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Rod Advice - Ugly Stik Rods


Spookendorf

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Hi

I have read around a bit on this and another forum looking for a rod and reel combo for fishing on holidays. It will mostly be used in East Gippsland around Paynesville area for land based fishing of Flathead and Bream. Kids would like to do a little fishing on our summer holidays, I thought why not get something so I can join in as well. I haven't had a chance to fish since I was a kid. May also have the use of a kayak for fishing as well.

My ideal rod would be  7ft /2.13m 2-5kg travel rod  paired with 2500 reel as a decent allrounder.

I would prefer a travel rod as driving to holiday destinations with a wife and two kids in a 2 door hatchback doesn't leave a lot of room, also means I can pack the rod and reel when visiting the grandparents in Tassie when we fly.

My choices have also been limited by looking for something that is tough and can take some abuse. In all likely hood a pure graphite rod is going to get too many bumps and fail pretty quickly when trying to fish with two youngish children. Ugly Stik Rods seem to have a reputation of surviving some rougher treatment. I am a realistic parent as I'm sure the fishing rod will be used as a light sabre as soon as my back is turned . As with all things in life it will be a compromise solution, otherwise I would just buy a Shimano Raider Travel Rod or a Pfluger Transcendent travel rod.  With the Ugly Stik been a bit tougher I may be able to get away with a two piece rod and manage to squeeze this into the roof pod on top of the car. When the kids get older and a bit more responsible then I can look to upgrade the gear if we all still enjoy fishing together.

I'm looking at the following:

SHAKESPEARE UGLY STIK GOLD Travel Rod 6'6''/195cm, 3-6kg line weight, 4 piece Action : Light/Medium - price around  AUD $100

SHAKESPEARE UGLY STIK GOLD Spin Rod  7'0' / 210cm , 2-4kg line weight, 2 piece Action : Light - price around AUD $80

Could either of these rods be used with soft plastics or will these be just bait only rods? Would these be usable for my intended use of land based fishing with maybe some kayak fishing as well.  ? If anyone has used either of these and has some feedback on them in use it would be fantastic.

Thank You all for helping a novice out in advance.

Regards

The Spook.

 

 

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Hi Spook

Can't give you any info on travel rods but I have used Ugly Stiks from the day the hit the market and in my opinion are good value for the price, all my rods are 2 piece and my fishing is purely bait fishing estuarys , I use 1000 of 2500 size reels on them running either 2 or 3 kilo mono, hope this info helps.

MSB

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you'll find fibreglass rods more difficult to use if you are planning on throwing plastics. a graphite rod would be a better option here as they generally cast better, are lighter and impart a better action on the lure.  fibreglass rods are excellent for bait fishing.

on the flip side, graphite rods are more fragile and susceptible to damage if not packed securely or used properly.  fibreglass rods generally certainly have a better "bash" factor and may be a better option, especially if the kids start to imitate some of the more athletic moves of the jedi...

other option would be to get a couple of cheaper sticks from kmart for the kids to use (cheap combo about $20-$30) and grab something a little more serious for dad to use.  the raider rod series are great value for money, a 2-4kg weight would be perfect for what you have described, will throw baits, plastics and troll lures from the yak no worries.  there are often some good priced shimano combos in BCF catalogs, especially in the lead up to Xmas.

I have bother raider series rods and a couple of ugly sticks, both have their place in my collection.

haven't fished the gippsland lakes myself, hope you get amongst a few!

 

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Hi

Thank you MSB and Benno for the information, as the kids already have their cheaper bash and smash Rods. I decided to pop into the  BCF weekend sale managed to pick up a Raider Travel Rod 2-4kg and 2500 Sienna reel cost me around $140, it packs down small enough to fit in the top of the roof pod and backpack. I will most likely find a small hard case to keep it protected when traveling.

 Now to decide on braid , leader,  soft plastics and a landing net! Where is that search key...

I will grab an ugly stik as well at some stage for bait fishing, but at the moment not enough funds for both.

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Hi Milpool

That was my main issue as well, plus less chance of some light fingered thief nicking it from the roof racks when stopped while traveling. With kids stopping for a bite to eat goes from being 15mins to well over an hour most times, that's more than enough time for someone to underdo or just cut the ties and walk off with a rod.

Mean's I can leave it all in a fishing rucksack in the garage if we go to the beach then just throw the rucksack in the boot. Kids can have a swim at Brighton Beach or we can go for a fish off the pier.  

I will let you know how it goes in Mid-Jan after it has had a good two week work out on holidays 

The Spook

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  • 2 weeks later...

i've owned an ugly stick as far back as i can remember. they survive a fair bit of tough stuff with out so much as a concern for damage on fish.  and i've never known them to be a two piece.but WHO KNOWS what they are making now. i am this close to buying myself a couple of new sticks for next years barra season opening, which just happens to be on my birthday. 

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  • 4 months later...

I have 6 or 7 ugly stiks, they are a composite glass/graphite rod but the graphite is predominantly spiral bound like a spring, I think that they are the only brand that uses the Howald process to build them, so they have a huge hoop strength, which also gives them the tip sensitivity. They do have a range of 2 piece rods but the larger stronger rods are now confined to spinning reels or one piece especially in the overhead variety. They will take much more abuse than the straight graphite rods which you have to take care not to nick the rod or high stick them. Although I do have both types I still prefer in many ways the Ugly stiks as you are just able to fish with them instead of pampering them, my oldest rod is about 40 years old and I still fish with it, I just replace the guides if they fail, as that is the only thing that has happened to any of mine.

I am not sure about how they build  the newish GX2 or their travel rods though.

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On 02/04/2019 at 1:18 PM, Ed. said:

I have 6 or 7 ugly stiks, they are a composite glass/graphite rod but the graphite is predominantly spiral bound like a spring, I think that they are the only brand that uses the Howald process to build them, so they have a huge hoop strength, which also gives them the tip sensitivity. They do have a range of 2 piece rods but the larger stronger rods are now confined to spinning reels or one piece especially in the overhead variety. They will take much more abuse than the straight graphite rods which you have to take care not to nick the rod or high stick them. Although I do have both types I still prefer in many ways the Ugly stiks as you are just able to fish with them instead of pampering them, my oldest rod is about 40 years old and I still fish with it, I just replace the guides if they fail, as that is the only thing that has happened to any of mine.

I am not sure about how they build  the newish GX2 or their travel rods though.

Yep I have a few old ugly sticks. Great robust rod with deserved reputation. I wouldn't pick one for casting small/medium lures but perfect for pretty much everything else. 

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  • 7 months later...

There are lots of videos on YouTube about "how tuff are Ugly stiks". and usually you can go up a line class or two from what is stated on the rod and you would have to be doing something pretty silly to break on as shown in those clips. As this is an old thread and the OP has already got his rods this is a bit of a moot point except for some additional info for those who may be looking at getting Ugly Stiks. I picked up two USB-JOH5637 80lb 5'6" Blue Water jigging over head rods on about August and was quite impressed with the power of these thinnish rods. I paired them up with a Makaira 30 with 150lb braid, tied the line to a tree and put it on full sunset drag and no issues there, should have been about 55lb drag at that setting.The only downside is that these two rods had cracked epoxy on the first large guide only  when I first got them, it was where the guides sat on the blank in between the two feet. Easy enough to fix but should not have had to with a new rod.

 

I contacted the seller only to be given a story on how they contacted the distributor and just have to wait for them to respond, (that was about 8-10 weeks ago), so not holding my breath on that one, either way I have fixed one by re-coating the epoxy and will just do the same with the other in case the seller is talking out of his bum and trying to fob me off, he did offer to get me to return it but I have time as that one is just a spare rod now anyway so not really worth the trouble. I also have been toying with the idea of stripping all the guides on it anyway and fitting them with a set of SiC ones, purely because I have some spare.

So overall as others have said the Ugly's can take a beating and do survive. 

There is a silly commercial that was released that is good for a laugh, but I would not recommend doing it to any rod to prove a point.

 

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