Ugly stick GX2 ultra light 4'8" (penn fierce 2500)

B
backpack angler
Will this pole be okay for lake fishing in southern oregon? I have a penn fierce 2500 on it with braided line. What are my limitations?
 
troutdude
troutdude
IMO an ultra light rod = ultra light fish (like trout up to maybe 18" or so, and all smaller fish like bluegill, crappie, smallies up to maybe 3 pounds, small cats, etc). I'd say your reel, can handle slightly larger fish--but likely not your rod. If you put your reel, say, on a 7 - 8' rod with more backbone--you could land summer steel w/ no trouble. But again, a 4' 8" rod, isn't the correct rod for anything but smaller fish.
 
D
DrTheopolis
I've caught more summer steelhead on a 5'6" Ugly Stik ultralight than I can count. Caught Chinook on it, too.

Sounds like a great rod for lake fishing.
 
S
SmallStreams
I use a 6' (5' 11"?) Ugly Stik for my brush-busting trout adventures. It's handled a 15 lb steelhead and 10-15 lb coho. Primarily I use it all summer(*) and then once I encounter coho in the fall, I switch to a heavier rod.

A shorter rod sacrifices casting distance for more maneuverability. I'd rather have the 5' 6" rod that Dr. Theopolis wields, to get through the brush more easily. The ancient Abu Garcia rod I used to sport was only 5' 6" and, for me, was the perfect summer fishing tool.

I'm unhappy with one little detail in the Ugly Stik construction. The tip guide uses a pressed-in piece for bearing the line and that piece is now coming loose. I haven't been able to form a crimp that will hold and expect I'll use a drop of superglue in an effort to secure it in place.

(*) Excepting the spring/summer chinook chasing I do on a certain never-named stream. After 3 years of chasing, I still haven't caught one of them, but I'm getting better at finding them, LOL!
 
T
TheBigFoote
I thought rod length was more about leverage,distance or space and rod "power" was more about target fish size. ie ultra-light, medium-light etc... And rod action is about the length of the flex of the tip of the fishing pole.

IMO your rod is good for smaller fish if your fishing something like small streams that have a lot of vegetation around them. The length wont give you much casting distance but is nice if you dont need it and you might have space restrictions. I think you would benefit from a longer rod, casting distance can be important if your on the shore. If you want a shorter rob for backpacking just get a two piece. The power really depends on what you expect to catch.
 
troutdude
troutdude
If you're not a seasoned fisherman, than an ULTRALIGHT rated rod--is not a good rod to use, for Steelhead. But if you are seasoned, you could bring in a steelhead. You would, however, stand a better chance with a rod with a higher rating (like Medium, or better).
 
D
DrTheopolis
Give me some sort of functioning reel, with whatever test line, and some sort of rod with a working reel-seat, and I'll figure out a way to land the fish. Although watching my buddy, many years ago, haulin a giant summer steelie (15+) on a 3' microlight might never be topped.
 
T
TheBigFoote
Yea, I once landed a 20+lb halibut on a ultralight pole with 6lb test that took a smelt that was about an inch long. To top it off I was using a tiny Egg hook. But if I was choosing the pole I was going to land him on, I would have gone for something a bit bigger, I don't think I could do that consistently.
 
D
DrTheopolis
I'm now curious -- where and what were you fishing, to be ultralighting where there was halibut? I'm always game to use ridiculously undersized gear, but I'm not sure I've ever broken out the ultralight in salt water (then again, maybe I have -- if so, I'm sure alcohol was involved).
 
T
TheBigFoote
Well kinda, we had a boat we kept down in long beach and I would put out a light at night. We would get some white sea bass coming up to the light but the were super line shy. I don't know why I had this little rod but it was the only thing with light line, I netted a couple of the little smelt swimming under it and dropped one down to the bottom and BAM! Now I had this light mounted between the bow of the boat and a dock slip, he took off toward the back of the boat and I ran the pole under the docklines. We had a small skiff tied off on the back, I jumped into that sucker and ended up landing it.
 

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