Ugly Stik Elite Spinning Rod – Item of the Day
Every day I bring you an item on Amazon that I personally use or has been purchased by many members of the audience and I have researched enough to recommend.
Today’s TSP Amazon Item of the day is the Ugly Stik Elite Spinning Rod specifically the 5’6″ two piece model but the entire line is fantastic. The line comes in weights from ultra light to medium heave and lengths from 4′ 6″ to 7′ 6″. I have and will always be a light gear kind of guy. My idea of fun is a 20 pound snook in the surf on 12 pound line and a light action rod to give you and idea of what I mean.
I was also at one time big into the all graphite super sensitive type rods until I broke one to many tips off them. Years ago I switched to Ugly Stik as my go to rods and have been really happy with them, and I find them plenty sensitive for their weight class as well.
So recently I decided to add a new rod to the mix and wanted something light action and not too long for fishing creeks and over grown banks, etc. So I settled on the Ugly Stik Elite Spinning Rod in 5’6″ two piece and I am very pleased with it.
I paired this rod up with an Okuma Avenger ABF-30. The Okuma reel comes with a metal and nylon spool. So I rigged up the metal spool that I use daily with Spiderwire Ultracast Monofilament in 8lb line. This is a great set up for everything from sunfish to mid sized catfish. I rigged up the nylon spool with the same brand Spiderwire Ultracast Monofilament but in 12lb line for getting into larger catfish or rough fishing.
I previously reviewed the Okuma Avenger in the 65 size for surf fishing. Since that review I have purchased both an ABF-20 and an ABF-30. I am so impressed with Okuma reels I have pretty much switched over to them 100%. The bait feeder feature is just great and the quality and smoothness of the reels is like something that cost three times as much.
The 5′ 6″ light action rod linked to in this review would pair fine with either of them. What the 30 allows is more and larger line to get the most out of this rod. Because for a rod of its size and weight it is damn solid even with larger fish.
In any event the Ugly Stik Elite Spinning Rods deliver exceptional performance for the price and if you ever break one you did something wrong, really wrong. They are marketed as the toughest rods on the market and in this case after years of using them I can say, it isn’t just marketing, it is a fact. Simply put I feel the Elite line of the Ugly Stick gets you a rod in the 100 dollar value class for about 50 bucks. That friends is the value to price ratio I always shoot for.
Remember you can always find all of our reviews at TspAz.com
P.S. – In all my years I have only seen one Ugly Stik break. It was on a beach on Sanibel Island and a guy hooked a very large bull shark with a Medium Heavy Ugly Stik running 100 pound braid. The fish was so large his two buddies were holding him by his waste to keep him from being pulled in, the rod snapped in three pieces and the center piece bloodied his nose. This fish was NEVER going to be landed with tackle of the size the man had, the line should have been cut, lesson learned!
you know, i learned a long time ago that “the only time a fisherman tells the truth is when he calls another fisherman a liar”.
eheheheheh!!!
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I have four Ugly stiks, a 4’8″ ultra lt I use for perch everywhere on up to a 6 foot that I use for salmon in Pulaski NY. They’re a great rod.
To qualify this post, I am not someone that fishes every now and then. My wife and I are out on the boat at least every other weekend after either trout, redfish, flounder, tripletail, cobia, pompano or grouper. We fish a lot.
The Ugly Stik’s are great, tough rods. I’ve caught 30+ inch bull reds with 6’6″ mediums and have never had one fail. I probably have half a dozen of them and there’s a pretty good chance one will be on the boat any time we go out as a spare/bait rod but… if you are serious about inshore salt water and try out a https://amzn.to/3gU1EPt St Croix 7′ Avid Saltwater medium action fast tip you will be spoiled for life. Is it for everyone? Absolutely not, they are five times the price of the comparable Ugly Stik and unless you inshore fish regularly, you would probably not realize the difference but they are that much nicer (and the tips aren’t prone to breaking like many of the graphite’s used to be.) The weight, balance, feel, sensitivity, casting distance and accuracy are just on an entirely different level.
It’s like the difference between an off the shelf Remington 11-87 and a fitted Browning 525. I have and love both but always seem to have the Browning in my hands at the dove field.
They are great rods, I don’t dispute that. Thing is for that kind of money you can literally have a custom rod built for you. This guy is in the TSP community I had him build me a rod, it is amazing. It might cost a little more but now much more than a St. Croix and you get EXACTLY what you want. Even your logo if you want, or your name, etc. on it.
If I go over 100 bucks on a rod I am starting to think about leaving it behind to an heir.
Also these rods are amazing, I fished with one on my latest trip. I fought a 4 and a 5 foot spinner shark with it on 65lb braid and an Okuma ABF-65 and it was honestly plenty for it and with a 5 piece rod that is major impressive. They are under 100 bucks and the case is good enough to be checked as a bag stand alone. I tossed three total rods into a duffle with a bunch of gear and checked that. I am going to try to get some sort of MSB deal with these folks.
The rods are fricken works of art from a craftsmanship stand point. The price seems low to me. https://amzn.to/3gYSSj9