If you're on a budget, then I don't think you can go wrong with an Ugly Stik. I know a lot of people using them and really like them. I personally like the 3 St. Croix rods I built and wouldn't trade them for anything.

Back in 2000 I was on a retail development which had Home Depot and WalMart as anchor stores. A contractor asked me to go fishing and I went to WalMart and bought a Shakespeare SBC2804 round baitcaster for $40. I still have and use that baitcaster to this day.

In 2005 I had the levelwind pawl lock up on the worm shaft and damaged both parts as well as the levelwind gear. I called Shakespeare Customer Service to order parts and they couldn't have been easier to deal with. I think the replacement parts cost around $5.00 and I got 2 of each part. They were on my door step 2 days after ordering.

IMHO I think that their higher end reels (Pfluegar) are not bad reels. I can't really comment on any other Pfluegar products as I have not used those products.

i personaly think the ugly stick line is pretty good for the weekend angler, but i would prefer a SpongeBob Squarepants reel over the Shakespeares.

in my hands , my 5' UL ugly stick lite weighs more than my 6'6" MH/F fenwick eagle GT casting rod and a crap ton heavier than my 6' M/F compre.

i personaly think the ugly stick line is pretty good for the weekend angler, but i would prefer a SpongeBob Squarepants reel over the Shakespeares.

A Shakespeare Barbie pole caught the lake record walleye out of one of my home lakes

They're OK, just don't expect the world for the price. I've got a reel that I've used for a while with no issues, but I don't use it all day every day.

i personaly think the ugly stick line is pretty good for the weekend angler, but i would prefer a SpongeBob Squarepants reel over the Shakespeares.

chances are that spongebob reel is porbably made by shakespeare

i personaly think the ugly stick line is pretty good for the weekend angler, but i would prefer a SpongeBob Squarepants reel over the Shakespeares.

chances are that spongebob reel is porbably made by shakespeare

nahh, Zebco my friend  haha

I've had a lot of Shakespeare equipment over the years, and I gotta say I can't complain about them.  The spinning reels and little push-button things I've had have caught a decent number and quality of fish (my profile pic included), and the Ugly Sticks have stood up to even my childrens' abuse.  Granted I have to replace them out every 2 years or so, but it's cheap to do so. Why throw money in the trash while teaching the kids to take care of things before buying them the big money stuff?

Sippi

Do you have any good equipment that you personally use ?

Do you have any good equipment that you personally use ?

No, just got my first bit of "good" gear this last week. Up until this point it's mostly been off Shakespeare and Zebco cheapo's. The only thing I would say comes close is my little ugly stick which has worked great.

Sippi

I heard that Pflueger and All-Star were purchased by Shakespeare, and both of those brands are usually of pretty good quality, but I'm guessing that the Pflueger and All-Star products aren't coming off the same assembly line the Shakespeare reels and rods are being made on.

As far as experience with Shakespeare branded stuff: I haven't used their products for years.  I had an Ugly Stick about 10 years ago or so, I ended up giving it to my mother.  She still uses it when she goes fishing, but that's only once or twice a year.  A friend of mine bought a Shakespeare baitcaster not too long ago, and predictably, it's a piece of junk.

I heard that Pflueger and All-Star were purchased by Shakespeare, and both of those brands are usually of pretty good quality, but I'm guessing that the Pflueger and All-Star products aren't coming off the same assembly line the Shakespeare reels and rods are being made on.

quote]

Shakepeare aquired Pfleuger quite some time ago and I beleive they were manufacturing both products out of the same facility. So they went for both a high and low end lines kind of like ZEBCO with their Quantum line.

I've since found out that Pure Fishing Inc. (www.purefishing.com) aquired Shakepeare back in 2007 adding to a fairly impressive line of products including All Star Rods, Berkely, Abu Garcia, Fenwick, Penn to name a few.

Check out the site.

my 'lucky' pole is a shakespeare tiger spincast combo i bought about like 4 years ago at walmart. i absolutely love it though, its my go to pole. i had it spooled with 20lb mono and could cast lightweight stuff like rooster tails and crickhoppers a mile on it, changed the line this year to 15lb and it still works great. and its a really fun fight with bigger fish with the weaker drag. the rod is a 6'6 MH and its great, its not an ugly stick. the reel has held up well too. the only problem i had was with the lower guide on it came apart, but i easily put it back together and it was my fault in the first place. i also have a spinning tiger combo 7'0 M that has served me very well.

but this was an older model of the tiger shakespeare line, the newer ones have absolute crap for reels. i bought one mainly for the rod, and the reel broke in less than a month. other than that though shakespeare products have been pretty good to me. but now i have a reason to buy a new reel which wont be a s'peare to pair up with that rod, which was the plan when i bought my first lucky one 4 years ago but the thing aint broke yet. and i catch my biggest fish on it from bass to catfish to stripers, so i almost always take it with me fishing.

Like their Pflueger reels.....

I have several Pflueger reels and can't say there is a bad one in the bunch.  I have 2 supremes I use for fresh and supreme and medalist I use in the salt.

As far as ugly sticks go, I see more ugly sticks used for pier surf and even offshore than any other brand.  great spine and long casting distance, I have friends using them and see them  in action all the time.

I've got a big fat ugly stick fly rod that I use offshore for Pelagics like dolphin, sailfish, and tuna.  Good fun rod to use.  Goofy amounts of backbone on it.  I'm not really worried about it ever breaking.  I used to use some of the larger ugly stick rods for deep dropping for large grouper and snapper.  For the price and power of the rod you couldn't beat them.  I personally wouldn't use one for something that required a lot of feel though.  They aren't the most sensitive rods in the world.

Shakespear makes a decent antenna though   

Well I guess I just as well jump in on this one......I currently own a few Shakespeare spincast reels. The Synergy Titanium (Ti) series is pretty awesome, comparable to a good Zebco spincast, even better since they are less expensive. The older Synergy Steel line is a good product as well. I use both for panfish of all varieties including some smaller catfish. Drags work great and they are tough reels. Check out the Shakespeare Synergy 'Ultimate' series of spincasters, compare them to some of the "high end" spincasters on the market and they'll surprise ya. I own a Zebco Omega Z02 and hardly ever use it anymore.

I came so close to buying one or two of the Dimension spinning reels previously mentioned that I actually had to walk out of the store more than once. Pretty impressive specs and they are ultra smooth when you spin them in their packaging, time will tell if they are long lasting. Still may get at least one, but I'm not that big of fan of spinning gear anymore since arthritis in my wrists has limited my abilities to handle the heavier spinning gear.

Lately, their baitcast line has started to look pretty appealing for an inexpensive starter or for back-up or bank fishing pond reels. The Agility baitcaster has gotten some pretty decent reviews.

No doubt the Ugly Sticks are awesome, who hasn't owned or at least fished with one in their lifetime? Here's a surprise though.....the Excursion rods that can be purchased for less than $20 are sensitive and tough and come in a bunch of models for both spinning and casting. Make good back-up rods or like mine are, panfish and "pond" rods.

Is the Shakespeare line for the tournament angler? I say an emphatic NO. But their products are great for the weekend/occasional recreational fisherman, and the rods are good back-up rods that are inexpensive and will certainly get the job done.

BTW, I fish for crappie with a gentleman about 75 years old who still fishes with his '80's Shakepeare tackle exclusively. He uses it for everything, not just crappie but also striper, bass, and catfish.

I have one of those excursion rods..not bad for 20$..I also got axiom caster reel for it ..not bad for 20$.. had it 2 years now and caught several L.M. w/ it. But the combo doesn't compare to my higher dollar combos, However I don't expect it to. Shakespeare is decent for their price, and helps get people involved in the sport.

no.

There's one in every crowd and you're it.

8-) 8-) 8-)

not sure what you mean.

only thing thats good is the ugly stick line