Ugly Stik Rods For Bass?

[UKCats55]

I would like to get some opinions on the Shakespeare Ugly Stik rods. I know they are not the most sensitive, but the Ugly Stik Lite and GX2 models look pretty good!! They are touted to be very durable and are extremely affordable. I mainly fish farm ponds and lakes from shore. Any input is helpful.

[ThatZX14Fella]

An Ugly Stik is what I started bass fishing with and I still use it quite a bit. It's not a horrible rod to use, you can still tell when something hits it. If you can't, then you need to work on you're fishing abilities. 

[Maxximus Redneckus]

Yuup all the time. And if u search on the forums you will find this asked many times.then it becomes this rod is better then that rod.sod .sorta like the is the 30-30 better then the 30-06 for deer hunting

[OroBass]

Gx2 in OK. Its what I'm using for a medium spinning outfit. They used more graphite in these and the result is a stiffer more sensative rod.

[FirstnameLastname]

I love ugly sticks, I break rods all the time cause I'm a clutz and I've never broken a ugly stick. Besides if your going for bass I wouldn't worry to much about sensitivity, bass hit hard.

[OroBass]

Haha bass hit hard! My friend you have much to learn! Sensativity is paramount! A bass can inhale your lure and spit it back out faster than you can blink! Worsted thing is if you are not watching your line, you wont even feel her. The easy bass are the ones that hang themselves on your hook. It takes skill to feel the rest of the bites. Yes a more sensative rod is helpful!

[Bluebasser86]

The Ugly Stick lite rods aren't terrible. They're good rods to keep in your car with you in case an emergency fishing situation presents itself 

[SirSnookalot]

Don't think there is anything wrong Lite Ugly Sticks, far better than what I learned on 60 years ago.  I had no trouble feeling a bite then and don't have one now, my rods of today are not what would be classified as sensitive.  I do think a lighter rod may be more comfortable to fish with.  To me sensitivity is over rated along with other high end equipment for bass fishing, don't throw stones but I find bass to be one of the easier fish to catch.

[Raul]

My friend, the baseball pro Jack Pierce fished with Ugly Sticks for ages. He caught a truckload of fish with them.

[frogflogger]

Ugly sticks are perfectly good fishing rods - tough, durable and I've killed a cottonmouth or two with them in close quarters.

[Diggy]

You can get a berkley lightning rod or shock in the same price range which will be more sensitive if looking for a reasonable alternative. If you have a Dicks Sporting Goods near, theres tons of rods on clearance also right now.

[FirstnameLastname]

Bass will spit your gear out just like any other fish. It's called setting the hook with live stuff and proper presentation with lures. I can't remember the last bass to bump a lure without inhaling out. By the way if there's a sensitivity problem then rest a finger directly on the line. This only works with monofiliment though, braid will cut you and I never used florocarbon.

[Tywithay]

Bass will spit your gear out just like any other fish. It's called setting the hook with live stuff and proper presentation with lures. I can't remember the last bass to bump a lure without inhaling out. By the way if there's a sensitivity problem then rest a finger directly on the line. This only works with monofiliment though, braid will cut you and I never used florocarbon.

Setting the hook ends up being the problem with Ugly Stiks in most cases. The tips aren't very stout, so it's very difficult to drive the hook home when you're using soft plastics. You can use light wire hooks, which helps some, but a stiffer graphite rod is a better choice; regardless of sensitivity.

[K_Mac]

One thing is absolutely certain; if I were going to choose a fishing rod to kill cottonmouths, it would be an Ugly Stik.

[Maxximus Redneckus]

If u use braid and sharp hooks fish will hook themselves. I use uglystiks med action pistol grips and spinning rods.I aint rich but I can afford 150 $ rods but prefer too buy 4 rods not 1 and still catch fish

[macmichael]

I have 3 uglies including 2 lights. I like em all. They are tough rods.  I catch bass on thumps all the time with my medium heavy. The 2 lights i use for pan fish. Great rods imo.

[SirSnookalot]

We see these threads all the time what is the best rod.  There is no definitive answer, except what's best for each individual.  I do believe one has to match the rod to their style of fishing, for me sensitivity and weight isn't much of an issue as I do very little bottom fishing.  I've used rods 2-3 times the price of my favorite brands, for what I do those higher priced rods do not cast any farther or handle the fish any better.  Having rods that are close to 10 years old still looking like new the question of durability has been answered, not to mention the thousands of pounds of fish that have been caught on them.

 

Not a darn thing wrong with an ugly if it meets your criteria.

[Josh Smith]

I have a bunch of different rods.  There are fiberglass, graphite, and I even have a cane pole for my son (though he's 6 and prefers his spinning rod).

 

I can hit or miss on about all of them just as effectively, but have really come to prefer the full graphite rods.  I'm playing with Dad's old tournament-style baitcasting glass rod for crankbaits, but I'm afraid I've been spoiled on graphite since I was a teenager.

 

One thing I do like about glass is that it is more whippy, all else being equal, and puts a certain action on certain lures that just catch fish when nothing else works.

 

On the other hand, a graphite ultralight will do that same action.

 

An observation:  I hooked into a bass the other day a good 20 yards out with the ultralight.  Now, had I been using a glass rod or heck, had I not been using braid, this probably would have been a lost fight.  However, I did feel the bass hit it (it was not an explosion, but rather just sucked it in).  I was able to set the hook effectively (I set it three times to make sure, hard enough to sound the drag each time.)  I was using the lure action that required a slower rod, and had I chosen the glass rod instead of the ultralight, i doubt I'd have felt the strike until it was over and lost.

 

This is not to say the glass rods are not still extremely good for some things.  They seem natural to me for catfishing, for example. 

 

Josh

[.ghoti.]

I'd be willing to bet a paycheck that a lot more fish have been caught on a ugly stick than on a GLX.

[Maxximus Redneckus]

I'd be willing to bet a paycheck that a lot more fish have been caught on a ugly stick than on a GLX.

uup and add to that LTB put together

[Tywithay]

More miles have been put on Toyota Corolla than a Mercedes S-class...which is the better car? That's a very flawed argument.

[SirSnookalot]

More miles have been put on Toyota Corolla than a Mercedes S-class...which is the better car? That's a very flawed argument.

Even with cars there is a point of diminishing return.  As a previous owner of 2 s class Mercedes I've also had cars less priced that IMO were as comfortable, appointed as well and as trouble free.  No question a MB is a fine car but it's a status purchase.  The same can be said for a fishing rod, there is a point of diminishing return.  In all fairness the rod is probably a better investment, the car is a depreciating asset which is really a liability.  You won't lose all that much on an expensive rod, from that standpoint it's more of an asset.