Ugly Stick- I just don't get it.

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

ok, they are indestructible, granted.  So is an army tank but it's no good for fishing.

Why would anyone want a rod who's tip can touch the butt ?????

I've used a noodle or 2 in my day but.......that's a bit much.

How can a decent hookset possibly be achieved with the absence of any back bone?

[RecMar8541]

well in the case of the ugly stick....it cant....Ive tried several.  they are heavier, and have no back at all.  I usually refer folks to the berkley lightening rod as an alternative to the mushy stick!

[Hot n Tot]

They sell a lot of them. It makes you realize the power of advertising. Other low quality rods only sell a fraction of the number of ugly sticks sold by Shakespeare. It's all in  the advertising.

[Solo]

Whoa guys. It depends on the model of rod. Granted the Ugly stick is not going to make a jig rod AND it's not a rod I would personally use for my Bass fishing.

But I know some guys who swear by them (most use braid) for:

Muskie trolling

Salt water fishing

Catfish

Cranking

It really does depend on the rod model, the fish, and the application.

[RecMar8541]

ok ok.....i give....ill use the heavy action ugly stick for bluegills........er.......maybe

[Guest the_muddy_man]

UGLY STICk>THATS WHAT MY EX- MOTHER IN LAW GOT HIT WITH she sure nuf did get UGLY

[Hot n Tot]

UGLY STICk>THATS WHAT MY EX- MOTHER IN LAW GOT HIT WITH she sure nuf did get UGLY

Muddy, that's great! ;D

[Hop]

I think it is a good affordable rod for those who are first getting into fishing or those who fish once or twice a year while on vacation. I see alot being bought up when the tourist come around.

It was my first rod when I was a little guy. Believe me I needed something indestructable as hard as I was on it. It double as a sword for some battles with my buddies. The only Shakespeare product I use now is their TigerStiks. The are great for saltwater and catfishing.

[Maxximus Redneckus]

I have coastal UglySiks i use for striper fishing they have enough back bone  for anything and i have pistol grips with power pro even the med action ones with PP have enough backbone to set a hook a good distance granted i only use uglystiks for spinner baits and crankbaits.Either you love um or you hate um.I can say this if it was a survival situation and i needed one rod to put food in my belly it would be a ugly stik 5-6 pistol grip with a ABU 4600,c3 and 12/50 PP

[.ghoti.]

If you want to buy your little guy, or gal, a tough rod, that's the one. Good rods for kids to learn on. Otherwise, I agree, there's not much to recommend them.

Cheers,

GK

[Raul]

UGLY STICk>THATS WHAT MY EX- MOTHER IN LAW GOT HIT WITH she sure nuf did get UGLY

I 'll be danged, now I have to clean the dang screen.  :-X

[HPBB]

laugh all you want guys. but I fish one all the time. At tournaments guys will say" you really fish with that?" then I start yo catch fish on it. I have caught to many fish to count on it over the 15 years I have had it. I love to fish torpedo's, I use them alot, and have over 100 of them. and I use a 7' med heavy Ugly. I have tried many other rods, very expensive rods and I can not get the right action out of the torpedo that I like with them.

My Torpedo rig. this is all I use it for. has it written on it.

7' m/h ugly stick

shimano 100mg chronarch

20lb trilene XL or XT

I know what your saying, big $$ reel ,cheep rod. I would not use any other rod for this type of topwater bait. I think its the give of the rod and strech of the line, but I rearly lose fish. and when a nice bass hits that torp. that little bit of give help keep them hooked up. There is some good back bone in my Ugly, but the tip is very flexable. Now i fish all kind of other topwater. but I only fish topredos on that set-up and no other baits.

[ww2farmer]

Hmmmmm.........why is a thread like this even necessary? I don't fish with or own, or have ever owned an Ugly Stick, and I wouldn't recomend it to any one who wanted to seriously fish for bass. But some people do use and like them, people like my father-in-law, who goes down to his pond maybe a 1/2 dozen times a year, tosses out a bobber and night crawler for bass or panfish,and might once in a blue moon use a lure like a rapala or mepps, then tosses it in the corner of his garage. Makes sense to me.........no wait..........he should have a $450 Steez reel, and a GLX for that.........c'mon.  You don't see how Ugly sticks have a place for people who could care less about every little move a bass makes........out of touch to say the least. I thought you would be above starting nonsense like this LBH.

[cart7t]

I would never consider one for Bass fishing but OTOH, as for SW bottom fishing,  I've used a few Ugly sticks as boat rods and they worked out great.  

[KYbass1276]

Why is an opionon about a fishing rod in the Fishing Rods,Reels,Line and Leaders Board NONSENSE???? I thought sharing experience and product quality was OK here . I still don know why anyone would call it nonsense. I really love Pflueger Equipment and Some like Shimano, we make a joke about our differences but wouldn't call anothers mans opinion based on his experience Nonsense

PS NOR DID HE RECCOMEND REALLY EXPENSIVE EQUIPMENT GEEEEZZZZZ!

I'll second that,  Anyway I also have to agree with what a few have stated already, It's all in advertising.  There target buyers aren't the loomis crowd.  I highly doubt it's as sensitive as they say it is.  I wouldn't use one but thats just me

[BucketmouthAngler13]

Just my .02:

The ungly sticks in the adds (the ones bent all the way over) are the ultra light ones. A Medium power ugly stick will not do this. (My friend tried this in a store and broke the rod. He then shoved it under the counter and hi-tailed out of there. Idiot. :)

As far as the pros for the Ugly Stik, they will never break when fighting a fish in. As for the cons, they are heavy, have hardly any back bone compaired to other brand's simular powered rods, have cheap guides, are NOT america's most sensitive rod, and the foam grips wear much quicker than cork. The cons outweigh the pros by far, seeing as I have never, ever had even the worst rods break when fighting a fish.

As do most things, ugly stiks have their place.

[Maxximus Redneckus]

Just my .02:

The ungly sticks in the adds (the ones bent all the way over) are the ultra light ones. A Medium power ugly stick will not do this. (My friend tried this in a store and broke the rod. He then shoved it under the counter and hi-tailed out of there. Idiot. :)

As far as the pros for the Ugly Stik, they will never break when fighting a fish in. As for the cons, they are heavy, have hardly any back bone compaired to other brand's simular powered rods, have cheap guides, are NOT america's most sensitive rod, and the foam grips wear much quicker than cork. The cons outweigh the pros by far, seeing as I have never, ever had even the worst rods break when fighting a fish.

As do most things, ugly stiks have their place.

I dont like the new guides they have now But the ones i have have fuji guides on them.And id put my 30 dollar pistol grip ROD up agaisnt any rod, any price range, for throwing 1/4oz  to 1/2 oz spinnerbaits with accuracy and  speed!!!

[burleytog]

They're not the best, but they aren't bad rods for the money.

I've got an US Lite that has landed a ton of fish over the last couple of years.  The cork is downright darn nasty and you can't feel a thing with it.  But it does it's job.

If nothing else, they're perfect river rods.  I have no qualms about losing a $30 rod when the canoe flips.  I can't say the same about an Premier or Avid.

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

Hmmmmm.........why is a thread like this even necessary?  I thought you would be above starting nonsense like this LBH.

I'm allowed to be curious too.  I understand the newbie or tough children take on it but was wondering if anyone ELSE used them and what the appeal was.  Do they work, what models and why type of thing.  Sorry if it offended you but I'm not "starting" anything except for a thread about a line of rods that I am confused about.  

Many of you have answered my question.  I notice some have a specific model for a specific application, makes sense.  Some use them for other species, makes sense.  SOME AGREE WITH ME, makes sense.

What I don't understand is if a rod can bend from tip to tail, why bother rating them other than length?

[=Matt 5.0=]

They're not the best, but they aren't bad rods for the money.

I've got an US Lite that has landed a ton of fish over the last couple of years.

Maybe I'm just feeble, but I use an Ugly Stick lite for spinners and cranks. Brought it to the CAST tourney and caught two fish with it.

Ahh, to be able to upgrade... :-/

[moby bass]

I got back into fishing last year after many absent years. My old equipment was antiquated and useless.

The first rod I purchased was an ugly stick, 5'10" med power.  I caught fish with it and started to really

enjoy fishing again.  I used it all last year and purchased some (alot) of new equipment along the way, each time, I think, upgrading the quality.  The ugly stick got me started, again, for not too large an investment.  I do like the rod, and do still use it, although not as much.  I also purchased a MH Ugly Stick

that I thought I might like for heavier fishing, larger baits, etc.  I don't like that rod!  The tip is too flexible, the rod is to heavy, it does not cast well.  I will either sell it or keep it for something like bottom fishing for

cats, if I should get the notion. I purchased a St. Croix premier this spring, but due to adverse weather, haven't had the opportunity to use it. I am anxious to compare it to the Ugly Stick, and find out, if in fact,

a rod costing even 3 times as much is really worth the investment.

[hi_steel_basser]

Ugly sticks are great catfishing rods. They are worthless for anything else IMO.

[Bud]

                    And id put my 30 dollar pistol grip ROD up agaisnt any rod, any price range, for throwing 1/4oz  to 1/2 oz spinnerbaits with accuracy and  speed              

You have got to be kidding

[Maxximus Redneckus]

                  And id put my 30 dollar pistol grip ROD up agaisnt any rod, any price range, for throwing 1/4oz to 1/2 oz spinnerbaits with accuracy and speed            

You have got to be kidding

LOL im seriuos i have a pistol grip 5'6" with a 4600,c3 and power pro 12 /50 on it i have been using at least 10 yrs prob 150 days  a  yr that i can cast left or right handed, backwards, up trees, laying down, broken arm, broken thumb you name it i have done it with this setup !!!  The rod and the reel weigh 13 oz total i have perfected the art of baitcasting with this set up !!

[Long Mike]

Just like Moby Bass, I got back into fishing fairly recently ago.  Not knowing any better, I purchased a medium action Ugly Stick and I did fine with it.  i.e. I caught bass.  I could go into how much I have spent since then in upgrading my equipment, but that is a given.

What I want to say is that I find the comments of ww2farmer to be totally uncalled for, and, for that matter,  downright offensive to those members of this site who do not have the financial resources to afford more expensive equipment.  Despite the fact that the majority of my rods now cost at least five times more, I still have my Ugly Stick and I still often use it when bass fishing.  ww2farmer, I have noted your opinion, but that is all it is - your opinion.  Since opinions are just like navels (everybody has one), there is no reason to become judgemental in your postings.