Does anyone out there own this rod? I was thinking about buying one and was wondering if I could get some opinions on this particular model for a little spoon fishing, drift fishing and some winter float fishing. Thanks in advance. Jeff

It's a great rod. I have the 1261 and the 1263. The 1261 is great for lighter line and lower water. The action is a little slower than the 1263, but is plenty strong to handle big fish. The 1263 is a little stiffer, and does fine with the line weight you are talking about. It did a great job for me last winter when I was in Washington. Both of my rods are GL3. Haven't tried to drift fish with them yet, but I think they would be fine on Big Water. Hope this helps you out

Hey that's my rod, the 1263C.

I love this rod! I use it for everything from steelies to kings. The best part about this rod is that it's capable of handling a 40lbs spring on the Fraser, yet the rod is light enough that you don't feel like you're overpowering a small steelhead. The 10-1/2 feet gives you jaw breaking hook sets! I use the rod primarily for float fishing with dinks and drifting when I'm on big rivers. I even load this rod with 25# test while fishing the Fraser and it handles the heavy line and strong current just fine. If you purchase this rod you will definately be happy.

You may want to check with TH Custom rods, Travis might be able to craft you a rod a little cheaper than buying it directly from Loomis.

Bobber Down

"Keep your hooks sharp!"

Ditto to what Hawk and Bobber Down said.The 1263 is a great stick.I run 30# Power Pro for main line,but you can actually fish down to 6# leaders no problem despite how much power this rod has.

The model I have is a St 1263-B.I use it to Floatfish coho and steelies with the old seldex pin I use, and it's a great guts rod. My question is this...is there a difference between a 1263c and a 1263b? because I would never fish a leader heavier than 12# on the st1263B considering how slow the action of the rod is, much less a 25#leader on the Fraser,the rod would definately explode.
Matt

Float"n"Blade
Was this a custom made rod? The "b" usually stands for "blank",If so, this is the same rod as we are talking about.

Ya, the rod is custom, I use it as a backup and on smaller rivers. For me it's mainly a coho and summer run rod. It can't possibly be the same rod as the guy who lands 40# springs in the Fraser, because the rod I have could never land a big Spring in the Fraser, much less chuck the 3oz betty that we use to get down, unless I pulled anchor and followed the fish for an hour.

The 1263 is a great rod... and will handle the biggest steelhead and salmon around.. great float rod..

TH
www.thcustomrods.com

FYI although the 1263C is a great rod an alternative is the Rainshadow 1264 which you can have custom built for about $50 to $100 cheaper. Supposedly the Rainshadow has comparable specs as the GL3.

I agreee, the Rainshadow is a wonderful rod... and well over $100 cheaper...

The Rainshadow is a GL3 quality blank!

TH
www.thcustomrods.com

Thanks guys, Now Im going to have to get a 1263. I already have a 1265 GL2, Now thats the rod to use on chinook! Is the 1263 comparable to the 1143? Sometimes I feel my 1143 isnt quite up to the task when I hook a fish in heavier flows.