After losing the 2 biggest fish of my life this week....I'm thinking about upgrading my Canal Rod....I want to get a spinning rod...anybody got any suggestions? I know Mike isnt doing them anymore.....this is probably going to be a next year thing...I have a conventional set-up that works great so, that will do for this year....but thinking ahead here

I lost the fish on my current Spinning gear.....just not enough backbone to turn those fish in that current....

Couple of ?'s that will help people chime in with some suggestions. Plugging or jigging and what weight plug/jig you will be using.

i got a custom lami wrapped by a guy in RI, i dont want to post his info here and break rules.

His prices are great, lifetime gurantee, custom anything, built to spec. he blew away the competoirs prices when i was shopping it around this winter.

I used an ISU blank, lowrider guide set up, shrink tubing grip.

the thing is amazing!!! its rated 3 to 8oz, but will throw 1oz bucktails just fine. I was throwing a 4.5 oz pencil all day at the ditch with no worries.

lots of backbone and very responsive. you can feel each bump and every wiggle of the plug..

i throw everything for topwater, eels. bucktails, shads, etc.

The down side is its not the best pencil rod, but the best all around rod ive ever owned.

If I could only have one canal stick, I would chose the xra 126 1mh.. Love that rod!! very versatile for the canal.

Question...What is your current setup that you you plan to replace?

my current spinning set up is a 9 1/2' Team Diawa rod and a Shimano Stradic 6000....its my favorite set up...works fantastic of the beaches and in the bays, I can throw plugs a long ways with it but I just got overmatched in the Canal, lost a couple really big fish last week......I mean ......like the biggest fish I have ever hooked into...

I want to be able to throw anything from shads to Sebiles with it...

how about a Lami SB-1213M ? mine can launch a 9" shad to the moon.. its a bit whippy, but I see this as a good thing when using braid and a tight drag.

What is it rated for? I do not see a 9.5' if I do a search but the 9' is rated 1-5oz.

For an all around canal rod I would go with a GSB1201m it can handle anything you want to throw and stop a good fish.

To master the canal rod you pretty much need 2 rods.
rainshadow 1209 for jiggin
ron arra for plugs


With that said i have used the 1209 for sebiles,shads,plugs and mainly jiggs. The 1209 still throws a plug pretty good.

They run for 200.00 and have all th eback bone you need to turn those big girls

I use a XRA 1205. Will cast jigs to 5 OZ and land any fish. The 1209 recommended above is a good canal rod if you are using a spinning reel.

If you can find one, a St Croix Mojo 10'6" in length and rated 2-6 oz is an excellent all-purpose Canal rod. Costs $240 which is a good $100-$150 less than a custom built on a 126 1MH blank.

It has plenty of backbone. It isn't as good a jigging rod as a 1209, and it isn't as good a plugging rod as an Arra 1322, but for having one rod that can throw plugs to 4 oz and jigs to 5 oz, and fight a decent fish in current, you can't beat it. Even the stock reel seat placement is ideal for me. $240 for a rod that can serve both purposes, as opposed to $350 or so for a 1322 and $280 for a 1209, from CMS.

You're way undergunned with a 6000 size Shimano reel, too.