Abstract: A universal guide is a base of a fishing line guide assembly designed to conform to the outside radius of a round rod or to the flat surface of a rod having a polygonal cross section. The guide is preferably helical. The base has a curved top side, a segmented underside, and tips at the toes of the guide. The underside has a concave portion and a flat portion. The concave portion comprises the center of the segmented underside and extends the length thereof. The surface of the concave portion is designed to conform to the outside diameter of a round rod. The flat portion flanks both sides of the central concave portion and also extends the length of the guide foot. The surfaces of the flat portion are designed to match the outside surface of a standard fishing rod having a polygonal cross section. The guide foot tips taper the thickness of the base from the top surface to the underside enabling a smooth transition for wrapping at the guide-rod interface.