Guides serve two basic functions. They transition the fly line from its unorganized state into a controlled state during the cast. The guides also serve to distribute the force applied to the line along the blank, during both the cast and the fighting of fish. Guides are positioned on a rod in gradually decreasing distances from each other as the rod tapers from butt to tip. Traditional fly rod guides have two "feet" around which silk is wrapped and coated to adhere the guide to the rod blank. Single-foot guides are also used to reduce the overall weight of the rod. The guides themselves are often "tapered" in that their diameter diminishes from largest to smallest down the rod to the tip.
Current rod-building trends lean toward increasing hardness to decrease friction for longer casts and toward saving weight by lightening rod components. To achieve this, guide coatings have advanced from simple hard chrome to more exotic coatings as well as various inserts.
Stripper Guides (the guide closest to the handle) are larger and can be lined with agate inserts. Guide colors come in natural silver or black. Agate inserts come in many colors and really add bling to the rod but are more expensive than standard Mildrum style.
Tip tops are guides that go on the end of the rod and come in natural silver or black.
