What are Ugly Stiks good for?

[thinkingredneck]

I like my Ugly Stick.  I have an embarassing number of rods, including a fly rod worth a couple grand that is hand made Bamboo, and some  pretty good "fishing poles" by Sage, Orvis and Loomis.  I like high end stuff  and yet  I enjoy my Ugly Stick.  It certainly falls in the all terrain category of "if I had to choose only one rod on a desert island." It seems to be a great "fishing pole" for us cousin marrying, barefoot, dentally challenged, back woods, red neck Neanderthals down here. Get over yourself.  As Geirach said,  and I paraphrase here, a Bamboo rod is about the same color as the old Bull Manure most fishermen are full of.

[Boomstick]

I got my oldest son an ugly stik. While I know it's not the greatest rod, it was a good purchase because it's fairly solid and unlikely to break, and can be used to catch 20+ lb catfish as well as bass. It's not half bad for fishing a crankbait or baits with treble hooks, but it seems to work for almost any moving bait really. He's caught a few on rigged soft plastic swimbaits, and I've caught a couple on a spinnerbait as well.

[Spincastguy]

Ugly stick are legendary rods and take a back seat to no rod. I have been on the whole bass rod journey with high priced rods and let me tell you your overpaying to begin with on stuff that doesn’t matter in the least for fishing. I have had more good times on a ugly stik than my st . Croix rod which I hardly touch any more. The ugly stick make great treble hook lure rods . No need to pay for a high priced crank bait rod when the ugly stick smokes them for 1/3 of the price . 

 

[Smells like fish]

[MN Fisher]

I cut mine down and now use it as my spooling station for my reels.

 

Want a low-price rod that actually does a good job? Daiwa Aird-X.

 

Even with Dobyns and St Croix in my arsenal, I still have a couple Aird-X that I use.

[Kirtley Howe]

I have 3 ugly sticks.  A 6' lite action original. I have had that rod for years. Great rod to toss in the truck and use when bank fishing, especially in areas with lots of trees and brush. You can snag a tree on your back cast, and not worry about breaking the rod. 

A 6'6 medium action GX2. Gift from the wife. Decent for crankbaits and drifting minnows for walleye.

A 7'6" heavy action. Use it for catfish and carp. Are they great rods? No. Are they useful rods? Sure. Inexpensive, and as they say, practically indestructible. I often loan them out to kids when I am fishing. Gives the kids a "decent" rod to use, and I don't worry about them breaking them. I have caught fish with much worse rods....and with much better rods. Any rod that you catch fish with is a good rod, especially if you are fiscally challenged.

[Cgolf]

Deleted

[PaulVE64]

Trolling with anything for everything that swims

Deep spoons & crankbaits for lake trout, pike, walleye.

River crankbaits and topwater spooks for smallies. Though I will admit walking the dog is tiring.

[Deleted account]

Flailing zombies apparently...

[Darth-Baiter]

i'm about to buy a few Ugly Sticks.  i want some inexpensive ocean rod i can take into the ocean with.  on my kayak.  just rock fishing.  lings and things.

 

i fished Lake Huites, Mexico with nothing but Ugly Sticks.  i was young and dumb, but mostly poor.  we had 200 fish days, and they got it done.   the other fisherman all had high dollar stuff, but reconiized our enthusiasm and showed my brother and i how to fish Texas rigged worms.  they never made fun of our gear.   

[Fallser]

90% of the time I fly fish, but I do have four Ugly Sticks that I use when I pick up my spinning gear.  Three are rods I built on Ugly Stick blanks pushing 30 years ago.  I've got a  9 1/2 foot two piece rod that I used as a surf/jetty rod.  A 6 1/2 foot one piece heavy rod, I use as trolling rod, jetty rod and for tossing big/heavy lures or jigs.  A 5' 9" one piece light rod, I use for walleye, bass and panfish.  The last is 5' 10" medium/light rod two piece that I picked up for $15 at a fishing flea market two years ago.  Last winter I stripped it down and replaced the guides, grips and reel seat. I use it for walleye, bass and sometimes panfish.  I like them.  Never had any issues with them and they do not break.

[flyfisher]

as a kid i remember saving up birthday and christmas money to get my first good rod.  It was an ugly stick and it was also the last ugly stick i owned.

 

[DitchPanda]

I have a few that I use and absolutely love for channel catfish. Im considering buying one of the new carbon crappie models to try for crappie this coming spring. I know ugly stick have a reputation but the newer stuff is actually lighter and crisper than the originals.

[badfish79]

Does anyone know if the current Ugly Stik Elites have real cork handles, or is it just cork tape over some weird filler?

[Darth-Baiter]

Ugly Stick makes a better rod than Huffy makes a bicycle. Jus sayin.  
 

ugly stick is playing the same numbers game.  Totally understandable.  BR people are not the target demographics. 

[FishTank]

Couldn't resist and...

.

 

Just kidding....

[Dan N]

Kids bullhead fishing 

[Bluebasser86]

Great catfish rods. I'm sure the higher end rods are serviceable bass rods but I've never tried one of the Elites or Carbons. At that point, they're getting into the price range of some pretty nice, lower end rods though. 

[redmeansdistortion]

They're great for trolling.  Most of the salmon, steelhead, and musky charters here in the Great Lakes use them.  In that scenario, you aren't looking for sensitivity since the rod isn't in your hands.  Before I got into BFS gear, I used a 4'6" Ugly Stik for a backpacking rod and it was perfect due to it being indestructible.  In that scenario, I'd rather trade sensitivity for durability since a fall or tree branch can be the difference between eating good or being a temporary vegetarian.

[Big Hands]

On 12/5/2022 at 7:05 AM, Spincastguy said:

Ugly stick are legendary rods and take a back seat to no rod. I have been on the whole bass rod journey with high priced rods and let me tell you your overpaying to begin with on stuff that doesn’t matter in the least for fishing.

Since it appears that you've made this assertion to try to stir up some fecal matter. . . .

 

The Ugly Stik is definitely legendary at certain times and in certain places. An unoccupied Andy Gump at Woodstock would be legendary too because sometimes you only need it to be minimally functional (or super durable in the case of the Ugly Stik) and you just need to get in there and take care of business. But I wouldn't want it to be the only option I ever have. YMMV.

[roadwarrior]

The Ugly Stick is probably the most popular brand in the market, but I don't have

one and won't be getting one...ever.

[jitterbug127]

All of my catfish rods are 8 foot ugly sticks. I have 3 of them 2 are paired up with abu 6501 C3 reels and the other is paired up with a huge shimano 4000 reel (stratic i think). I've used and abused these rods and reels for 10 years without fail. I wish I was committed to my bass gear like I am my catfish gear I'd have a happier wallet. 

[Bird]

As a kid, we saved up for an Ugly stick then we graduated to a lightning rod and thought we were Doug Hannon.

As a kid, I could break any rod......and reel. ?

[N Florida Mike]

Seems like some on here are Rod snobs. Just sayin’

I have had my 6’6 medium Ugly Stik for 25 years +. Have caught way more bass on it than any rod Ive ever had, and I primarily fish soft plastics. I have no problem feeling the fish on the bottom.  And my hookup and landing ratio is very high with it. Wish I could say that about my “ more sensitive “ rods. If something ain’t broke and works well, then why fix or replace it?

If you need proof, look up my picture albums in the gallery. At least 75% of the fish I caught that are in there were caught on that ugly stik…

[VolFan]

Ugly Sticks are good at starting arguments about how useful Ugly Sticks are. I love them for ultralight, catfish, and large treble hook lures, not so much for single hooks.