Ugly Stik For Crankin'

[BigJohnny]

I'm sure this question has been asked before, I didn't turn anything up on a search though. I really want to have a cranking set up this year but I don't really have any money to buy a new rod. Do you think I could make due with an ugly stick? The action seems pretty slow to me, but I've never used an actual cranking rod so I have nothing to compare it to.

[bwell]

I dont think there is anything wrong with it, I have one as my crankin rod and it does just fine...  Be sure to get the Ugly Stik lite though with the cork handle.

[tyrius.]

Growing up I used an ugly stick for EVERYTHING.  Frogs, worms, cranks, everything I fished was done with the ugly stick.  I had a GREAT time doing it too.

So, yes you can use it and it will catch fish.

[Grey Wolf]

Yes ,it'll do .

[backpain...]

Should work fine, might be a bit heavier than the mainstream rods but should do just fine for cranking.

[Marty]

I'll add my opinion that it should do fine with crankbaiting. You can get the Lite if you want but the original will also do the job.

[tritz18]

Yeah it will be fine, my friend only fishes with a ugly stick and everything seems to work on it. He fishes lots of crankbaits and does very well with it.

[Dockhead]

6'6" Ugly Stik Lite is what I used for a long time. Worked well, especially with braid when fishing hydrilla.

[Fishes in trees]

Ugly Sticks are pretty heavy, and I think they have some sensitivity issues.   For me, cranking with an Ugly Stick would get real old real quick.   I have decent to good cranking gear, and my wrists are sore after 20 minutes or so.  I eat a couple of Alieves at the start of the day, and that helps some, but at the end of the day, driving home, my wrists are sore if I've done alot of cranking.  On the other hand, if there are budget issues, use what you got.

I am uncertain if the fish care what kind of rod you're throwing crankbaits with, but they could.  Truth is stranger than fishin.

[The Rooster]

If I were going to use an Ugly Stik for a cranking rod it would be an Ugly Stik Lite Pro from Walmart. They are very light compared to the original Ugly Stik, but they also have aluminum oxide guides compared to the plain Ugly Stik Lite not having them. These two features, in my opinion, makes them the best Ugly Stik of the 3 types available. They have cork handles as well, not foam. Also not really of much importance but they look better than the rest as well since they don't have that orange color on them, these are blue and gray instead. They honestly feel like a quite nice rod and cost slightly less than the plain Ugly Stik Lite. Here they are $37.97. I'd personally get the 6'6" M or a 7' M. They have a MH also but this might be too stiff, even for an Ugly Stik. These are an overall nice rod but they still won't be equal to the higher cost cranking rods. On a budget though I think they would be fantastic for what you would invest.  I'm thinking of grabbing one this year for cranking, and next year upgrade to the nicer rod and then use the Ugly for catfishing or something.

[Luke at Gouldsboro]

Ugly Stiks are decent rods with great pricing. I've used them before, and the performance to price is great.