Jigging the ditch XRA 1261MH with Saltiga 6500DF
Plugging Anywhere GSB1201 M with Saltiga TG5000H
Eels and light stuff SSU 1201 M with VS250

Love them all

SW1208 w/ Progear 501CS/Avet SX
SS 10' 1-4 w/ VS 200

this year I'll have a Century 1327 and Stealth 11' as well as the AFAW Uptide...that rod will be in the truck 24/7 with an EmPro 5000

bumping this up, 4 years later. lots of new rods on the market, curious what everyone is using now.

For me the last few yrs have been a CTS Vapor Trail 3-6 with a VS250. Having a 120 1M Lami being built now to use with a VS200 for when i don't feel like throwing an 11fter.

A GSB 1321M/ZB25 and a GSB1201L/VS150 (or StellaSW5000).......both built as light as practical with rapid reduction layouts using titanium guides.....covers my needs very well.

I have added a FSC 1266/ZB22 which I built as a niche rod for throwing lighter stuff where I needed more stopping power than the 1201L provided. Turns out it can do much of what the 1321m does as well and if you are looking for a single "do it all" blank that one is worth considering.

I do believe that no matter what blank you choose it can be improved by building it with lighter and smaller guides.
It sounds extreme, and the jury is still out, but a decent argument can be made that if your second guide (from the butt) is larger than a 16 you are burdening the blank more than necessary. People considering a new build (and willing to pay for performance) should check out the new ST Croix Legend to see what is possible with the newer guide choices. I am not advocating buying that rod, I know nothing about it, only commenting that the guide layout (and even it is a compromise) is where things are probably heading.

Still a gsb series fan. 1081m, 1201L, 1201M. VS 200 and 250 most of the time. Mix in Santiago 4500 occasionally.
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Good Bump - will be interesting to see where the new kit is in comparison to the old stuff....

I debated upgrading my 10' stick so would like to see what people are doing today

If I had to pick one single "do absolutely everything I need it to do" combo, the choice is easy as it's what I have been using 90% of the time for the last several years: Lami 1321m with VS250. I can throw anything from an unloaded Redfin on up to a whole live bunker with it and have never once felt under gunned. I have the rod wrapped with a combo of K frames and BMNAG runners and it casts/fights a fish like a dream.

Still the same 1205 and saltiga from 2012. Where lighter gear is ok, my favorite combo ever is an all star 1085 w/ stella sw5000.

One change is the quality of the current generation of budget reels, I can't see ever again paying the price for even a used stella or saltiga for fishing for striped bass.

Good post. Mine is currently a 1201M w/ ZB25, but definitely interested in 1321M down the road to fill out the arsenal.

My go to set up 85% of the time was 1201M with VS200. Dont surf fish as much as I did. Miss it though.

My go to rod is a once piece 11' CTS Vapor Trail rated 4-8 ounces and I fish it with a VS 250. I performs well for me plugging, eeling, throwing riggies and chunking and it has plenty of backbone to turn larger fish.

For the last 2+ years it has been the 11' Century Noreaster (standard)
rated 2-5 oz. throws plugs , eels, chunks... my all around, one and done
rod.

paired with a VS 200 or 250 ...

Bounce back and fourth between a 1321m and 1201m so much that I made a 1321m with 6" cut from the butt hoping to find a happy medium (I prefer to fish a 200 sized reel) but I didn't like it as much as I thought.

Might try it again with one of the newer old school GSBs but I have some other stuff to build first.
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Century stealth 10' for 90% of local surf stuff. I have felt undergunned with it on a few occasions. Doesn't like big eels or 3 oz pugs too much. Use it usually with a vs200. Also use the Stealth 11' when i need a bigger stick with a zb27. Chunking i use old Tica 10' that is a beast matched with an abu 7k. Last year i picked up a Shimano baitrunner that i occasionally put on a Lami Super surf 10' two piece broom stick. Good rod for chunking but its too stiff for most surf applications, good for breachways that's about it. Schoolies/albies i have a 8'6" steelhead rod matched with a penn ssv 4500. Fun combo but the reel isn't too durable.

I did the same with a 1201m as a go between for 1201m and 1081m. I like it but use the others more also.

Awesome. Almost a secret that few know.

1201m with a vs250 is my go to. 1213 with a Newell for chunking
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I might've built it wrong but I'm not sure the GSB does well cut. Everyone loves 1201m with a foot removed though.

+1 with ZX25 though
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That's common with the 1201L, today popular because John Skinner uses one. Steve McKenna also uses variants of that rod and is a proponent.

But, the 1201L is already pretty slow, and taking a foot off the bottom really cuts off the power and it will bend even deeper on you past the handle. I went with a a 9'6" version, with 3" off the tip to bring the tip into the same as the 1201M and 3" off the butt, slowing it back down. Works really well for an all around versatile rod. Excellent rod for CT waters.

I am looking myself, for something that will cut it for open ocean and nasty weather, but still be useable otherwise, in case it isn't quite as tough as you thought when you grabbed the rod from the truck and hiked it out. I'm torn between the Lami GSB 1321 and the FSC 1327. I do really like the FSC, but, I also like proven technology, i.e. the Lami 1321.

[QUOTE=eskimo;1116603]Bounce back and fourth between a 1321m and 1201m so much that I made a 1321m with 6" cut from the butt hoping to find a happy medium (I prefer to fish a 200 sized reel) but I didn't like it as much as I thought.

I had one built the same way a number of years ago,i thought it was going to be the perfect rod. Not at all what i expected, sold it at the end of the first season with it.

[QUOTE=Rob Rockcrawler;1116708]Sounds great on paper but I suspect what Yudi mentioned above with the 1201L is happening.

Tempted to do it again with one of the new Old School GSBs but I think I'll just cut my losses.
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For the last two years my go-to set up has been an FSC 1327 paired with a Penn 706z (upgraded to VSx250 this season).

I can't say enough good things about this rod. Probably the best plugging/eeling rod I've ever owned for where I like to fish. It take a beating, too.

With that being said, if I could only choose one rod from the arsenal, it would be my first generation 10 ft. 1pc Lami SSU. That rod can do just about everything from a 1oz bucktail, sp minnow, SS darter, up to a 6oz shad. I can't jig like that with the FSC so that why is the Lami gets the slight edge. It' also an extremely tough rod as well. They had quality control issues with the other SSU models thus resulting in that line being discontinued a while back, but the 10ft 1pc is a beast. Mine's still going strong after 9 years of abuse.

The 1327 felt great but I've been trying to move away from a softer rod so I was looking at a 1267. It felt just soft enough to throw eels.

That first gen SSU was nice but obviously grew a bad reputation of blowing up. The second gen felt just as good but probably guilty by association. I wish I bought and built a Infinity as that might have been the golden ticket. Some of the ODM stuff feels good but just not for me.
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It's funny man, I seem to be going in the opposite direction. I'm used to fishing fast rods, but I like the give of the soft tip when a fish makes a run in the boulders. I've pulled way less hooks fishing the 1327 the last 2 years, but it took some time to get adjusted.

I hear you about ODM. A lot of guys like how light and seemingly powerful the blanks are, but I prefer heavier gear.

I have what seems to be a set up for every way I fish. I love my GSB1201 M with a ZX27 for surf it throws everything I need it to. I also use a 1201M conventional for drifting eels with a Truth SG reel.

Canal set ups are Century KNE with a Dogfight ,jigging is an old 1208 with a Diawa Isla 7000H. But they hardly get used anymore as I've taken to dislike people and prefer fishing alone!
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That's a ton of gear, do u ever catch anything?

This is mine as well. Does anything anywhere.

But How do you scrape this layer of dust off the rod?
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You should see my tuna set ups...I have more boat gear than surf stuff now, and no damn boat! Yet.

zx27 on a 1321m.