Shakespeare Uglystick Question (Ultralight Spinning Reel)

[Sir-diealot]

So I have had a ultralight Shakespeare Dimension reel for quite some time (I have larger version of the reel on two other Ugly Sticks) and was going to pick up the 5' ultralight in moderate fast action but Bass Pro Shops is out of that one and I have a gift card so I am wondering how much different would the 2 piece 7 foot model be in the weight and action? I do not know a lot about fishing poles so thank you for any help given.

[g8rvet]

I do not like 2 piece rods, ever, unless there is a good reason to have one (like stowing somewhere when broken down-say as a rod for a camper or something).

I love 7' rods, but there will be a huge difference going from 5' to 7'.  It will give a totally different balance to the reel/rod combo.  I do not even mind heavy if a rod balances well.  And I am no rod/reel snob.  I fish Shimano reels (not the bottom end, but low end) and various rods.   The 7' will outcast a 5' and give you more backbone to fight a fish as well.  Since you use the rod to tire the fish, 7' is better than 5'.  But if you want a light little bream rod, you will be disappointed with a 7' rod.   

[Sir-diealot]

I do not like 2 piece rods, ever, unless there is a good reason to have one (like stowing somewhere when broken down-say as a rod for a camper or something).

I love 7' rods, but there will be a huge difference going from 5' to 7'.  It will give a totally different balance to the reel/rod combo.  I do not even mind heavy if a rod balances well.  And I am no rod/reel snob.  I fish Shimano reels (not the bottom end, but low end) and various rods.   The 7' will outcast a 5' and give you more backbone to fight a fish as well.  Since you use the rod to tire the fish, 7' is better than 5'.  But if you want a light little bream rod, you will be disappointed with a 7' rod.

I do not know the term "Bream rod", what does it mean? Just looking for a bit of a fight, when I moved here 30 years ago I had to get used to these smaller fish, I grew up fishing Lake Ontario and Erie and the fish were bigger and had a lot more fight to them normally, the fish here in the Finger Lakes to not seem to fight much so I would like something that would let me feel that a bit more without having to worry about snapping the rod.

[Chris O]

Both lengths have their advantages at times. 7 ft will take up slack quicker for hook set and you should be able to control a fish better with the longer rod. The 5 ft rod is nice if fishing from bank and there are trees over head and you are making short casts close to bank.I don't mind 2 pc rods for ultra light rods one of my favorite ways to fish for crappies is a 10 ft crappie rod and a jig. Whatever you get you will get used to it . Bream is a bluegill

[Sir-diealot]

Both lengths have their advantages at times. 7 ft will take up slack quicker for hook set and you should be able to control a fish better with the longer rod. The 5 ft rod is nice if fishing from bank and there are trees over head and you are making short casts close to bank.I don't mind 2 pc rods for ultra light rods one of my favorite ways to fish for crappies is a 10 ft crappie rod and a jig. Whatever you get you will get used to it .

Thanks bud, I do wish they had the 1 piece 5' in, I have the gift certificate and enough points on my BPS credit card that I could get it for free.

[310 gauge]

Steve the word Bream is what we call fish, at least where I come from, that are from the Sunfish family. So when I take a couple of my favorite " bream rods" and "take to fishing" at the pond, I expect to come back with a whole "mess of breams and robins".  Now to speak in lingo more known above the Mason Dixon line, swimming in that bucket would include Bluegill, Redbreast Sunfish, Green Sunfish,Redear Sunfish,Redspotted & Spotted Sunfish Longear Sunfish, Pumpkinseed,etc. Now if I'm lucky I might even have a couple of "goggle eyes" in the mix. Once you catch one goggle eye, you could catch a half dozen if you're patient because they kind of school up that way in the Springtime. The more proper name for this fish in other parts of the country could be either Warmouth or Rock Bass. No matter what you call them, when you " dress 'em up" they fry up mighty pretty. You'll need a "right smart mess" of 'em too to find a family that's used to this kind of eatin"!!!   

[310 gauge]

Oh yeah, I like the one piece rods for these little critters too.  In lengths of 5' 5 1/2 or 6' with light action and a fast tip will give you a nice outfit with 4 lb. line to throw the small baits you need for this fun also. Of course fly rods and cane poles or "bream busters" are another option to target this crowd also.  Good luck to you!

[Sir-diealot]

Steve the word Bream is what we call fish, at least where I come from, that are from the Sunfish family. So when I take a couple of my favorite " bream rods" and "take to fishing" at the pond, I expect to come back with a whole "mess of breams and robins".  Now to speak in lingo more known above the Mason Dixon line, swimming in that bucket would include Bluegill, Redbreast Sunfish, Green Sunfish,Redear Sunfish,Redspotted & Spotted Sunfish Longear Sunfish, Pumpkinseed,etc. Now if I'm lucky I might even have a couple of "goggle eyes" in the mix. Once you catch one goggle eye, you could catch a half dozen if you're patient because they kind of school up that way in the Springtime. The more proper name for this fish in other parts of the country could be either Warmouth or Rock Bass. No matter what you call them, when you " dress 'em up" they fry up mighty pretty. You'll need a "right smart mess" of 'em too to find a family that's used to this kind of eatin"!!!

Oh yeah, I like the one piece rods for these little critters too.  In lengths of 5' 5 1/2 or 6' with light action and a fast tip will give you a nice outfit with 4 lb. line to throw the small baits you need for this fun also. Of course fly rods and cane poles or "bream busters" are another option to target this crowd also.  Good luck to you!

Thanks for the explanation bud, I do appreciate it. To be honest I throw back in what I catch, it just hurts my hands and back to much to clean them anymore, I really miss eating Bullhead but now it is just a for fun thing for me. A friends son gave me a mess of Bullhead that he had cleaned last year, man were they good when I friend them up. I am going to see if Cabela's has the shorter rod, I can use my stuff there too.

[310 gauge]

I totally understand the catch and release, and the sport and conservation of all that for the future! If you were a lot closer I could have done a good job of stocking your freezer through the mild winter we had with Speckled Trout. A creek across the river from my home was loaded with them as they have started wintering there more the last few years. They are one of the absolute best frying fish you will ever sit down to. Some homemade cole slaw, fresh fried taters, hushpuppies using Sweet Betsy's mix,homemade lemon meringue pie,washed down with sweet tea and that's one of those last meal requests a convicted man would literally die for!!! Hahaha!

[Tom007]

Hello my friend. Did some searching for you. Cabelas has some 5 ft rods in stock. At least on line. They also take Bass Pro gift cards. Hope this helps. Good luck....

[g8rvet]

310 - you will appreciate this.  My brother tore his ACL and while doing rehab he got in a discussion about redfish.  His PT guy said it was  not possible to catch a keeper redfish on 2 pound test.  Challenge accepted.  We all outfitted our little bream rods with 2 pound test and hit our favorite redfish hole.   It took us quite a few trips but we all landed keeper reds on 2# test.  My brother managed an over (28").  I lost way more lures casting than I did fighting the fish.  We also set a no net rule to make it more challenging and lost many others right at us trying to lip them. 

[310 gauge]

g8rvet , that's pretty cool right there!  Had a blast taking on that challenge too! You might have set some kind of State record with that 28" baby on 2# test too.  You know most fish stews around here are cooked with Rock or Stripers as some folks call them. But to me a mess of Puppy Drum or smaller Reds make a great stew also. Firm, white and flaky,,,good eatin'.  Thanks for sharing!

[Sir-diealot]

I totally understand the catch and release, and the sport and conservation of all that for the future! If you were a lot closer I could have done a good job of stocking your freezer through the mild winter we had with Speckled Trout. A creek across the river from my home was loaded with them as they have started wintering there more the last few years. They are one of the absolute best frying fish you will ever sit down to. Some homemade cole slaw, fresh fried taters, hushpuppies using Sweet Betsy's mix,homemade lemon meringue pie,washed down with sweet tea and that's one of those last meal requests a convicted man would literally die for!!! Hahaha!

Man that all sounds fantastic, but I would have to pass on the coleslaw part, I have never met a coleslaw I didn't dislike. lol. Really does sound quite good and one thing I sure love about The South is Sweet Tea, my GF and I get into arguments over that one because she like nasty bitter iced tea and I would sooner drink sand. 

Hello my friend. Did some searching for you. Cabelas has some 5 ft rods in stock. At least on line. They also take Bass Pro gift cards. Hope this helps. Good luck....

Thank you bud I will call them shortly, I got out this morning and for the first time all season I heard a gobble. Unfortunately I was getting sick, I knew I was not right when I left the house, had to leave only a few hours into the morning, tomorrow is the last morning, hope things work out. I have been seeing so many more birds this year that I bought a bird on books today, look forward to figuring out what some of those birds are. Also going to buy a book on trees, used to know a little but my meds have made me forget so much. Sure was good to hear a gobble though, he was REALLY far away though.

310 - you will appreciate this.  My brother tore his ACL and while doing rehab he got in a discussion about redfish.  His PT guy said it was  not possible to catch a keeper redfish on 2 pound test.  Challenge accepted.  We all outfitted our little bream rods with 2 pound test and hit our favorite redfish hole.   It took us quite a few trips but we all landed keeper reds on 2# test.  My brother managed an over (28").  I lost way more lures casting than I did fighting the fish.  We also set a no net rule to make it more challenging and lost many others right at us trying to lip them. 

g8rvet , that's pretty cool right there!  Had a blast taking on that challenge too! You might have set some kind of State record with that 28" baby on 2# test too.  You know most fish stews around here are cooked with Rock or Stripers as some folks call them. But to me a mess of Puppy Drum or smaller Reds make a great stew also. Firm, white and flaky,,,good eatin'.  Thanks for sharing!

Enjoyed reading both your comments though not to me, sounds like that fishing challenge was fun. By the way we call them Rock Bass here.

[310 gauge]

Hey Steve, hope that Gobbler cuts his distance down considerably in the morning and you feel well enough to wait him out. The only flora I make sure I identify before I nestle in for a sit is the dreaded poison ivy. I manage to get a small dose of it every season somehow. Our season ended 3 weeks ago today, and my biological clock is still waking me up by 4:00 a.m. everyday. Good Luck in the morning, be safe, and come back with a tale to tell!!!

[Sir-diealot]

Hey Steve, hope that Gobbler cuts his distance down considerably in the morning and you feel well enough to wait him out. The only flora I make sure I identify before I nestle in for a sit is the dreaded poison ivy. I manage to get a small dose of it every season somehow. Our season ended 3 weeks ago today, and my biological clock is still waking me up by 4:00 a.m. everyday. Good Luck in the morning, be safe, and come back with a tale to tell!!!

Thanks bud, I am feeling better now, had a hard time on the drive home, could not keep eyes open and felt horrible. I hope he does as well, I will have some more calls with me, did not want to bring many because of weather last night made it wet out. I will share the tail if there is one to tell.