Ugly Stik Carbon Combo

I did a search on here and on Google I can't find many reviews of this rod/reel combo. I saw them at Scheels and liked the feel of them along with the look. I started fishing about 2 months ago with my son, we've been catching sunnies and the occasional crappie, but I've decided that I really enjoy catching crappies and that I'd like to buy a more dedicated combo for that so I can target them better.

The one I'm looking at is a 5'6" light spinning rod combo, with moderate fast action. I've heard slower action is better for crappie because of their soft mouths? I'm planning on putting 4-6# mono test on it, but I don't know which is preferred. I've heard to stay away from braid and fluoro because of again, the soft mouths.

Does anyone have experience with this rod/reel combo?

No experience with that rod or outfit ... but, slower action isn't "all that" IMHO. Moderate fast to very fast action tip will be fine, and I actually prefer that range of tip action over the "slow" (parabolic bend) action rods (you don't have to set the hook as hard with the faster action rods) . And yes they do have a soft membrane in the mouth, but many have been hauled over the side with the hook hanging on the lip. The trick is to get the hook stuck in the roof of their mouth.

4-6lb test line is fine, too. Either one will get the job done. Everybody has their favorite brand, and mine is Vicious Panfish Copolymer hi-vis 6# test (currently), but I have used Stren, Trilene, and other brands in 4# & 6# test over the years.

:welcome to Crappie.com .... and to the wonderful world of Crappie angling :fish Hope to see your reports/pics, and hope we can be of help to you and your son.

if its the GX2 series small combo BUY IT ,,,,thank me later for the advice
I had one given to me as a gift ….its a dandy short combo …
I can even tell you its a preferred loaner in some circles and they ask for it if they are rod less when we meet up
my 2 cents

I'm no expert by any means so take what I say for what it is, just another opinion:

I too decided to gear up for panfish this year & started with lures/jigs/bait I wanted to use and then built my gear around what I was casting. I bought a ugly stik g2 combo (7') for a beater stealhead rod and to use as a test bed for the different panfish tackle and lines I was interested in. I found that the reel wasn't the best nor was the guides on the rod. But I found this out thru testing & what to look for by reading a bunch of searches.

While actions/feel on the rod is subjective and differs from rod maker to rod maker along with the rod's action. It should be more important to buy a rod action that is designed for the type of cover your fishing in.

My intended use for a panfish rod was to use in a kayak so I wanted a 5 1/2' rod. The target is bluegill and crappie to be fished in open water along with cover like weed beds, brush piles, stump fields, etc. To me this is where the action comes into play, namely the retrieve and the ability to detect/feel the cover I'm fishing in.

At the end of the day I wanted a setup that was short enough to use in a kayak, to be able to cast 1/64th & 1/32nd oz jigs using 4# test (would of liked to use 2# but I fish too much cover) & be able to not only detect cover when retrieving tackle. Have enough feel in the action to not set the tackle's hooks in that cover while detecting bites.

Ended up buying a diawa regal 1000 reel, I'm sure there's other reels/better reels out there but for the price point ($50) it does everything I need and it has an excellent drag system which is what attracted me to it it begin with. The drag on that reel is good enough to let me fish heavy cover with 4# mono and hook large fish the get tangled in that cover and won't let the line break or stretch after a full day of fishing that cover. Ended up with a diawa 5 1/2' aird rod to put that regal 1000 on. Wanted a fast action rod for the heavy cover, it has 7 guides to cut down on line whip when castings aiding in longer casts.

I'm sure a lot of this isn't making since but you really should buy tackle that works for the type of fishing/cover you plan on fishing in on the hardest days of fishing. Heavy cover which crappie tend to like or weed beds that bluegill tend to like.

A progression in fishing with the setup I chose and why it worked for me:
Early season weed beds when the weeds aren't thick yet I used 2 1/64th oz trout magnets in tandem 16" apart along with a bb sized split shot 8" below the bottom trout magnet. This setup allowed me cover 3 levels of fishing in 3'/4' of water. Casting into the weeds and then a super slow retrieve I can feel the jigs/bb split shot touching the weeds with the light action rod allowing me to ease the jigs thru them without getting tangled/hooked into them. Would I get hooked in weeds??? Of course but that light actioned aird rod easily out fished the ugly stick g2 in head to head testing (same reel/line/tackle). Feeling the weeds and not hooking them is huge allowing me to spend more time on the fish. Fishing at 3 levels in the weed beds allowed me to catch crappie on both jigs, perch on the bottom jig and bluegill on the bottom jig. I threw back 2x the crappie, too thin and all the bluegill (full of eggs) There's a couple 10" perch hiding in that stringer along with all the crappi are 12" or bigger.
https://i.imgur.com/EcxIFGQ.jpg

Same setup, same lake/weed bed. This time the weeds have grown thicker. Same style of fishing except only 2 trout magnets in tandem and no split shot. Lost a lot of huge fish due to the drag being set for the light 4# test line. The big fish would run to the bottom and get tangled in the weeds. I'd keep pressure on the line but that pressure was actually on the weeds and the fish would get off, some after fighting for 2 minutes +. But the drag allowed me to fish all day in these hard conditions and not stretch the line. Even the small fish would be in the weeds and I'd be fighting the fish and the weeds. I still managed to land a 13" crappie and the bluegill.
https://i.imgur.com/SXHEwFy.jpg

Switched over to 8# braid and went back fishing in the same lake/same weed bed yesterday. Only small bass and small perch this time, ended up putting them all back. No crappie but I did fill 1 stringer with bluegill and started on a 2nd stringer.
https://i.imgur.com/fj0x3OH.jpg

Sorry for being long winded but I'd be more interested in the ability to feel cover and hits then how soft a mouth is. A secondary part of the rods action is the "whip" you can apply when casting. The shorter the rod the more line whip affects the length of cast as does the ability to slingshot the cast thru timing of the rods bend/whip. Your jig/lure/tackle weight will play a huge role in the line/# test you use.

Anyway, just something to think about. I'm getting ready to fish a small lake that full of stumps. Accuracy of casting and feeling the 1/64 oz jigs is huge when trying to get crappie and bluegill out of this heavy cover. Fun fun fun

Good luck with whatever you end up with and hopefully you'd post reports so people like me can learn form your experiences.

that big ole whooping big catfish 7 foot rod aint nothing anywhere near the little gx2 rod ….just saying

I have the rod you are talking about. I also own three 6ft ugly sticks in medium action and two 6ft heavy action for night fishing and a 4.6ft in ultralight. Anything that is a ugly stick,I think you will like. They all have a sensitive tip and great backbone. I recently purchased a 10ft ugly stick for crappies and it is very sensitive. I love my ugly sticks. I own several other rods made by different companies and I love them all. I buy the best I can afford ,my wife says I need another rod like I need a hole in my head. I think you will enjoy your ugly stick.

Sent from my LML212VL using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ketchn

that big ole whooping big catfish 7 foot rod aint nothing anywhere near the little gx2 rod ….just saying

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The 7' rod/reel combo I bought was the uglystick gx2 ul combo. While it's a good rod for beating and banging around bank fishing (which is what I bought it for) it couldn't hold a candle casting distance wise and sensitivity to the shorter diawa aird rod. This was with head to head testing using the same reel. I ran the 7' uglystick for 3 weeks using that regal reel on it fishing 5 or 6 days a week. This was pond fishing and kayak fishing. Found it was too long for the kayak and ordered the 5 1/2' aird. When it came in I put that regal reel on it and never looked back.

I do like uglysticks and own 3 of them, the 7'ul and 2 9'm actioned rods. Those 9'm action rods are my "catfish" rods paired with diawa rg 2500 reels.

Anyway, ya there's a big difference between the 7' uglystick for catfish and the 7'ul uglystick. I use/own the 7' ul gx2 rod and reel combo.

i tried searching for the ul ugly sik in a 7 foot length and cant find it offered .
not sure what version you have but to be sure if he wants a 5 6 combo, the combo i mentioned for a beginner is all that

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ketchn

if its the GX2 series small combo BUY IT ,,,,thank me later for the advice
I had one given to me as a gift ….its a dandy short combo …
I can even tell you its a preferred loaner in some circles and they ask for it if they are rod less when we meet up
my 2 cents

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My other rod is actually a GX2 and I love it. It probably sounds silly (maybe not) but I like the idea of having a dedicated rod for different lures. Switching lures and such around on my current rod is time/line consuming. The Carbon is lighter and made of graphite. I ended up purchasing it because I had $100 burning a hole in my pocket. I'll let folks know how it goes if I see it brought up.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by patrapper

I have the rod you are talking about. I also own three 6ft ugly sticks in medium action and two 6ft heavy action for night fishing and a 4.6ft in ultralight. Anything that is a ugly stick,I think you will like. They all have a sensitive tip and great backbone. I recently purchased a 10ft ugly stick for crappies and it is very sensitive. I love my ugly sticks. I own several other rods made by different companies and I love them all. I buy the best I can afford ,my wife says I need another rod like I need a hole in my head. I think you will enjoy your ugly stick.

Sent from my LML212VL using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

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Great, thank you, I was hoping to hear from someone who owned it so I appreciate this. I ended up ordering it because I had the money and needed another rod anyway. It's on back-order at the moment (on every site I tried) so I probably won't have it until July. I'm looking forward to it though.