Shakespeare Ugly Stik Travel Boat Rod - 12/03/2009

This could be the ideal tool for the travelling boat angler. Roger Mortimore takes a look at Shakespeare's 20lb-30lb Travel Boat Rod.

The Ugly Stik travel boat rod breaks down into five pieces and is supplied in a cloth bag and protective carrying tube. When packed, it measures just 56 centimetres, making it easily small enough to tuck in your suitcase, rucksack or hide in the boot of the car. It’s fitted throughout with robust Fuji guides and a Fuji screw-lock reel seat. The foregrip is flattened top and bottom to give you good grip when playing a fish and to stop the rod twisting during the fight. It’s also supplied with stretchy Velcro rod bands and a cleaning cloth.

Rated for 20lb-30lb lines, it has a semi-fast action with a supple tip progressing to a steely mid-section and powerful butt that will allow you to bully a fish when necessary. The rubber butt cap can be removed to reveal a gimbal if using a butt pad when playing large fish. So, a boat trip was arranged and we set off to the coast. On arrival at the car park I took the rod from its tube, put it together and rigged up ready to go. With fresh winds forecast, we would have to stay close inshore and target codling and whiting with the chance of a ray, so I rigged up with a single-hook running leger with a choice of baits: rag, lug and squid. Casting is not really an option, so it was downtiding with 10oz of lead to hold bottom and keep the bait where the fish would be feeding. shakespeareugly220-2

I tucked in just behind the wheelhouse to keep out of the wind and keep an eye out for bites. I didn’t have to wait long. A couple of nods on the rod tip were followed by the tip pulling over as a fish moved off; something had the bait and was away. As I tightened the line and lifted into the fish, the tip took on a nice fighting curve, and the heavy weight with the odd kick told me that it could be a ray. A few pumps of the rod brought the fish to the surface. I was right because a small thornback had found my rag, lug and squid cocktail. Okay, a small ray on a 20lb-30lb rod may be overgunning it a bit, but it could have been a double-figure ray in the strong tide, in which case the rod would have really come into its own.

Having spent the day with this rod, I particularly like the flat foregrip, which allowed me to hold the rod comfortably without it twisting, even with cold, wet hands. It’s a versatile rod that I’m sure will be popular for its ease of transport and its action and power.

INFORMATION FACTS AT A GLANCE