AMERICAN TACKLE - VIRTUS LITE CAST/TROLL GUIDE 316SS 64DCRLVL MED/HEAVY CHROME DURA RING FISHING ROD GUIDE

American Tackle Virtus Lite Cast/Troll Guide 316SS 64DCRLVL Med/Heavy Chrome Dura Ring

The 64DCRLVL is the Lite half of the Virtus cast/troll family: a single guide in six ring sizes from 12 mm to 40 mm, on a 316 stainless steel frame with a chrome Dura ring, rated by the maker for medium to heavy work. Virtus frames are built for rods that both cast and troll, two different loads. Casting needs a stripper big enough to release line and pass a leader knot; trolling needs a frame that holds a loaded arc for hours without twisting. Lite suits a medium to heavy casting blank that also drags baits; the Virtus Heavy suits a rod that mainly trolls.

Key Features

• 316 stainless steel frame, the grade used for marine hardware
• Chrome Dura ring in the Ring Lock seat (the RL in the model code)
• Rated medium to heavy by the maker
• Six ring sizes: 12, 16, 20, 25, 30 and 40 mm, sold singly
• Model 64DCRLVL, SKUs coded by ring size

Virtus Lite Or Virtus Heavy

• 64DCRLVL, Lite — this model — The medium/heavy step, in bright chrome, for a blank that casts and jigs most of the day and trolls on the way home. Its ladder starts at 12 mm, so the train can run properly small at the tip end.
• Virtus Heavy — The heavier step: the 316SS black chrome Dura SW 64DBRLVH, and the 64NIRLVH. Choose Heavy when the rod's working life is spent under sustained trolling load rather than casting.
• Building both — One common approach: Heavy for the first two guides, which take the standing load, Lite for the running guides out to the tip.

How To Build With It

• Sizing the stripper — On a spinning build put the 40 or 30 mm nearest the reel to gather the cone off a 6000–14000 spool; on an overhead build start at 25 or 20 mm.
• Reduce, then run — Take the cone down through 30, 25 and 20 mm over the first third of the blank, then hold 16 and 12 mm to the tip.
• Static test at the trolling curve — If the rod will troll as well as cast, test at the deeper trolling arc, not the casting arc — that is the shape the frames live in.
• Wrapping — Ramp both feet with a flat file until thread climbs without a step, wrap, then seal in two thin epoxy coats.

Specifications

Recommended Pairing

• Medium to heavy cast and troll blanks with 6000–14000 spinning reels or heavier overheads
• PE 2–8 braid with a 40–150 lb fluorocarbon or nylon shock leader
• Size A or D thread and two-part epoxy; match the tip top to the 12 mm running guide