for my brother earlier this year while in a wheelchair with a broke ankle. 

[SumoNinja]

Thanks guys, I feel a lot better. I might just cut it off for now, fish it, and then deal with it after trout season. 

In the pic below I circled the guide. It doesn't seem like it would affect performance at all but I just wanted to ask here fir everyone's thoughts

[AnthonyCatlow]

I had this happen to me with a Dobyns 867. I found a guide repair kit on Amazon for fairly cheap and it came with 3-5 replacement guides for each size. I believe they’re stainless steel inserts. I cleaned off the metal part of the guide with some rubbing alcohol and a Q Tip and did the same to the insert and put some super glue inside the guide and slid the insert inside and took a small spring clamp and clamped it together. It has held up great now for 2 years and hasn’t popped back out catching fish or throwing heavier baits like the 250. 

[Jim137a]

Plenty of youtube videos out there on this and plenty of places that sell ceramic replacement rings 

 

 

Edited October 27, 2023 by Jim137a