Ugly Stiks Aren’t Unbreakable!?

It’s not secret, Jon and I are big fans of Shakespeare’s Ugly Stiks. We both own saltwater and freshwater versions of the rod and have put them through some serious abuse. There really inst a tougher all purpose rod for the price if you ask me. I’ve dropped mine, stepped on it, and even slammed it in a car door and its still in one piece! I always figured they were unbreakable, until I saw this…

The fisherman in the video claims the rod is very old and seen its fair share of giant catfish.

“I think the Mekong Catfish range in size between 20Kilos to about 80 kilos in that pond. The other factor why the rod broke was probably the fact that it was about 15 years old (a shame coz the old tigers were the best). And also because my friend was already tired from fighting so many large mekongs which prompted him to try to muscle the fish in leading to his broken rod.”

The Best Fishing Rod In The World

There are a lot of expensive high quality fishing rods out there, but nothing beats a $30 Ugly Stik.

Ugly Braid

The makers of Ugly Stik, now introduce Ugly Braid, a high performance fishing line. We here at FishingFury love the Ugly Stik, hopefully this line lives up to the rods tough reputation!

• Ugly ArmorTM Coating:
Ugly Armor provides maximum abrasion resistance with enhanced flexibility as well as a unique anti-fatigue property. Ugly Armor allows Ugly Braid to retain its original color longer.

• Ugly Strength:
Ugly Braid is the perfect line for fishing in heavy cover or deep water and can stand up to the stress that the toughest fish can put on a line.

• Line Diameter:
The beauty of using Ugly Braid is that the line diameter is smaller than monofilament, but the line is stronger, has less stretch and lasts much longer.

• Round Shape:
Ugly Braid’s micro weave process with Ugly Armor permeates the braided fibers, to keep Ugly Braid’s round shape, resulting in longer, smoother and more accurate casts.

• Knot Strength:
A dependable knot is key to keeping fish on your line and Ugly Braid knots are incredibly easy to tie, and retain their strength and power cast after cast.

London, Ontario Carp Fishing

Today Gillian and I decided to head down the street to the river and see if we could catch some carp. There are several spots that I have seen carp swimming around in so I was confident we would find some fish. As soon as we arrived I threw out several handfuls of corn and then we got our equipment ready and started to fish. There were carp in the area within minutes. Despite several ducks stealing the corn, Gillian had a fish on within 20 minutes!

Armed with a Quantum 20 PTi and an UglyStik (a combo I refer to as beauty and the beast) she was caught off guard when line started peeling off the reel. The drag screamed as the fish headed down stream. I quickly realized her drag was set really light since I had last used it for walleye up at LV. After a huge run, I looked down at her reel and could see that the bottom of the spool was fast approaching, Gillian was a step ahead of me though and was already starting to head down the shore in chase.

She was quickly running out of room and needed to scale down a 6 foot wall to get to the shore in order resume her chase. Being nearly 7 months pregnant, this was not an option – she handed me the rod, and I jumped down the wall as the last few strands of line were about to unravel. I grabbed the line and pulled, turning the carp. I quickly adjusted the drag by this time Gillian had found her way down the wall, so I handed her back the rod. The fish was now in the current and despite a legendary effort, Gillian could not get him to move. After several minutes he charged back up stream and Gillian was able to gain back some line. Finally we had a good look at the fish, a solid 7-8lbs – A very nice sized carp for this area of the river. She slipped on a glove and held the fish for a quick photo and a release as a small crowd watched from the top of the wall.

Thirty minutes later it was my turn. I watched a small carp moving straight toward my bait and I held on tight expecting another epic battle. I was using my ultralight rod (5’2 UglyStik) with 10lb powerpro. I set the hook and….nothing . The carp flipped and flopped a couple times and I was able to grab it within a minute. Quite a disappointment after seeing how hard Gillian’s carp fought. We called it a day shortly after, but we were both very pleased that both of us landed a fish. The carp pupulatiosn are healthy and strong here in London, unlike the fish in Lake Scugog.

The first in-utero fish!! My baby boy has got an early start!