Mike P - Can You Render An Opinion On A Lami S-Glass Rod?

[Crafty Angler]

Mike, since it seems we're both fans of the same rod and it's a res judicata, what blank would you recommend to base a replacement on for the old school Lami S-glass eeling rod I broke season before last?

My old favorite was a 132 3M cut down to 10'6" - I spent some time on the Google last night and reread a few of your archived posts - including an oldie from WMI in 2000 - on S glass blanks

Bottom line is, would you recommend a 132 3M cut back or just go with a 121 3M as is?

I did pick up a pre-owned 108 3M in beautiful shape yesterday wrapped by CMS ......and while I'm looking forward to using it, it made me want to have another 10 to 10'6" eeling rod wrapped for this year while I'm still young enough (barely) to enjoy it

I found an old school 11' S glass in great shape last year but it's just overkill for the spots I fish most often

What do you think?

[Crafty Angler]

Also meant to add if any builders out there have an opinion, please feel free to weigh in

Thanks in advance...

[JohnR]

I've been debating (for years) a glass eeling rod myself...

[Crafty Angler]

Originally Posted by JohnR

I've been debating (for years) a glass eeling rod myself...

Once I figure out which blank to have it wrapped on, you can try mine, John - the only problem may be taking the Long Walk as opposed to the Short one to fully appreciate it...

I'll quote Mike (the Sultan of S-Glass...) himself from his 2005 post here:

"Comfortable casting range starts around 2 oz. This is a slow-loading fiberglass rod that's perfect for slinging big eels, as the slow load keeps you from tearing eels loose if you have to drive your cast...Fantastic for the biggest plugs, and you can whip a fish on this rod faster than the guys around you would ever believe. ... Being fiberglass, it stands up well to rocks and you can lean into fish to get them away from the junk. If I could only have one rod to fish with, this would be it."

Great rod, but fishing glass again may feel a little weird at first. Perfect for big pencils, too, like a Habs 3.5 oz Canal special - when you shake it, the S-Glass vibrates in a parabolic arc and you can't get that parabolic shake with graphite like the GSB's. Just got a 108 3M for rigged Sluggos, smaller pencils and smaller eels - it's big brother is just a great big water/big fish set-up

Just trying to figure out if lopping off that much from a 132 will stiffen it too much

Maybe Saltheart or Seawolf will chime in on it

[SeaWolf]

since you asked...

first off, you said "132 3m". no such animal from lami. you probably meant the sb1363m e-glass or ssb1363m s-glass models from lami. their gsb1321m or 1L are in the "132"/11' range if you got confused.

for what it is worth, glass has a limited use today in the surf in my opinion. if you need to custom build a rod for a certain application, such as a large, heavy pluggin' rod, then maybe glass, but glass overall is heavy. after fishing for graphite for so many years, it's hard to go back and their are plenty of options for fit a multitude of purposes. with that said, it's really hard to beat the lami gsb1201m (10') or gsb1321m (11') graphite blanks in general and for eeling rods. they are relatively inexpensive, proven, and pretty durable. both are good up to 4 ounces and 5 if you need to lob a little extra. every customer i've built either of these rods for has been more than happy with their choice. of course, my favorite all around jetty blank is still the glass sb1213m at 10'. glass does rule on a jetty, but under 10'

if you want something a little closer to glass, you could look at the L versions of either blank, but both start to really top off at 3 ounces. another option gaining popularity is the super seeker baby ulua. it's 10', composite s-glass/graphite and bends all the way to the butt w/ a lot of power in the butt. it loads real soft. it's a very popular pencil popper rod. but, this blank can push in price up to that is a lami super surf.

personally, i think the sb1083m is almost useless in the surf, except for throwing small rebel like plugs. i usually make the boat version of this blank into a boat spin rod and cut a lot off the tip. the lami graphite 9' blanks are much better options.

[Crafty Angler]

Thanks, Dave - then it would have been the 136 my old favorite was based on, but the 121-3M is starting to sound like the blank of choice for me. The super seeker composite sounds interesting but I'm looking for that soft-loading characteristic at a reasonable price-point

Yup, I'm familiar with the GSB's, I've been using a 120-1L locally as my primary stick since '99 and like it a lot but it gets dicey at 3 oz - used a 120 1m this fall, but it's not high on my immediate list right now

I know DZ uses the 1L with the tip slightly trimmed back as an all purpose rod for eels, riggies and plugs and we talked about it again last week - I may try that on my older 120 this season

I'll see what happens with the 108 3M early this spring - worst case scenario, I'll cut 2' off the butt and make it a freshie rod for plastics or 2' off the tip and use it for blackfish off the boat next fall...

Thanks again