so my buddy gave me a few fishing poles since he doesnt have time for it anymore. first one was a ready2fish saltwater combo (looks like a walmart special from what i can see online) and the second is an Ugly Stik SP1101 7' mh with a Penn Fierce 4000. is that a combo that could be useful for something? im just a weekend warrior. any insight or infomation would be welcomed.

 

Welcome aboard!

 

Sure that will work for bass fishing. A little on the heavy

side with a MH and a 4000 size spinning reel, but certainly

doable.

 

You could throw things like jigs, Texas rigs, Caronlina rigs,

and so forth with it. Could even throw wacky rigs, but the

rod may be a tad over powered for it. You'd want to make

sure the drag is not too tight.

 

Just keep in mind what weight lures your rod is rated for.

Would also work well for catfish or carp. 

Ugly stiks are very good rods for the money and more than enough to catch a bass. They are one of the most well known and respected rod manufacturer in the world for several decades now and its because these rods can take abuse when other rods fall short. The size 4000 Penn Fierce is also a very good reel for the price and can be used for saltwater fishing if you wanted to.

Sounds like this would be a great rod for casting heavier lures that we normally use casting rods for but for someone who doesn't know how to use a baitcaster. Could throw texas rigs, jigs, spinnerbaits etc on this rod.

 

As Luke G mentioned, it would also be good for catfish and carp, and salmon too!

Thanks for all the replies. So it sounds like the ugly stik might actually be something i could use then. Living in south florida, i throw texas rigs often down here. Ill give it a go this weekend. 

3 hours ago, flywall99 said:

Thanks for all the replies. So it sounds like the ugly stik might actually be something i could use then. Living in south florida, i throw texas rigs often down here. Ill give it a go this weekend. 

Do you fish saltwater or just freshwater? That Penn Fierce you have is a decent spinning reel for saltwater fishing. I have a couple size 8000 Penn Fierce that I use for land based shark fishing, reef fishing,etc and they still work great even after being abused for over 5 years now. You can upgrade to a Penn Battle,Spinfisher,etc if you want but the Penn Fierce is a great reel to start fishing with.

1 hour ago, soflabasser said:

Do you fish saltwater or just freshwater? That Penn Fierce you have is a decent spinning reel for saltwater fishing. I have a couple size 8000 Penn Fierce that I use for land based shark fishing, reef fishing,etc and they still work great even after being abused for over 5 years now. You can upgrade to a Penn Battle,Spinfisher,etc if you want but the Penn Fierce is a great reel to start fishing with.

mostly freshwater. I havent fished saltwater in a few years. If the Penn reel could be could for saltwater, i might check it out then. do you fish both?

2 minutes ago, flywall99 said:

mostly freshwater. I havent fished saltwater in a few years. If the Penn reel could be could for saltwater, i might check it out then. do you fish both?

Yes I fish both freshwater and saltwater. Also do spearfishing, lobstering, and other hobbies involving the water.  Bass fishing is fun but I rather be fishing for saltwater fish or diving if the conditions are good for that.

8 minutes ago, soflabasser said:

Yes I fish both freshwater and saltwater. Also do spearfishing, lobstering, and other hobbies involving the water.  Bass fishing is fun but I rather be fishing for saltwater fish or diving if the conditions are good for that.

what kind of saltwater fishing would the penn reel be good for? not big enough for pier fishing right?

1 hour ago, flywall99 said:

what kind of saltwater fishing would the penn reel be good for? not big enough for pier fishing right?

What type of fish are you targeting on the pier? The size and type of reel you use on a pier depends on what you are fishing for. A size 4000 Penn Fierce and a decent rod should be plenty if you are fishing for mackerel, pompano, small fish, baitfish,etc. There are people that use these size 4000 spinning reels for pier snook but they lose a lot of them to the pillings. A size 8000 spinning reel should be enough for most pier fishing (unless you are fishing for big sharks) and you can always use a 4/0 Penn Senator or similar reel to pull out the big snook that live under the piers.

Congratulations! An Ugly Stik and Penn Combo is probably one of the most versatile and durable set ups you can own. You can use a 7' MH Ugly Stik to target just about any freshwater species (although it's gonna be overkill if you're ever fishing for trout or panfish) and basically all saltwater inshore fish up to Tarpon. 

 

I'd pick up an extra spool on eBay so you can have a two line options when you're on the water, and you'll be able to basically throw any bait or lure you want.