Ugly Sticks

[Crawlerman]

Anyone have any recomendations on these? The E-glass composite idea sounds interesting; as I really like my E-glass cat rod.. and it seems to be more sensitive than the straight e-glass as well. The only thing I find kinda funny is that it's a $30 rod and the grips are EVA. Oddly enough I only have one rod with a cork grip anyways.. and it does not seem to make a lot of difference to me.. I do like the twist-lock design though.. as it's less fidgiting with re-tightening the reel seat all the time...

Also I'm debating between the 6'0 and the 6'6". There's actually quite a bit of difference between the two for thickness and weight. I allready tried the 7' "medium" action, which is as thick as my cat rod. And the 5'10" is more like an ultra-light.

The seven year waranty is apealing.. most premium rods twice that price don't offer that...

But in general has anyone had any good... or bad.. expreinces with the Ugly Stick?

[Guest]

I have used Ugly Stiks for years. I like the ultalite ones for panfishing. They seem to be virtually indestructable and the threaded reel seat is great. The heavier ones aren't as sensitive as the IM-6 or IM-7 graphite rods are. I'm awfully fond of the Berkley Lightning rods. For the price, they are hard to beat. ..T.....BTW....Have you seen the Ugly Stik Ice rods? Not ready for prime time if you ask me.

[Aquaman01]

Maybe they're better than they were 20 years ago, but the first (and only) rod I ever broke was an ugly stick. I was horsing out a snag, probably too hard, but the rod hadn't come close to doubling over and snap. I'm no fan of that manufacturer's reels, either. All the kids' poles I've gotten failed immediately were that brand. If a company sells unreliable stuff to me, well, that's one thing - but to make cheap stuff for kids is not okay with me. I wouldn't buy that brand again - ever.

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Aquaman
< )/////><{
"I think we're gonna need a bigger boat."

[Bobb-o]

It really depends what you are going to be using the rod for. In my experience the Ugly Sticks have really slow speeds on them, I have one for fishing northern pike, but i dont think i would use one for fishing walleye or crappie. Maybe they make different speeds with their rods, but all the ones i have ever seen have had really slow speeds....If you want an inexpensive walleye or crappie rod go with a rapala rod, if you want the slower action for northern or catfish go with the ugly stick.

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"I may not agree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"

[Guest]

I had a couple of Ugly Sticks that I really liked. I decided to get another one last spring, so I went to the sporting store and got one. I put the rod in the bed of my pickup, and drove home.
When I got home, and went to put a reel on the rod, I noticed that an eye on the rod was missing it's ceramic insert. My wife was going by the same store the next day, so I asked her to exchange the rod, for one that was the same model. She came home with the rod, and it looked ok, so I set it up, and went fishing with it the next weekend.
After catching a couple of walleyes with the rod, I noticed that 2 of the eyes were missing the inserts (They were strung on the line, but out of the eyes).
I finished the day fishing with another rod, but when I got home, I took a close look at the eyes. I noticed that the eyes were made of a very soft steel. The very slightest top or side pressure on the steel ring part of the eye would cause the ceramic to pop right out.
I ended up getting a Berkley Lightning rod for about the same price, and have caught over 30 big Lake Trout with it with no problems.

I liked the action on the Ugly Stick, but they must have cheapened the line guides on them between the first time I bought one, and last spring.

[This message has been edited by Hrdh2o (edited 03-06-2003).]

[redhooks]

Ugly Stix definetly have a niche, although they aren't a high performance rod they can take an amazing amount of abuse. I have several that I bought in 96 while guiding up in Ak for silvers-I have seen the 2 piece rods rated for 10-15 lbs haul in 30 lb kings in current-that was enough to win my vote of confidence! I agree with Bobb-O about the slow action so they aren't great for sensitivity but work just fine for pike, bass and salmon (hardhitters). Nowadays I keep a couple rigged up with light-up slip bobbers for fishing with kids or night fishing w/ clumsy friends because I don't have to worry about them breaking. they are good travel rods because you can throw them in the boat/truck or backpack and not have to worry about them. I have noticed that the older ones had double foot steel guides and the newer ones are single foot aluminum and are more apt to get bent or broke, I like my older ones better. For me they are a valuable weapon to have in the arsenal.Get 'em bent!
redhooks

[Try Too Fish]

Hi Redhooks
What part of Alaska did you guide in,for the silver?
We were there fishing reds,on the Kenai river.Had a blast!
Hoped the silver would come in before we left but did'nt happen.mabey next time.
good fishing

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Try Too Fish
Forced Too Work!!

[Crawlerman]

right. This would be for a bass rod, where I really don't need to feel the strikes. In that case I might as well get the 6' 6"

The problem with the guides sounds discouarging, as I've only had a simmilar problem recently with a Shimmano rod of mine.. but the thing is atleast 7 years old...

As far as there other stuff. Shakespeare does I admit make a lot of cheaper stuff. Some of there higher end stuff however is good, I have a nice little Ultralight reel that I bought last year which I adore.. and it's so small... I saw a seven bearing, instant anti-reverse reel of Shakes'peares with an IM6 rod for $30 on clearance which I was half tempted to buy. This is the second suggestion I've recieve on the berkley rod; I have a Berkley E-glass rod for one of my cat rigs and I really like it. I'll take a look at the lightnings as well next time I make it to gander Mountain or fleet farm. Thanks all

[TUMBLEWEED]

Crawlerman and Others, They also make
an Ugly Stik Lite. This version has a
cork handle, and is more sensitive
than the original model. Price is only
ten bucks more (39.95). I have a one piece
in 6 foot 6inch and have found it to
be suitable for use requiring more "touch".
So far, I have not seen the eyelet problems
in either units I own(1 orig. & 1 Lite)???

[redhooks]

Hey Try Too Fish- I was up on the confluence of Lake creek and the Yetna River-it's about 60 Miles nw of anchorage. Great fishing for trout and all 5 salmon species. I wish I was still up there but but it's hard to make a living playing everyday. I have a bunch of friends up on the Kenai and try to get up there once a summer. Was up there in sept this year and caught the tail end of the silvers and some trout/dollies. Next year I'll be up there for kings though-can't wait Thats some cool looking water!
redhooks

[lakevet]

Crawlerman

My 6'6" 18 yr old ugly stik has had abuse (packs dropped on in in BWCA, my 5 yr old pretended it was a sword, etc) without any problems. Its always in the boat during the local bass tournies with a Rapala and has caught more than one winning fish. It went to Alaska for pinks and silvers and was great. I never worry about breaking it like my $100+ rods. It has outlasted several reels. I wouldn't use it for rigging walleyes, but it has it uses.

Lakevet

[This message has been edited by lakevet (edited 03-06-2003).]

[Guest]

Crawlerman, I am a new sponsor on this site that makes custom rods. You mentioned something about the warranties on the more expensive rods. Take a few minutes and check out my site. I think you will find all the warranties I give, very generous.
Thanks

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Jim Reed
http://countrykatfishing.com

[Crawlerman]

Thanks for the notion, but I'm looking at something under $50 here. I'm sure a custom rod would really be nice; but as serious as a fisherman I am, I don't do any tournaments or such and have so far done ok with the $10-20 graphite composite rods that go on sale each spring; but I am looking at a slight upgrade atleast for the Cardinal...

[Steve Foss]

I'm also a fan of the Lightning Rods. Hard to beat at that price.

I also have an E-glass Berkley cat rod (E-Cat #3), and I think a glass/graphite blend would be a good experiment to try. By blending them, can you get the sensitivity of graphite with the brute strength/endurance of glass?

[Guest]

I've got 2 old 6'6" U-Sticks with the old style guides. The soft tip is perfect for Catfishing. Have caught hundreds of Cats and probably twice as many snags ( LOL )on those 2 rods.
I have beat the snot out of those rods for 17 years now without a problem.
Also got 2 new style Ultra Lights that work good from drift fishing Gills in the summer.

I don't think they would make too good a jigging stick for Eyes though due to the soft tip.

[redhooks]

Hey Stcatfish- I have a graphite/glass blend like you are talking about, a friend in OR tied it for me for steelhead. The blank was a joint project from Lamiglass and Loomis and the bottom portion is 80%glass/20%graphite and the top is 80%graphite/20%glass- I really like for drift fishing!
redhooks