Need advice on purchasing a new rod

FishOn420 · May 28, 2015

My lovely fiancé said she would get me a new rod for my birthday coming up next week and I am not sure what to get. Right now I am looking at the Big Water Casting Ugly Stick (http://www.cabelas.com/product/Shak...3BSearch-All+Products&Ntt=big+water+ugly+stik). I want a rod that can pretty much be used for anything. Something that would be sensitive enough for smaller fish like lake trout but still be able to handle a 50 pound sturgeon or cat fish. My friend has this rod and it seems to do the trick pretty well. The budget is around 100 dollars. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you OFF.

Toyracer38 · May 28, 2015

I have the BWC110012 . Great plunking rod. I've caught Sturgeon, Salmon, Steelhead, Sockeye and even Shad with it. I wouldn't fish Trout with it, but you can find cheap Trout rods everywhere cheap. I put a Diawa Saltist on mine. Anyway, Happy B-Day.

bass · May 29, 2015

I would highly recommend an Okuma SST rod. It will be much lighter and more sensitive than the Ugly Stik and much more pleasurable to fish with. I have an 8'6" X-Hvy magnum taper 1-6oz rod that is light enough to be fun and yet strong enough to land sturgeon over 7' long. If that is too heavy then no problem, the SST rods are a full line of rods in a continuum of actions and strengths. I would go to fisherman's and peruse their stock and pick the one that best covers your needs. The rods are all under $100. I have not been too pleased with the Okuma reels I have purchased but I love the Okuma rods.

Camo · May 29, 2015

I own two Cabbala's BCW112070 -Ugly Stick-seven foot (one piece) rods. One for salt and the other for steelhead in fresh water. The one for fresh water has most of the butt end cut off for easier casting in tight spots. Otherwise the butt end will sometimes get in the way when casting....Seems too stiff until the moment a bright fish is hooked.

FishOn420 · May 29, 2015

bass said:
I would highly recommend an Okuma SST rod. It will be much lighter and more sensitive than the Ugly Stik and much more pleasurable to fish with. I have an 8'6" X-Hvy magnum taper 1-6oz rod that is light enough to be fun and yet strong enough to land sturgeon over 7' long. If that is too heavy then no problem, the SST rods are a full line of rods in a continuum of actions and strengths. I would go to fisherman's and peruse their stock and pick the one that best covers your needs. The rods are all under $100. I have not been too pleased with the Okuma reels I have purchased but I love the Okuma rods.

This looks like a great set up for what I want. Right now I have a Pflueger® President® Spinning Reel 6940X model. I want to get a bait caster for a good sturgeon set up but I think my spinner reel will do for the time being. I want a good pole that I could use for targeting sturgeon. The one I have right now works ok but I could have broken it yesterday on a 5 footer I hooked into had he not broken my line first. I know your a avid sturgeon fisherman, is this the set up you use mostly for them?