What rod to buy. which is better.

[Mattones]

I was looking at buying the Ugly Stik Lite Spin Combo, 7 ft for $69.99 and the Zebco Recon 3 Spin Combo, 6-ft 6-in which is 39.99 on sale at half price.

 

I have heard good things about ugly sticks. and nothing on Zebco.

 

I have a 6' eclipse from wal-mart currently and not too happy with it. So i'm thinking of changing up.

Edited June 6, 2008 by Mattones

[danbo]

What fish & technique are you after? Then buy the best you can afford.

My free advice is buy a good reel 1st,eg; Daiwa Exceler

Then a decent rod..Shakespeare is a start. Fenwick is really great HMG series.

[Mattones]

I'll be fishing for what my pals want to go fishing for. last month was trout and this month seems like pike and Salmon. Just looking for a rod that wont snap in two if I decide to go for big game fish.

 

thanks for the reply:D

[danbouck]

Can't go wrong with an ugly stick.

[Weeds]

I picked up an ugly stik last year as I don't do alot of spinning rod fishing but was curious as I'd heard alot of good things about the ugly stiks. I like it. Great Value. Truly very durable, great trunk rod or back up (or main rod) as it really is tougher than rods way over it's price. A bit noodle like/slowish on the hookset but hey, what do I know, like I said, I don't use alot of spinning rods.

[Mattones]

An ugly stick transmits very little "feel" to the angler, because of the "noodle" factor. It is also more difficult to hookset with a limber tip, requiring a greatter amount of effort to set the hooks.

The upside is the rod is quite durable and trunk friendly, and can withstand a greater amount of abuse and mishandling.

Invest another $30 or so and you'll get a better rod with a faster tip (more backbone).

This also means that you will be able to cast further, because this rod won't have all that shake the Ugly Stick has.

 

Can you recommend me a one with a little more backbone

[danbo]

i did.

[Zubris21]

Ugly Sticks are virtually indestructible, but as pointed out you do loose a bit of feel. I purchased an ugly stick (6'6 med. action) without really checking it out enough. After a couple hours on the water I started to realize the handle was way to thick for my liking and I found my hands were getting really sore from it. A friend of mine has the ultralight and when compared the 2 rods have the same handle size, so keep your head up for that if its of any concern.

[Canuck2fan]

You can't beat the overall versatility and price of an ugly stick..... The things it will do outweigh a lot of the short comings. If you can't get a good hookset with one try using that $4.00 hook sharpener you bought because your grand dad had one and you wanted to be just like him. A sharp hook makes a good hook set a lot easier. I don't want to offend the previous posters but working out the arms a little can help in developing the speed to get a good hook set too ;o)

 

The other day I was using a crappy old berkley 10ft trout rod and another angler right beside me was using a Fenwick medium/heavy action 7 1/2ft H something. Anyhow we were both fishing pike with minnows under a float I landed 5 pike to his 2 and he had about 6 get off. When he asked how I was managing to land all of mine I handed him my hook sharpener. Bingo all of a sudden he is actually catching pike instead of just feeding them his very expensive minnows. He really looked stunned when he was asking what hooks I was using and I showed him I was just using the big hooks that came with the .50 cent pickerel rigs I got at Walmart. I had just taken a minute to sharpened them up. It is only pike fishing I told him no need to go spend any money on good hooks....

[Cudz]

I don't want to "bash" the ugly stick but really the ONLY thing it has going for it is strength. If you are only trolling it works fine I guess. They are not very sensitive at all. They are heavy and have no backbone. Hookset are slow as a result. I guess if you need a backup rod it would do in a pinch but spend some extra money. Dando is not wrong with recommending fenwick.

[jace]

One of the biggest trade-off in fishing rods is toughness or sensitivity. you cna't have both. Also if 2 rods are exactly the same in dimenstions but one is lighter, it will be more sensitive because vibrations have less rod weight dampening the wiggle to get to your hand.

 

secondly, rod toughness is always done by adding fiberglass to the mix...that's what uglystiks are built with as well as big trolling rods, and stand-up rods like tuna and marlin sticks. do you need sensitivity for that kind of fishing though? definitely not because the rod is in the holder until a fish is on.

 

third, if you want nice solid backbone with crisp hook setting power, you have to get graphite...fiberglass rods are like rubber in comparison, very slow action like classic glass flyrods.

 

...so if you want sensitivity, you need to stay away from fiberglass or "composites" like the UglyStik which almost always means fiberglass is used.

 

Since you're already looking at spending $70, why not spend another $30 and get an entry level higher end rod? There are a lot of rods to choose from in the $100 range that are fairly sensitive, good stiff crisp backbone, lots of poer, nice and light. some of the base model st croix like the inexpensive "Premier" or "triumph" series. ...almost all of the spinning rods in these 2 series are under $100. Of these 2, get a premier as your 1st choice if you can.

[Burtess]

As a few have said, I would pass on the Ugly Stick and get something a bit more sensitive.

 

Berkely Lightning Rod can be had for under $40....

 

Fenwick Eagle GT and Shimano Convergence for under $50....

 

I am sure you would like these more than the Ugly Stick.

 

Burt

[Raf]

so how do you feel about fishing?

 

if you now find yourself thinking about the next fishn trip with your buddies, like the others have said, skip ct or walmart and for a few more dollars you can get something a little better. my opinion, you'll be glad in the long run because you will upgrade if you go with the ugly stik. go to a tackle store and hold them, you'll see a difference immediately.

 

on the other hand, the ugly stik will work and if you just need something to have and beat around, it'll take it. for a cheap price. i could never bring myself to suggesting anyone buying one though.

Edited June 7, 2008 by Raf

[danbo]

Why not just borrow your buddies stuff, then you'll have $$ for burgers or fuel!

[Cudz]

Daiwa Terra rods at LeBarons are around $55 and they are IM7 rods. I have a baitcasting 6'6 mh and is a good rod. 10 good quality eyes as well.

[Spiel]

i could never bring myself to suggesting anyone buying one though.

 

Me either, I'd skip it in favour of something, anything better.

[bigbuck]

Save up and buy something of a higher quality that you'll have for years as opposed to buying cheaper rods and replacing them every couple of months.

[Mattones]

One of the biggest trade-off in fishing rods is toughness or sensitivity. you cna't have both. Also if 2 rods are exactly the same in dimenstions but one is lighter, it will be more sensitive because vibrations have less rod weight dampening the wiggle to get to your hand.

 

secondly, rod toughness is always done by adding fiberglass to the mix...that's what uglystiks are built with as well as big trolling rods, and stand-up rods like tuna and marlin sticks. do you need sensitivity for that kind of fishing though? definitely not because the rod is in the holder until a fish is on.

 

third, if you want nice solid backbone with crisp hook setting power, you have to get graphite...fiberglass rods are like rubber in comparison, very slow action like classic glass flyrods.

 

...so if you want sensitivity, you need to stay away from fiberglass or "composites" like the UglyStik which almost always means fiberglass is used.

 

Since you're already looking at spending $70, why not spend another $30 and get an entry level higher end rod? There are a lot of rods to choose from in the $100 range that are fairly sensitive, good stiff crisp backbone, lots of poer, nice and light. some of the base model st croix like the inexpensive "Premier" or "triumph" series. ...almost all of the spinning rods in these 2 series are under $100. Of these 2, get a premier as your 1st choice if you can.

 

Awesome thanks a lot for the info.

 

Where abouts can I buy a ''Premier'' or TRIUMPH series rod? BPS is way to far for me. I live in Burlington/Oakville

[bassfighter]

Go to Lebaron and you might be able to find some decent stiffer rod for under $40. Some Daiwa brand are only under $25. Good for any fish under 10 lber to start with.

 

If you are using artificial lure and crank bait, the stiffer the rod the better control you get. The lighter the weight of your overall equipment , the more you can feel and control your artificial lure. YOu can also prolong the moment of the fight and feel the fish weight more using lighter equipment and line. While a heavier equipment rod might land the fish way quicker , where the pros do not want to waste their time playing with the fish.

 

Ugly Stick, is made of fibreglass material on its tip and has its advantage, if you are using natural bait, you will be able to see the fish pulls the tip of your rod a lot faster due to its flexible head, while A stiffer rod might force the fish to spit out the bait due to too much drag. Fibreglass is stronger, therefore can take more abuse, but way heavier. While Graphite material is lighter, less flexible, a sudden Jerk beyond its breaking point, would damage its stranded fiber. I am surprise Shakespear, ugly stick, brought back the old technology as a marketing strategy, the name is also very catchy.

 

I play tennis and Golf, Equipment and materials used today are practically almost identical to fishing rods. The lighter and rigid the material used in today's equipment, the more power, control and feel it can generate. Graphite are abundantly available and cheap to use these days. IM6- IM7 seemed to be even lighter than the earlier Graphite material.

 

Old fashion made equipment which has more fibreglass tends to be more heavier, the equipment cannot generate the speed and control that Graphite equipment provides. Graphite material used to be expensive 20 years ago.

 

Titanium is one of the lightest material use in today's sports equipment, some recreational players can generate power using this type of equipment. However, the pros still would prefer some kind of weight to generate power, and shy away from Titanium made equipment. Titanium is still expensive and not too popular in fishing Rod.

 

 

For catcihing Bass and walleye on weedbed on shallow water, you need more control- GO with stiffest lightest Rod within your budget.

 

For river fishing using Float technique, you need more longer flexible rod with more than average number of guides. IF you are using cranks bait, then you need a Rod with some back bone.

 

Fishing is not a cheap sport these days, to target the right fish effectively, you need specialize equipment for particular species.

 

It is more important to find the fish, and if they are active, one can probably catch one using a Bamboo stick. This was how I got into fishing back then!