Rod Review: Ugly Stik Elite (Is it the best All-Purpose rod?)
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- čas přidán 3. 12. 2019
- This video is a review of Ugly Stik's Elite spinning rod. Specifically, the 6-foot medium-power two-piece. You can find on Amazon via this associate link amzn.to/2YsbCjn and it costs about $50.
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Seriously, this is the best and most in depth GX2 vs Elite, thank you.
Thanks, Rich. I really appreciate that.
Its cus he's a Cal Poly Allumni by the looks of it!
Thanks for your review, really enjoyed watching and hearing your insights! I have a 6’6” elite MH and absolutely love it for bass fishing over here in TX! I find it to be plenty sensitive for even small fish and caught my best bass ever @ 8.5 lbs this past spring, rod didn’t even flinch....love it! I also have several other Ugly Stiks and this one is by far my favorite! Love fishing with my boys, all on Ugly Stiks! Thanks again for your review.
Thanks for the great comment, Mike. That's a huge bass!
Fantastic review sir, thanks a million.
Fantastic review cheers, before this review I was 40% leaning towards buying one, now I'm 90% in favour. Thank you.
Great review! Thanks for doing it!
Thanks!
Thank you for the review. Amazon as of 12/12/19 has the elite 7ft medium 2piece for $25! I was not looking for a new rod but at this price i pretty much had no choice. Also very nice sweater, I’m a CP alumni too!
That's a great deal! I have a little story that goes along with this hoodie. I'm actually an Iowa State University alumnus (both Bachelors and Masters degrees), but in 2017 I drove the family all the way to San Diego from Iowa, and we drove the entire California PCH. As we were traveling one of my friends from high school asked me if I could pick him us a Cal Poly sweatshirt, and I was like 'sure'. But we were covering lots of miles and I wasn't sure where to pick one up without spending too much time. I figured the campus was the best bet and every college campus has a book store, so I found the campus and went wandering around to find the book store while my family waited in the car. Eventually I found it, but I noticed that there were apparently two different Cal Poly campus, and the picture my friend had shown I knew had one of the campuses but I couldn't remember which one. In order not to get the wrong campus, I picked the only hoodie that only said Cal Poly, without a campus, that I could find. Then when I got back to Iowa, my friend told me that he really didn't like zip up hoodies, so I ended up keeping it for myself. So, I never attended Cal Poly, but the campus is beautiful :)
I have two of the Ugly Stik Elite rods (casting). I am delighted with mine. ALL of my rods except one are two or more pieces. Many years ago I had a lovely one piece that was only a month old when it was converted to a two-piece when returning from a camping trip. My lifestyle and boat choices just do not accomidate one piece rods over 5 ft in length.
I have a few one-pieces and I've found they don't get as much use. Especially if we are camping because I can't fit them with the family and all the rest of the gear.
Just ordered the elite with a Penn fierce III, can't wait to use it.
That should be a great set-up
*Very good value. Action is exactly what I hoped for. This is probably my best fishing gear purchase of the year. When I buy a long (9-10ft) surf rod, it will definitely be Ugly Stik.*
Awesome!
Excellent info. Thanks
Thanks for watching and commenting.
I love ugly stick rods. I have had them hold up to bigger fish without strain and breaking than my falcon rods. For the price it really is hard to beat an ugly stick. Thank you for a very good review.
Thanks for watching and commenting, firehawk.
Nice review. I commented on another video of yours but I’ve been replacing my rods with Ugly Stiks. I have the 6’6” M Elite, 7’ UL Elite, 8’ Catfish, and I’m getting the 7’ MH Elite for striper fishing with swimbaits. I have them paired with Shimano Symetre, Shimano Sahara, and Abu Garcia Inshore for redfish. In my opinion you just can’t beat these rods. Area they as sensitive as my Loomis rods? No BUT I can still feel the bottom and I can still feel the thump of a trout of smallmouth. I don’t think I miss anymore fish. The Elites are surprisingly sensitive. I was fishing a spillway that was filled with trapped shad. I could feel them bumping my line. The GX2s are nice in the smaller sizes. But compare a 6’6 or 7’ in the same rod weight. The gx2s are significantly heavier and beefier. I do plan on buying a few for carp and catfish. Possibly even redfish.
In the end, I have yet to find rods I like better for multi purpose fishing. And yes I have slammed my door on an ugly Stik and it didn’t break. Any of my other rods would have been toast. I know from experience! I break every rod I own within a year or 2.
Thanks for the great comment, Bob. I think Ugly Stik really hit the nail on the head with these rods. As you say, in terms of sensitivity, I can't see anyone actually losing fish because of the sensitivity of the rod. It's plenty sensitive to feel bottom and fell the fish pick up a jig. I agree about the weight compared to the bigger GX2s as well. I have a 7' GX2 that I never use because it's so heavy and bulky it's no fun to fish with.
Best review on the Elite I've seen yet, Thanks.
Would love to see your review and opinions on the new Ugly Stik Carbon rod, have you tried that yet?
I prefer six 6 ... Very clear explination . Tq.Sir.
Good info! Thanks
Thanks for watching!
good review to watch during my dinner. I have never used any of the rods you review so its always interesting to me. I think the uneven sections are done to move the stiffness from the connection closer to the handle, where it is supposed to be stiff anyway. This way you still get some flex in the middle of the rod - something that is important on stiff rods. Not that this is stiff by bass standards. By the way, i have never fished for bass on purpose by i know a lot of bass anglers and suggesting them to use an ugly stick is just about the biggest insult to them : ) Bass anglers can be a little stuck up sometimes.. : )
Yeah, I can't think of any other Ugly Stik that could work for bass fishing than this one, but I actually think this would work pretty good for many bass fishing lures/techniques. The problem with many bass anglers is that they have been influenced too much by the fishing industry who is always trying to sell them more gear:) Your explanation of the rod uneven breakdown makes sense. I like it that way because it's simpler to put together, too.
I need different types of rods because i travel the country and fish for different species and fish in saltwater /freshwater and fly fish.. So being versatile in your gear is a must, it's impossible to have just one rod for every species /condition /body of water
@@TheTravelingFisherman I agree. I haven't really talked too much about this on the channel, but what I'm aiming for is minimalism and simplicity mixed with getting the job done and enjoyment. I think a lot of anglers actually get as much joy from buying and owning gear as they do from actually fishing. I'm really trying to promote the opposite of that on my channel. I want to go out and catch as many different types of fish, and as high of quality fish as I can using as little as gear as possible while still enjoying the experience (meaning, not being too uncomfortable because my gear isn't perfectly matched to the techinque or fish I'm trying to catch).
So, at the end of the day, I know one rod isn't enough for everything. But maybe 5-10 different types of rods is rather than 20-30. This is actually something I'm going to focus on on the channel in the future. It gets a little tricky because for some types of fishing, like catfishing, it's common to fish multiple rods.
Next year I'm going to explore and test different set-ups than can be used for both Flatheads and Muskie for example, to see if there is a rod and reel and line combo that can be reasonably used for both.
Going to buy new rod. Aiming to be multi purpose like your video about the GX2 Light. Was going to buy the light in the Elite until I watched this and you got me thinking if I should get the medium in elite. Have you compared Elite light vs Elite Medium Or even a ML? I know this is a older review now so I’m just wondering if this still holds true that you would go with the Medium Elite?Staying with ugly stik. Thanks.
I miss the older LITE cork handle ugly stiks they were AWESOME! i have 1 5'6 nos and 1 5' nos and am afraid to use them. Just fantastic quality. Miss the 90s and very early 2000s
Have you ever tried this rod with a pflueger president, or ever even tried the pflueger president reel? If so, would you recommend it?
I just got new GX2 combo with the GX2-50 reel out of three new combos one LEW'S cat Daddy Zebco big cat in medium heavy is my rod and fiberglass made not the graffiti just breaks to fast do like the carbon fiber and fiberglass ☝🏼 my GX2 pole is perfect in balance for Bass and big catfish with 7 foot pole just right. Like the Felix of old school fiberglass pole's. The Zebco big cat and Boss Hawg will felix and not brake. Still have my first Ugly Stick rod from the 80's like my grandfather luwers box and pole Mitchell 🎣 with reel Abu Garcia Abumatic just old stuff but cool factor 😎 vintage.
Great review. How does the elite compare to the lite pro? Pros and cons? Iam on the fence, as I own the lite and lite pro in 7ft med. As per your other review, they are a great all around for lures and bait. I have snap casted two oz with a high low fishing in the surf and no problem. At the opposite end I can cast weightless flukes fine as well. Iam not sure is the elite can offer that type of range in a do it all. Thanks!
I have both in my regular line-up right now. I agree 100% with the versatility of the pro-lite. I love it and use it for everything. It's a little hard to compare to my elite because the elite is a foot shorter. For the lighter applications I like the elite because with 6ft rods I tend to hold the rod lower that grasp the reel handle with my index finger so the elite is more comfortable to hold that way and it's also a little more sensitive to bites. However the elite lacks a good upper hand grip like the one on the pro-lite, and for bigger fish that actually make runs and have some weight to them, I like that hand grip. So I like a pro-light better when actually fighting the fish. It's kind of a toss up.
Thank you for the reviews! Watched your video with the Ugly Stik Lite Pro as well.
Would you recommend a 7 ft (Medium) Elite or 7 ft (Ultra Lite) Lite Pro? Mostly for bank fishing using live bait. Targeting walleyes, bass, and drums. Would you pair it with a size 2500 or 4000 reel?
Thank you in advance for helping a newbie out!
The ultra lite Lite Pro might not have enough backbone to throw live bait regularly, my medium 7th Lite Pro works for just about everything and I think works really well for soaking live bait. In fact, it's probably my favorite live bait rod because small fish are still fun to catch, but it can handle pretty much any size fish if you get big one. If you were casting lures more than fishing live bait, then I think the Elite would be a little better because it is stiffer and more sensitive and if you are fishing crankbaits or something like that, the tip of the rod doesn't bend quite as much as the Pro.
As far as the reel goes, honestly, with today's reels, a 2500 will handle most fish unless you are flathead or muskie fishing. For soaking live bait I like bait runners like the Penn Fierce II (now they have a 3) 2500 LL (live liner), Okuma Avenger baitrunner, and Daiwa EM Cast 2500 bite and run. The Daiwa is the best, but it's also the most expensive at $100. Penn has deals on Fierce reels fairly often in the $60 to $80 range, and the Okuma's are usually under $60. I have reviews on the Penn and a small version of the Okuma on my page. I haven't posted one for the Daiwa, yet, but I love it and it's worth the extra money if you have it. You don't have to get a bait runner, and if you don't then the prices will be cheaper, but I really like the ability to have the dual drag when fishing live bait.
Team Cramer Fishing I was thinking the same on the Ultra lite pro. I prefer 2 piece rods and that was the only option available around. I picked up the Elite and it has much stronger back bone. Guess I’ll keep the Elite! Thanks!
Have you had experience with the Pflueger President? It’s a pretty popular reel. I was thinking about getting the 2500 next as an upgrade when it goes on sale. Right now it’s roughly $60.
@@sorenkierk1322 I've used the trion and played around with the Presidents at the store quite a bit. They are good reels and will get the job done. Check out Tim Galati's channel if you want to see someone catch a ton of fish using a President. I'm not sure what size he uses, but he probably mentions it in one of his videos.
Which rod is the best among all the ugly stick rods? I wanna get one but I am confused about which one to buy.
The thing about having the guides only on the top half of the rod is that when you have fishing line on your rod but need to break it in half and put it away there is no guide hole on the bottom half to keep your line in place while storing or transport. I always rig up my rods and break in half for transport in my truck so they'll be ready for use once I get to my destination. Love the ugly stiks but not getting this one.
Interesting. I can see how that would be the case.
Thanks for the review. With the 6’ med rod, what’s the recommended reel to use with? I am new and looking for a multipurpose fishing on fresh water. Thanks.
The best reel depends a lot on personal preference. If you do fishing for catfish or carp or anything where you are soaking bait (along with casting and retrieving) I like the Penn Fierce 2 (or 3 now) 2500LL or the Daiwa EM Cast 2500 Bite and Run. They are bait runner reels which can come in handy when soaking bait. The Penn is cheaper, but heavier and the line lay isn't as good as the Daiwa (which is $99).
Otherwise, a normal reel in the 2000 to 2500 size for the widest variety of fish is a pretty good size for this rod. An inexpensive Shimano Siena (I have a 1000 size) is remarkably versatile and only costs $30 usually. The Daiwa Legalis or Excellor 2500 size would be a good choice, too for $50 to $70.
If you go to my channel and check out my playlist that has reels on it, I have reviews on most of these.
@@teamcramerfishing8441 Thank you. If I am targeting trout and crappie at the first beginning, is 6' Med and 2500 size too much? Need to have a good sensitivity for relative small fishes. Since I am considering all-purpose, hopefully it's not so 'over' set.
@@djxing For trout and crappie this setup would be on the big end, but would still be okay. I would avoid the baitrunner reels unless you are fishing for catfish and carp, though, because you won't need it and they are heavier. I really like my 6'6 Daiwa Presso ultra light travel rod for fish under 5 lbs, or the Fenwick Eagle 6' Medium Light. For reels to pair with them, a Shimano Sienna 1000, a Daiwa Legalis or Excellor 2500, or a Penn Battle II 1000, would work well. The Daiwa reels are a lot lighter than most reels of the same size, so you can go with a bigger size and they still work well for smaller fish. The main advantage of the ugly stik is that it is more durable than the others. The main disadvantage is it is less sensitive. For trout and crappie, sensitivity is actually pretty important, so personally, I would lean more toward the more sensitive rods if those are the main fish you plan to fish for. I have caught plenty of bass and smaller catish on the Presso and Eagle, and they can handle them fine (it's actually a lot of fun), so the fish aren't the problem. It's more about breaking the rods on rocks, branches, doors, etc that you have to worry about with the more sensitive rods.
Great video!! Was wondering if you could give some advice my 8yr old daughters rod (13 fishing ambition 5’6”) snapped this weekend. Was wondering since you have a young daughter fisherman as well what rod you would recommend? I was looking at the 5’6” GX2 ladies due to the shorter handle but wanted to see if you had any ideas. Thanks as always. She mainly throws Ned rigs
I think the 5'6" GX2 would work fine. When my daughter was 7 1/2 I bought her the 4'8 (if memory serves) GX2 ultra light combo and it is still going strong after hundreds of fish and lots of abuse. If your daughter likes the 5'6 length, then the ladies GX2 would be great. My daughter is 10 now and she still uses the 5'6 Crappie rod (which is very similar) for creek fishing.
Team Cramer Fishing thanks I really appreciate it. Was wondering do you feel a Light power is better for kids or would Medium power be better. Is the crappie rod by ugly stick as well
@@stevestory8483 Yeah, I have a review of it on the channel. I would go with the GX2 instead.
Team Cramer Fishing would you do a light power or Med power? Thanks again for all the help
@@stevestory8483 I like the light power GX2s better.
I’m gonna go for a 7 ft medium heavy fast action elite paired with a diawa regal 3000 lt should be solid for bass and inshore and only cost $120 ! Plus ugly stick has a seven year warranty hard to beat
Yeah, that seems like you'd have a pretty bulletproof set up there.
I just picked up a Fenwick Eagle for my 'All Purpose Rod'... You better not be changing your opinion on me... ;)
:) That is a real issue with these reviews. I've already lost three subscribers because of this review. What you get with the Eagle is a much prettier rod, and a much lighter rod. The guides and the handle shape are basically the same as the Elite. What you lose with the Eagle is durability. So, which is better depends on the person. If someone is good at taking care of their rods and doesn't abuse them like I tend to do, then the Eagle is a much more pleasurable rod to use. But if someone doesn't have a lot of money to buy a new rod every year or puts the rod through a lot of abuse, then at least starting with an Elite or GX2 is a good idea because it will always be there. Then when you get a second rod, it can become a soaker rod, a back-up rod, or a lender rod that you don't have to worry about getting easily broken.
So, that's why I lean toward at starting with one of the Ugly Stiks, then later getting one of the other rods. But if it's no big deal for someone to spend another 50 or 60 dollars on a replacement if their Eagle or Presso breaks, then without a doubt those rods are more fun to use. And the HMX and St. Croix rods can be even more fun.
Nice review man. I have an 8 foot 2 pieces Ugly Stik Elite. 20-50 grams lure weight . I have no idea what's the line weight and action. It's not written. (maybe coz I'm outside the U. S.) Can you approximately tell me the line weight and action according to your experience?
If it's 8ft it's probably a medium heavy and I would guess you could through 3-4oz with it if you wanted. And probably any line size you wish.
Great vid! I'm stuck on which Ugly Stik to get. I know I want the elite but not sure which size. I've heard good things about the 7' Medium.
I'll be fishing on the flats and bays for Redfish, Cobia and Mullet.
Thanks in advance!
I haven't fished Redfish myself, but from what I've seen other fish on youtube a 7' medium seems like would get the job done and be lots of fun if you got into a bigger fish, too.
I know this is an old video but looking to upgrade my kids to spinning gear. Would this work with a Diawa Regal LT 2000 or should you use a 2500 on a med rod (or does it matter)? They need an all-around cast from the shore for bluegill/trout/bass with occasional fishing from a boat.
Sorry for the extremely late reply. It probably doesn't matter much between the two.
With the Elite as you said you give up the durability. My Elite was nicked a bit. To me it appeared just more like a small blemish. Barely noticeable snapped when i went to cast it. I had the old Elites before an still have them after 15 years. I will say this Shakespeare stood behind their product an a week later i had a new rod. The old Elites were kind of sloppy rods an they did improve a bit on the action and feel of it. Still has that tendency to buckle to the left but not near as bad as the old version.
Thanks for sharing. I've found it's not as strong as the GX2, but it's stronger than your typical graphite rod. I stuff mine into a duffel bag with the rest of my Ugly Stiks when we take family camping trips and then stuff the bag into our SUV, and it hasn't broken, yet. I wouldn't do that with my more fragile rods. But as you said, I'm sure if I hit it just right, it would probably damage or break it.
Do you think the ugly stik elite casting rod would pair well with an old Penn 109?
I'm not familiar enough with those to say.
I have never had a ugly stick brack. The ugly stick is the best rod on the market today
It's certainly the most dependable.
Im lookin at a ugly stick elite 5.6 light action for pan fish do you think is a good idea. Had an abu garcia great rod very sensitive but broke that's why im looking into ugly sticks.
The downside of the shorter ones is that it's harder to cast light lures far and accurately. If you're in a boat , it's no big deal, but if you're fishing from shore sometimes more distance and accurate casts can be important. If I was mostly targeting panfish, I would probably go ultralight with any ugly stik because they are overbuilt. We've caught 8-10 lb fish on our ugly stick light GX2s with no problem, and my daughter nearly landed a double digit carp in a pretty big river on a 4'8 ultra light (after 28 minutes the line broke, but the rod never had a chance of breaking) so if I was mostly targeting panfish or trout, I would go even lighter with the ultra light, but go longer. If you fish from the bank around trees and vegetation (as I do in the summer) then 6'6 would be the longest I'd go, But for strictly panfishing, I think a 6'6 to 7ft ultra light is the way to go, longer if you don't have to fish around a lot of tree from the bank.
@@teamcramerfishing8441 thanks for the reply, I'm actually targeting crappie ima take your advice and go longer 6.6 ultra light should pay the extra 10 dollars for the elite over the gx2?
Hi Sir Cramer, I am from Philippines.. Wondering where could I buy the USESP662M model 6.6ft medium power elite..?
Not sure. Amazon is a good place to start.
Pls can you talk a bout favirote cobalt 27 rod
I don't have one of those.
Best Ugly Stick....hands down. Used one for years. Braided line will kill those guides.....the only flaw.
Thanks for sharing.
You still have to align guides to reel seat
True.
Could you feel a bluegill bite on that?
Sure, no problem under most circumstances.
@@teamcramerfishing8441 nice ok thanks i know what ima buy think week thanks for the review any suggestions on a reel?
@@209chevymon It kind of depends on the budget. Low budget I like the Shimano Sienna. Mid-range, I like Diawa's LT line. They are pretty close to being the same, Legalis, Excellor (I have the EM Cast bait runner). If you want something that is really tough (you fish on rocks and stuff or are just hard on reels) I like Penn's Fierce 2500 size, or a Battle 2 (I use a 1000 size). I have reviews on my channel of all of these reels except the Diawa's (there is a good youtube reviewer i_fish, and he has good reviews on the Diawa's)
@@teamcramerfishing8441 ok thanks ill check them out 👊
Can you do something about the gx2 on saltwater medium heavy or heavy
I don't have any, but I can tell you where to find some good ones. Go to the Key West Kayak Fishing channel. Steve has several videos of him catching big sharks and stuff with a standard MH GX2 combo. It's good stuff.
The top grip is a selling point for me a small top grip and i do not want to buy it ,
i cannot see that being comfortable in hand .
For bigger fish the top grip comes in handy.
The Elites because of their higher graphite are more sensitive. I banged one by accident not too hard an on my next cast it snapped. Thats one thing you have to be careful of w the higher graphite content of Elites.
Thanks for sharing, LetsGo Now. I wondered just how much more fragile they were than the GX2s, which are basically indestructible. I haven't broken mine yet (or the Lite Pro, which also has more graphite). Typically, when I break rods it is the tip and I think that fiberglass tip really helps in my case. But it's good to know they will break under the right (or wrong) circumstances.
Under stress they performed just as well as the usual Uglys. Its just you gotta be more careful when throwing them in the trunk etc. I have a few uglies before that got banged around thrown around and none broke. I dinged this one lightly. I saw a barely visible mark on it. Didnt think much on it. Then boom it snapped just above the ferule on the top part.
A fluke is possible with just about anything, it happened once does not mean it will happen every time. This is all nothing more than my opinion.
Keep on fishing and good luck everyone!
Tough rod.
They last.
you look like a older version of nightmare rh
I haven't heard that before.
@@teamcramerfishing8441 He was a famous video game player who played runescape. What is your opinion of this rod vs. St. Croix trout series, or an okuma celilo for ultralight? Thank you
@@General_Haze Cool. I've only used the St. Croix Premiere, generally with St. Croix, though, you're going to get a much, much lighter rod than the Ugly Stik, but it won't be as durable. I haven't tried the Okuma's yet.