These are likely to be my main "go to" lures in my home waters this season.

Last season I purchased a Batson SW 1088. It's a nice rod but it's not as sensitive as the other Lamiglas and All Star rods I have and I'm not a huge fan of how it handles Bombers. I'm selling it to a friend who's needs it will meet better than mine.

I love the sensitivity of my All Star1145 and am considering getting another one cut down to 9'. Love how the 1145 handles Bombers.

I was hoping you guys could make some suggestions for other 9 foot rods they would meet this description.

Can anyone compare how the 1145 compares to an All Star 1088. Also wondering what an All Star 1087 will handle. Looking strictly for Graphite or Graphite/Fiberglass composite.

Thanks!

Lami GLB 1081 MH! I have one wrapped, wrapping another, and 2 of my fishing partners are wrapping them now. You will not be disapointed in it!

Toby curious why you chose this blank over the GSB 108 1M. The GLB is a live bait blank where the GSB is a surf blank. I am considering a 9'er at some point in the near future mainly for sluggo's and was thinking the GSB 108 1M myself. My 120 1's are too long for doing this and wanted more backbone than my XS 8 1 MS has.

Allstar 1088 compare to 1145. The 1088 is a much more powerful rod. or example , I think the 1088 alstar is good for the breachways. The other 1088's like the pac bays and Batsons are not but the allstar 1088 is powerful enough . The 1145 is a great rod for tossing 3/4 to 3 along the beaches. Most excellent actually.

I would say the best 9 foot rod for the sluggos would be a Loomis 108-20 if you can find one.. Next choice would be a Lami XRA 1084.

I gave the 1084 some consideration but thought it may be too fast a blank for throwing sluggo's.

Toby curious why you chose this blank over the GSB 108 1M. The GLB is a live bait blank where the GSB is a surf blank. I am considering a 9'er at some point in the near future mainly for sluggo's and was thinking the GSB 108 1M myself. My 120 1's are too long for doing this and wanted more backbone than my XS 8 1 MS has.
The MH is one ounce lighter than the M, but more powerful of a blank. I have had mine for 2 seasons now. For much of last year, it actually replaced my 1201M. I was a die hard 10' guy for the surf until I was advised of this blank by Seawolf. Now I only take out the 10' when I need the extra length. It works/casts Slug-go's like a dream!

The MH is one ounce lighter than the M, but more powerful of a blank. I have had mine for 2 seasons now. For much of last year, it actually replaced my 1201M. I was a die hard 10' guy for the surf until I was advised of this blank by Seawolf. Now I only take out the 10' when I need the extra length. It works/casts Slug-go's like a dream!

I need to get my hands on the 1081mh to see what it feels like. It makes me a little nervous that it a live bait rod.

Toby, what is the wt range that blank will handle. I'm looking for something that does sluggos up to 3...

I built a a GLB108 1M last year and I felt it was a little soft for what I was trying to do with it. The rod was stolen so I need to replace it. I was looking for something with a bit more backbone but that still has a sensitive tip.

i'll have a gsb1201m custom spin on display, possibly a custom gsb1081m on display, and i can bring a glb1081mh blank to check out at the risaa show the end of the month. i'll be next to the salt water edge's booth demo'ing rods.

the glb1081mh is a nice blank as toby mentioned. i have one in the queue to be built for myself to do much of what toby mentioned he does with his. a 9' rod has it's places, where a 10' may not be the best choice, and vice-versa.

the lami might not feel a "crisp" or quite as sensitive as an all star, rainshadow, or loomis equivalent blank, but one thing about the lami gsb/glb series of blanks is the durability. they are tough, graphite blanks. the others are a faster action type of blanks.

Dave definately bring both the gsb 108 1 m and the glb 108 1 mh to the show. I am interested in checking them out.

I need to get my hands on the 1081mh to see what it feels like. It makes me a little nervous that it a live bait rod.
What about it being a "live bait rod" makes you nervous?

The range is amazing on this rod. It will launch an un-weighted 7" red fin just as far as any other rod, and I have layed into pencil poppers that are just over 4 ounces with it. Even my 1201M felt stressed when fully loaded up on that pencil, but the MH handled it fine. This rod has a great balance of power, weight, and range. If I could only fish one rod in the surf, this would be it. I never thought I would say that about a 9' rod...

Dave, if I can get my MH to you before the show, you can borrow it to show guys if you want to.

What about it being a "live bait rod" makes you nervous?

I guess just that I have not experience with rods classified as live bait rods. But I'm over that based on your description of what its capable of.

I think Steve M uses a Loomis 1084 for his sluggos :huh:

Toby glad to hear that about the lure weight range. I know lami has it rated 1-3 1/2. I like the fact that you can lay into it with 4 with confidence, that makes me feel better considering lami's rep of overating their rods. Based on what Dave had to say about the sensitivity what's your input on that? Considering it is catoragized as a live bait rod I would assume it should be decent in that area as far as feeling a pick up or hit. I like what I'm hearing so far just a little concerned on his comment.

If it can tro 4 oz.feelin a bomber won't be it's strong suit.U can't have it both ways.Out of necessity I have learned to work off the lack of feel rather than feel.when I feel i swing.I whip bombers an red fins no loading just centrifugal force.Loading makes em tumble,in whipping em The plug gets ass out an kinda sails out there.The GLB sounds like a nice rod.I built a harnell for this appliction last fall.its not excactly light.But it'll handle whatever i ask of it.would be nice to lighten up.Especially workin sluggo's.

The rod "feels" a plug fine. I originally built the rod for river use with mainly 7" bombers and 9" slug-gos (before slug-gos were cool) in mind. In that application, you toss the plug out across the current, hold it under tenstion, and let the plug swing across the current. You need to be able to feel every little wiggle of the lure to tell when you are on bottom or on a fish. The rod is very sensitive. I was extremely suprised with the rod when I first put it to use. I had been searching for the "perfect" rod for river use for several years, going through a lot of blanks in the process, and this one perfectly fits the bill. It wasn't until this year i found out just how good of an all around rod it truly is. I think if more people knew about the blank, it would be a very popular choice to have built.

I'll have to try one.

I wouldn't be using it for bombers as much as I would sluggo's, eels and maybe some other plugs but more so sluggo's seeing how that would seem to be the ideal rod. I like what you have to say about it's versatility. Toby was your rod the one Dave was refering to? If so I'd like to check it out at one of the shows. I was probably going to MSBA and RISAA. Sounds like the rod I will be having built shortly.

Tlap, how would you compare the GLB 1081 MH to the SW1088 as far as feel and action go. I'm not sure if I'm just used to the feel of really fast blanks, all stars, and that's why I'm not crazy about my 1088. The 1088 does have a larger range than the allstars do though so it may just be a trade off as NIB said.

toby, sure, bring the rod if you want. at least i'll have one built as i figure i might have mine w/ the reel seat glued, cork tape on it and maybe tape on the guides by showtime. same w/ the gsb1081m, maybe.

luds - the old all star sw1088 has a "tigher" feel and is faster in action. the gsb series is a lower modulus, thus a more moderate/fast action. and, again, all star does not make blanks anymore. you'd be looking at the sw or su rainshadows as a similar rod. fast action rods and eels dont work well. i dont build on loomis.

as far as lure selection and whether the rod can handle the wide range of lures, this is the single most asked question - if you had one rod or the "perfect rod". it really doesnt exist. too many circumstances to deal with or fit. you take sacrifices somewhere with one rod/blank and that same blank excels in other areas. but, some blanks/rods have most positives than negatives and may be a better choice. what might be good for one tho, may not be good for the another.

Steve M uses a Star Rod. Not sure but something like the DLX20 but not exactly.

http://www.seastriker.com/starrods/starrods_files/page0004.htm

I don't think I'm asking for a do all rod.

What does a weighted Sluggo weigh? Maybe 1.75 Oz. I don't think 1-1.75 Oz. is alot to ask for as far as casting weight range. I'm not asking for 1-3. If I was I'd expect to sacrifice some on the lighter or heavier end of that range. The 1081mh sounds like an awsome rod and I think I may work it into my arsenal this year as it sounds like it's the closest to a "do all" rod that you can get. TLap thanks for the recomendation. It sounds like you turned a bunch of us on to a special blank. For Sluggos I would think the more sensitive of blank the better it would be for them. I don't think sensitivity would be bad in most rods that handle 1-1.75 Oz.

The main challenge I think I'm facing here is power. I want someting that works well with 1 Oz. but has ability to put up a good fight with a 20#-30# fish in the surf. I'm not looking for something to use in the rocks but more something that could have enough power to land a good fish in a decent surf. I have heavier sticks that will do the job in the rocks (I should have clarified this earlier).

1088 :kewl:

I want someting that works well with 1 Oz. but has ability to put up a good fight with a 20#-30# fish in the surf. I'm not looking for something to use in the rocks but more something that could have enough power to land a good fish in a decent surf.

Check out the Loomis 1084

Check out the Loomis 1084

I'm gonna.

The main challenge I think I'm facing here is power. I want someting that works well with 1 Oz. but has ability to put up a good fight with a 20#-30# fish in the surf. I'm not looking for something to use in the rocks but more something that could have enough power to land a good fish in a decent surf. I have heavier sticks that will do the job in the rocks (I should have clarified this earlier).
Took this 35# on the MH, along with a couple other in the 20 - 30 # range on Cutty last year. Doesn't get much rockier than out there.

BTW--the Loomis 1084 is built on the same blank as the 108-20 Saltheart mentioned at the top of the thread ;)

Or, at least it was before Shimano took over Loomis.

Took this 35# on the MH, along with a couple other in the 20 - 30 # range on Cutty last year. Doesn't get much rockier than out there.

nice pic.:soon: