Shakespeare Ugly Stik Boat Rods - 08/07/2009

TSF tested the 20lb and 12lb-class Ugly Stik rods last year, now we look at how they’ve stood-up to a year of hard use… plus we review the new 20/30lb braid rod.

You may remember that we first tested the 20lb and 12lb-class Ugly Stik rods last summer. The 12lb rod passed with flying colours after taming a very lively 30lb male tope. The 20lb-class rod has proved to be a real workhorse, coping with bull huss, cod and thornback rays, often in strong currents. We also took a look at the 20/30lb braid rod, built on an ultra-slim 8ft-long blank. It has 10 intermediate guides plus tip, to ensure that the line follows the fighting curve of the rod. Like the other Ugly Stiks, the foregrip has flat profiles giving you a better grip when fighting a fish – making sure the rod doesn’t twist during a fight.

The 20lb-class rod is 7ft 6in long in two-equal sections. The tip is quite supple for a good bite indication but it has a progressively powerful action with plenty of lifting power in the butt that will control all but the meanest of fish. The 12lb-class is a really fun rod that’s ideal for bream or drifting sandbanks for bass and flatties. The 8ft 6in ultra-slim blank has 10 intermediate guides and a very supple tip that’s perfect for shy-biting fish. Despite its supple action, it proved last year that it can handle a 30lb tope while at anchor, so it should cope with a double-figure bass or turbot on the drift.

Now we’ll take a closer look at the 20/30lb braid rod. Out on test, I coupled it with a Penn 525 loaded with 20lb braid and topped with 25 feet of 25lb fluorocarbon for a shockleader. Although it’s not made for uptiding, it’s capable of lobbing your gear away from the boat giving you ‘the angle of the dangle’. It has a sensitive tip with a progressive action – the more load you put on the rod, the more you can feel the power in the lower section. The bites show very well on the supple tip and its action will tire a decent fish and put a lot of fun into your fishing.

There’s something in the versatile Ugly Stik range to suit all styles of fishing and all species. From the 6lb to 10lb class for bream and flatties up to the 30lb to 50lb charter rods or braid rods for congers, tope and sharks. Not forgetting the uptiders, and there’s even a five-piece 20lb to 30lb Ugly Stik travel rod – so there’s a rod to cover every occasion.

INFORMATION

FACTS AT A GLANCE