Stasher1

I've handled them in the store and walked away unimpressed. They're just as whippy and soft in the tip as a standard Ugly Stick. Probably fine for cranks, but definitely not suitable for soft plastics. I really like Shimano products, but I'd pass on that one. I brought my broken Field & Stream rod back to Dick's and exchanged it for a St. Croix Triumph. Seems like a decent rod so far. Hit a local county pond yesterday and caught a few 1.5-2 pounders and it's still intact, so it's already outperforming the F&S. I've already experienced the loosening reel seat I've read about, so it'll need a few wraps of teflon thread tape before my next outing. It's definitely not my first choice in rods, but given the choices available locally and my budget constraints, it may be one of the better choices right now. The only other possibilities would be the St. Croix Premier (basically the same as the Triumph for $30 more) and the Shimano Compre, which has never really impressed me. For some reason they just don't feel good in my hand. I think I expect it to feel like my Crucial, but it just doesn't.

Doesn't BPS offer a white braid in their saltwater line?

Of all the Glock generations, G3 is my favorite. The ridges are perfectly spaced for anyone who has ever shot my G19. If I could ever stop buying rods, reels & boats, I would like to get a G20 to carry during deer season. You must shoot with small-handed folks. :-/ The top ridge of my G26 wound up under my middle finger and was extremely irritating, so I removed them. The "thumb rest" was an improvement, but the ridges just weren't working for me.

Nah, he just needs to dig out the 4 /1/2" grinder, sandpaper, and file to remove those irritating and poorly spaced finger ridges. I don't know what kind of sissy hand they used when they designed the Gen 3 Glock grip. Do they not have manly men in Austria? >

FWIW, when Berkley decided to build a rod specifically for use with braided lines (Lightning Rod Shock), they used aluminum oxide guides instead of the SS304 guides they use on ALL of their other rods. What does that say about the durability of their SS304 guides?

They're in the most recent catalog, item # 21-240-200 (2 3/4", 3/8 oz.) and 21-251-609 (3 1/2", 5/8 oz.) $3.99

Ugly Sticks definitely have their uses, but they lack the sensitivity necessary for soft plastics, IMHO. I have a four of them on the racks in my shop, but even my boys (7 and 10) have stepped up to nicer rods. If I was looking for a decent inexpensive crankbait rod, the Ugly Stick would definitely be on the list, though.

Well, so much for the F&S rod. Used it two times and the tip has already snapped off. > Was hoisting a little 1.5-2 pounder over the weeds along the shoreline of a little county pond and I guess the rod just couldn't handle it. : Snapped once right at the second guide and again between the second and third guide. Good thing I kept the receipt. Hopefully the Triumph will last a bit longer, because I'm definitely not taking a replacement F&S.

Ebay was much better 10-12 years ago, before most of the dealers invaded. > I used to be on there all the time, and made a fair amount of money buying/selling vintage motorcycle parts, but it's just not worth the hassle now. It's turned into a giant flea market full of poorly made products and "dealers" who have all of their items drop-shipped because they actually have no inventory at all. Ebay has also made it very difficult for dealers to accept payment by any means other than Paypal. They charge you to list your item, charge you more for any added features you want in your listing, hit you for a final value fee when your item sells, and then force you to accept payment via Paypal so they can screw you out of even more money on the transfer of funds?

It depends on your location. You could easily spend a couple hours trying to cover 20 miles in Atlanta traffic.

I think this is about right, but on sub-$100 rods it's really not worth it IMHO. By the time you add $20 shipping onto a $50 rod purchase, you're within $30 of full retail price for a new one. Used $100 rod for $70 or a brand new one for $100? I'd choose the new one every time, but that's just me.

For the money, the Abu Conolon Premier is a decent rod. I spent several hours fishing with the ones I bought for my boys, and came away rather impressed. They're pretty light, have a decent backbone, and sensitivity is comparable to rods 2x their price. I'm not a big fan of the guides Abu used on them, but for the price ($27) I'm willing to give them a chance.

You may have the only Suburban in existence that gets that kind of gas mileage. My 2WD '95 non-Vortec 'Burb and my father's 2WD '99 Vortec 'Burb each get around 15-16. From my experience the newer ones aren't much better, as the '09 Yukon I rented last summer got less than 17 mpg on the highway. http://www.fueleconomy.gov/FEG/noframes/15460.shtml

That would probably be the "Lady Endeavor" combo. They also have three versions of the "Lady Trion" combo in spinning, spincast, and underspin. http://www.pfluegerfishing.com/products/index.php From Pflueger's site: Cool stuff.

The second one appears to be a Pinnacle Matrix... http://www.pinnaclefishing.com/pl-baitcast.html

Really? Enlighten me.

I prefer spinning reels when I'm fishing at night. I can just open the bail and cast without worrying about backlash.

More people involved in the sport means more money for manufacturers to invest into new products and technologies, which benefits all of us.

I leave those sites to teenagers and desperate people looking to "hook up". : I don't care where my high school classmates are doing now, and if I want to speak to my friends or family members I'll just take my phone out of my pocket and give them a call.

I handled the new Shimano Voltaeus at my local Sports Authority yesterday and was unimpressed. It's just as whippy as a standard Ugly Stick, tip-heavy in the 6'6" M spinning configuration, and is sporting cheap-looking all-metal guides similar to the ones Berkley uses on their Cherrywood and Lightning Rods. They're probably fine for general use...but I just don't like them. I'm a Shimano fan, but I'd pass on this one. I think the Convergence is a better option in that price range. The Ugly Stick Lite or Lite Pro would also be a good choice if you're looking for a better balance between durability and sensitivity.

That's a ML/F, not M/F. Good rod but not heavy enough for t-rigged plastics, imho. Great rod for Trick Worms and Floaters, though.

Sometimes a thin 6" curl tail worm like a Luck "E" Strike or cheapo Renegade from WM will work for me when nothing else will. I guess the tiny profile combined with the little bit of tail action makes them look like an easy meal. They also smell pretty darn tasty as well.

After spending about an hour and a half at BPS, handling every two-piece rod I could find...I went back to Dick's and bought the F&S IM7. It's definitely not in the same league as my Kistler or Crucial, but I'm sure it'll be fine for the occasional golf course pond. The combo is bit heaver than I'm used to, but it casts fairly well. It also left me with a bit of extra cash to spend on hooks, weights, worms, etc. This was supposed to be an inexpensive setup to leave in my truck, but I've already spent more on that stuff than I spent on the rod, reel, and line combined. ;D All I need now is an inexpensive worm binder, and I'll be all set.

Maybe I'm in the minority here, but IMO hooks are "consumables". I'll use a hook until I need to re-rig with a different style of hook or heavier weight and I toss the used hook in a special compartment of my terminal tackle box...never to be used again. I don't resharpen them, and don't use a hook long enough to witness any issues with rust.

Why not sell it and buy a Premier in the same length/action?