Recommendations on a 12' pluggin' stick...

[MountainBreeze]

There is a guy at work (well, he's actually my boss' boss' boss ) that is an excellent sweet water LM/SM bass fisherman. He hits the salt with friends a couple times a year and would like to get a new outfit for the surf.

He's a tall guy and is comfortable with the old 12' tree truck he chunks with but wants something to toss plugs. (2 - 3 oz)

Can you guys/gals please throw some recommendations out for a nice spinning rod?

Thanks,
Rob

BTW:
Cost is not a factor!

[JohnR]

Yes - get a 10' Allstar the 1265-2 I think is the model? Or a 1204 Arra - no need to go to 12 feet - truly over kill. In fishing the man with the biggest stick is not usually the best

[Steve K]

I love my Arra 1204 but the Lami GSB 1201L is a great blank that is more versatile.

[fishweewee]

Well, out of the 12 foot length you are specifying with a 3 ounce sweet spot, I can definitely recommend the Lamiglas Ron Arra XRA 132-2. It's my go-to stick when I want to HEAVE stuff out there.

-WW

[Mr. Sandman]

Questions to you owners of arra 1204 sticks.
It seems a little light to me. Can you cast a 3 oz woodie into the wind with that?

Have you heard of any breaking?

My other concern is that most of them are 2-pc surf rods...I can't believe that the connection doesn't degrade the action. I know they are better then they were but still, all that bending moment and stress has to be transfered thru the joint...it just seems like a problem waiting to happen.

[Mike P]

Recommendations on a 12' plug stick? Cut off 3 feet off the butt

Seriously, even a light weight 12' balnk can get old real fast unless you're the size of Big Dave. You get a little headwind and that extra 3' of length adds a lot of resistance on the cast.

The XRA can cast 3 oz and they come in one-piece blanks, altho not as finished rods. One piece factory rods over 9' are becoming extinct as the shipping costs are prohibitive.

If you want a little more punch than a 1204, you can get a black Lami GSB 120 1L. Or you could get an Arra 1322 and shorten it to 10' from the butt (you'll void the warranty tho). Also, the All Star 1208 will throw 3 without breaking a sweat, and it runs substantially less than any comparable Lamiglas blank. Talk to Mike T---he's probably built more rods on the All Star 1208 than anyone in this area, and if you want a little more length than 10', he can fit it with a butt extension. Something you'll never know is there once the rod is finished.

[Stewie]

I have an XRA1204 one piece. 6 inches removed from the butt end. It will throw 1-2 1/2 really nice , but it definitely balks at 3 oz. I'm afraid to lean into 3 with it because I'd feel really dumb if it blew up.

[SeaWolf]

mb1 - 12 is a lot of rod to throw/plug for several hours, graphite of not. i would push him towards 10-11'. 10' is typical and plenty.if he plans on throwing 3oz often, the xra1205 is the stick for him at 10'. if he wants longer xra1322 at 11'. the 1204 would be for stuff up to 2.5oz tops, in my opinion. it can handle 3, but throwing that size a lot justifies a 1205. the gsb1201m is another option w/ about the same sizes as the 1205, but slightly cheaper.

[MountainBreeze]

Thanks for the replies folks!

I'll pass the info on to him.

Tight Lines,
Rob

[Bob Senior]

I've heard all the arguments against big rods, but went ahead and built one anyway. It's an ultra-light Breakaway 13.5 foot spinning rig with a Sustain 6000. It's long and it's heavier than shorter rods--duhhh. But, casting from Narragansett Beach earlier this year, I bounced a pencil popper off the roof of the Breakers by mistake!!! Well, not quite. Its job is to reach schools from shore and it really excels at that.

It's absolutely a waste of money, time and energy to use it for day-to-day surf fishing, though (I use a Lami 11-footer for that and favaored my St. Croix 7.5-foot conventional a few weeks ago for a while when the fish were in the surf down here--you only needed about a 6-foot cast to ge into them.)

My 2 cents is go with the 10- and 11-foot suggestions.