Ugly Stick 7' downrigger rods?

[JSince]

Hello all,

quick question asking for your advice.

I currently have 8' 6" Diawa downrigger rods, had them about 20 years, they take a licking and keep on ticking and have definitely been a good investment and I have gotten my moneys worth.

What I don't like about them is the length. I am not the tallest fisherman that ever lived, I call my self "average" but I am definitely not 8 1/2 feet tall either. Plus my boat is only 18' so that doesn't help.

So, I am strongly considering the Ugly Stick 7' downrigger rods but I have never used them. Is there anyone out there that can comment on 7' downrigger rods in general for LO fishing and even better has had expereince with the Ugly Sticks? any other brands I should look at?

lastly, if you have used the Ugly Sticks, should I go with the 1 piece (light action) or the 2 piece (medium action).

Thanks in advance,

Jim

[bottom-feeder]

7' rigger rods are good choice..... i like my 7' daiwa heartlands

[ray koziatek]

youll like the 7 ftrs,im a tad challenged in the reach division also,,,the first rods i had were 7 ft and i could reach the tip with only a 2 ft ladder not 4ft i use now.

go for the 7 ftrs.

[Blue Heron]

Jim

I have both the 1pc 7' Ugly sticks and some 2 piece ones - they both are great and after using them I got rid of all my 8 1/2 Diawas. ( I too am vertically challenged)

I personally like the 7' 1pc light action ones and have landed numerous decent sized kings on them . That said if storage is an issue the 2pc will definately better in that area and they are also excellent rods

Ted

[kliph]

I have not used the 7 footers for downriggers.

But was told by a few people that this would be the one to get: Ugly Stik, 7' (2 piece) BWD 1101.

[TrophySeeker]

Well I have 8 of the rods that kliph mentioned and I really like them. I have 4 rigged with light line for browns and 4 rigged with 20# flea-flicker for this time of the year. I think the 1 piece lighter action rods would be great for browns, but I'm not sure about the big guys. I do like fishing with lighter tackle, so maybe they would be o-k. I do find the 2-piece medium action rods to be a great general purpose rigger rod. I had an assortment of 8.5' rigger rods, and after the first time I tried these on a buddy's boat I went out and bought them.

[chowder]

I use the 6'6" MH, Ugly Stik one piece rods for spoons & flashers on riggers on Ontario. Great rod w/ ex backbone (kind of like a tuna rod for kings). these rods are very easy to weave around other rods & very affordable. We tossed a rambunctious salmon into the cooler one time and slammed the lid on the fish and one of these rods at the same time, but just crazy glued a replacement tip on it right then and there and kept fishing w/ it , now it's a 6'4" rod and I like it even better! -Andy

[JSince]

Thanks all for the advice, pretty set on going this route now. Still debating the merits of the 1 piece light action vs. the 2 piece MH action. Leaning toward the 1 piece but like the idea of being able to break them down, I guess I need to just flip a coin.

Jim

[kliph]

As I said earlier, I don't use them but do recommend them.

I have other Ugly stick's for casting and drifting. Work great.

The only reason I don't use them is because I have too many

other downrigger /trolling rods already.

But If I could sell a few, I would use them.

[chowder]

Thanks all for the advice, pretty set on going this route now. Still debating the merits of the 1 piece light action vs. the 2 piece MH action. Leaning toward the 1 piece but like the idea of being able to break them down, I guess I need to just flip a coin.

Jim

I would certainly not go w/ light action for Kings! These fish are brutal!

[JSince]

Thanks again guys, definitely know the power of the king. My hesitancy to go with the MH is that I fish Cayuga and Seneca alot more than Ontario these days so want a rod that will give me some sport with the sleepy lakers if the Finger Lakes while at the same time will handle LO when I can get out there. For those that have used the 2 piece MH rods, is the tip some fast or is it a stiff rod from tip to butt?

Sorry to be a indecsive pain but don't wanna drop a couple of hundred on rods and find out I hate them.

JIm

[TrophySeeker]

I don't believe the BWD 1101 2-piece is available in a MH. I think it is only available in M. That is what mine are.

[JSince]

You are right Jim, I miss typed that earlier. You are correct with it being medium. So do you find the 2 piece "mediums" still to have some flex?

[TrophySeeker]

I think you will be very happy with the 2-piece M action. We use these from springtime browns to summer/fall kings. I fish with pretty light tackle, and don't think I would use the light action for fall kings.

[traveling man]

I have 7ft 1 piece Ugly Stix both medium and light. The mediums work good for spoon rods but are a little light for flashers and flies. The light 7 footers are for browns and walleyes. I would not use them for salmon.

[chowder]

I realize it may seem a bit extravagant but I do have separate spoon rod/reel combos for FLX and Ontario. For flashers I use the same combo. On the FLX I use 7'6" ML Okuma Blue Diamond rods w/ the Daiwa 47 lc spooled w/ 30lb Ande (good flea line) and a 15' 12lb FC leader for spoons which I usually run at 60 down or less. I've never had a break off and I really like the feel of the Okuma ML rod for FLX fish! -Andy

[ray koziatek]

buy on of each ,best case youll have a extra rod worse case is youll have a broken rod...i like the mh rods so you can crank em down for inital hookset ,,suppose thats the main advantage to the longer rods also,along with some extra play for a sudden head shake, or good steelie , brown struggle....

[JSince]

Thanks again guys, I bit the bullet last night and ordered 4 of the 2 piece Ugly's, looking forward to giving them a try next weekend. Good fishing and thank again,

Jim

[JSince]

Good morning all, just to bring closure to this post. I took the 2 piece 7' M uglies out on LO Saturday and am very, very happy . They are much easier to work with, handled fish fine, and not to stiff, really glad I went this route. I do miss the extra leverage the longer rods give me when trying to get fish into the net when fishing alone, but hey, just adds more excitement. Thank you everyone for the advise that was given on the subject.

Good fishing,

Jim