The ugly stik original catfishing rod is the GOAT. I've caught every species of catfish on mine, with a $70 reconditioned abu 6500 c3... Anyone just getting into catfishing get the UglyStik with a penn spinning or okuma casting reel. Such an affordable, effective, and easy to use setup. Catfishing is so affordable and so fun.
Im a fan of the uglystik catfish special. Been using ugly stiks for years. They work well for the type of fishing i do. The price is a real big plus. Good comparison Dieter.
I use mostly Ugly stiks, mainly due to cost and performance. They've held up to everything I have thrown at them so far. 2 gx2s 2 catfish 8' and 1 catfish special 9' . I found the 12' big water and 12' catfish special, though nice, too much for where we fish. Then sold both 12'. Just my experience so far. I appreciate your honesty on the subject. Seems too many hate anything cheaper that works.
Nice sales pitch for the hellcat but you have not compared the B&M Silvercat elite that would be a more appropriate comparison and ugly stick rods are still excellent for the money
I cut my teeth on Ugly Stik saltwater rods trolling for tuna. When it came time to outfit my catfish boat with rods realistically capable of handling 30-50 pound catfish, the Ugly Stik was a natural choice. I like the 7-foot length because they easily fit in my truck, but more so because the reel seat is further up the blank giving you more leverage behind the reel. My channel cat rods are the old Catfish Special Baitcasters and a couple of GX2 spinning rods. The actions are perfect for these fish, and like you, I prefer the trigger on the grip of the baitcasters. When targeting Blue Cats I reach for my four Ugly Stik Tiger Med-Lites. To me, they are the best all-around trophy catfish rod. You can pay more, and get prettier, but you don't have to wonder about whether the rod will hold up. Again, the 7-ft length is ideal for my boat and truck. I abuse these rods with planer boards and have used them with diving planers for Spanish Mackeral and Kings. Speaking for me only, they are the ideal catfish rod and they will easily handle a trophy catfish. I have only owned two BCF Med/Heavy rods so my experience is limited. For all the reasons I prefer the Ugly Stiks, I dislike the BCF rods - grip too short, too expensive, wobbly mid-length action, less than stellar reputation. I could give a rat's ass about the color, slots in the reel seat, or if it will lift me while strapped to a forklift. After a month of fishing with the two I bought directly from them, I sold them. I could not honestly have them on my boat with other people asking me my opinion of them if I thought they were less than my best on my boat. I have nothing against CTF. They are a great bunch of folks. I just prefer my Ugly Stiks. I don't mind not following the masses, I'm buying a rod - save the bling, sales hype, record rewards, and gimmick ads. I just want a great rod. I still own every Ugly Stik I have ever owned. They have NEVER failed me. Oh, my Tigers cost me $69 dollars a piece.
I ordered 4 of the striper stealth ML rods a few months ago. For a $100 bait fishing type rod it's probably the most beautiful and well put together rods I own. I would assume that the build quality carries across the full line from catch the fever.
Great review Dieter! Seems like you have many rods, or at least access to them. I fish from the shore and I do not like the long handle from the butt to the reel. I noticed that long handle like that on a regular Tiger Spinning rod (not the new Elite). I wanted to ask if you ever had plans on putting Tiger spinning, Catfish, Striper and maybe BigWater rods all side by side to see the difference in them such as how many eyes, where the reel attaches, just simple things.
Ivee used ugly stiks and tiger stiks never had one break or problems also dont baby them though they still around 15+ years caught everything from bluegill to big stripers off them id say buy the rod and reel combo one and throw the reel in your tackle box as a spare and put a good abu garcia or penn reel on it
I love my hellcats and my Berkeley big game cat rods I've caught a lot of fish with them, my hellcats have caught less but they give me more control when I hook into a big carp😁🎣and other fish and turtles😡, you should do whisker seeker rods I have 4 of them and love them caught a lot of different stuff on them
I've been a Ugly person for years from the 80's and Zebco Rino just got a new pole this year. I'm very happy with my price😮 at Walmart on clearance sale $17 each 🎣 ho can say no to that 🤫 price point. I'm going to put the profishinecy sniper reel for it. Fun this summer with my new poles.
I'm a big fan of the regular Big Cat Fever rods and B'n'M silver cat elites. A decent upgrade in value over the Ugly Stiks without a huge jump in price.
I agree to a certain extent. The BnM silvercat elite is an awesome looking and feeling rod and isn’t too expensive. My only issue with them is stiffness. They feel too dang stiff. It’s hard to get a good long cast with them because the tip doesn’t have a lot sensitivity in it. As a mostly bank fisherman I usually leave the silvercat elite at home because I have rods that’ll cast a lot further out.
General question for catfish rods. I think I heard that for catfish it is preferable to use a med-heavy weight rod with a moderate to moderate-fast action. The length though seems subjective from what I am seeing. I will be bank and boat fishing for catfish and in our area some of the cats push 60lbs for flatheads below our spillway. Not sure what they pull out of our lake here but the spillway and river yield some monsters. So my question is what length rod, weight, and power are going to allow for bank or boat fishing for anywhere from a 2lb cat up to shamoo? (I plan to pair it with an Abu Garcia 6500)
More bang for your buck with a Hellcat? There's no way a Hellcat is worth 3x what the Ugly Stick is worth. I have a Hellcat and it's a nice rod but it was given to me as a gift. To me they are about like buying a Yeti cooler. If you want to spend $400 on a cooler that basically does the same thing as a $100 cooler, then it's your money. I've personally tested Yeti and Igloo coolers on a boat on Lake Okeechobee during July, and couldn't tell a bit of difference in how they hold ice. Maybe if you fill them up with ice and just leave it closed for 3 days, the Yeti will last longer. Who does that? We filled them with ice, and commenced to throw fish in them. We alternated until we had our limit of bluegill, 100 fish, and both performed perfectly well. Same with the higher dollar rods. They work and, if I was a guide trying to make my customers feel like they were using top of the line rods, I would use them. As it is, we catch plenty of 20# cats on both rods. They sure are pretty though.
I think the Ugly stix GX2 s are more of an even comparison to the HellCats . mostly because the blank materials are more similar . I love my HellCats but I like Ugly Stixs too . I think the biggest down side to an ugly Stix is it doesn't have the backbone once to get up past 40lb fish . I mean it will reel em in but the last 50lber I caught on one I had the 1st eye touching the handle nearly lol . which is proof they are one of the strongest rods on the market . but lack the same amount of backbone . but I wouldn't be afraid to use one at all . BCF had the HellCats for 40 dollars off at CatCon too that's when I bought mine
Check out youtuber keywest kayaker fishing..the has caught some monster fish including tarpon shark and tuna on a 6'-6" 6-15lb gx2 with a penn conflict 6000 and 65lb braid..hard to BELIEVE until you see it.
I'm still using my ugly stiks from back in the 90's....back then we didn't have many to chose from.....I still got the yellow eagle claws,too.....I got the ugly stik striper rods,too.....
Man those Eagle Claw casting rods were great. Still have some from Piedmont bait and tackle up the road. Never broke one. I love my Ugly Sticks. If you ain't breaking them with those fish you catch then I'm sure they are fine for all... :)
I've got 4 ugly sticks and have caught tons of catfish on them. I recently bought a B&M silver cat 7ft med heavy for 59.99 and love it. There's not a bit of difference between it and my 4 catch the fever rods. I'll take it over a hellcat for price and proformace
New to the sport. Bought an ugly stik a couple of days ago and I’m in love. Looks very appealing as well, black and red slick design. casts far. Grip feels great especially with the trigger handle. Though I haven’t caught a fish; I’ve been snagged a few times thinking it was a fish and I was pulling hard and I’ll tell you that the rod itself is pretty sturdy for how hard I was pulling 😂😂😂! Excited to continue fishing and hopefully all I have some fish catching experience to share with y’all a few weeks from now! 😂
Let's see if I buy ten uglystiks it'll cost around $439 now if I buy ten hellcat rods it'll cost me $1,865.6. I know which rod I'm buying and I take the money saved and buy a gps spot lock trolling motor. I don't need a "Pretty" rod to catch fish. Yes I added shipping and sales tax (except no shipping on uglystiks I can pick those up in wally world) . Hellcat rods are for show offs or people with too much money. A rich boys toy. Older people like me ( I"m 66 ) know where to best spend our money. Love you Dieter, really do but in my opinion you blew it on this one.
I enjoy my Okuma BattleCat rod alongside my Ugly Stick. Im sure the Hellcats are nice, but $150 just seems a bit steep for a rod that wont do anything to catch more fish.
People have become too willing to spend way too much money on hobbies. Various excuses like, well you only live once, or, well it's my favorite hobby so I'll spend whatever I need to on it. Owning hundreds of crankbaits and 50 rods has just become way too common. I have too many bass lures but really just enough to have some replacements should I lose a few in a season or to supply a guest with a few options. A hobbyist need not spend more than $50 on a rod and $80-100 on a reel and you only need two or three. Marketing has created a massive $$$ problem.
Dieter, I think you have gone to the Dark side ! I’m 62 and have been using Ugly Stiks since they came out ! Mac Daddy Hell cat, laughable ! St Croix mojo better than Hell Cat. I own high end Lamiglass, St Croix Legends ect. The best catfish rod you can buy is not based on features. And yes it’s the older Ugly Stiks (Sigma). The Howald Process. You can NOT beat the Original Ugly Stiks. The Tiger Rods. The newer stuff has been down graded and not by Shakespeare, by their owners ! Johnson Outdoors. They have ruined many companies by purchasing them. Those with great history and quality. Ugly Stik, Penn and many others. All for the sole purpose to make a quick killing because of the names of these great companies. Turned what we loved into Chinese Crap !! Ps. Iv never, never since 1978 had an Ugly stik reel seat fail !!
Never needed more than and ugly stik but I've got 2 twc extreme rods for giant baits and bigger fish. Had my ugly stik for 15 years. Had one break and called Shakespeare they sent me a replacement awesome warranty with them
Tl;Dr. To me, this topic is like off road tires on a 4X4 pickup. I have a Toyota Tundra that had BF Goodrich off road tires on it when I bought it used. But when it needed new tires I bought good All Season tires because over 90% of my driving is on paved roads. It makes no sense to me to buy a softer tire that won't last as long for that small percentage of the time I'm off road. The all season tires have taken me anywhere I want to go. People buy them because they look cool and the advertising world has convinced them that they need them. Hellcat rods and others like them look cool and sound cool. Do most people need them? No. No they don't. However, you can buy top of the line equipment for about the same as an Ugly Stick if you shop carefully and wait for a sale. B&M sells Catfish rods for about half the price of the Hellcat every day, you don't even have to wait for a sale. This is all just one guy's opinion, of course. But for most of us, if we're going to spend big money on catfish equipment we'd be way ahead if we concentrated those dollars on the reels we buy. Spend the money on the reel because that's the equipment that'll let you down when you need it most. A good reel that is cleaned and oiled at least every year will most likely last a lifetime for most of us. None of this applies to professional fishermen and women who guide for a living. If I'm paying a guide then I want to see the best equipment known to man on that boat! I want to feel confident that if they put me on that fish of a lifetime that I'll land that fish. Their equipment takes a beating and many times by folks who have no idea what they're doing. For someone like a guide, who fishes every day, I can see something like a Hellcat actually paying for itself. If I were a guide I'd have a whole rack of them right out in the open where people would see them and they might even be part of my advertising program. But I'm not a guide and I don't fish every day. I'll admit that I still own a few Ugly Sticks and use one of them occasionally. But I mostly buy B&M rods. Even their most expensive "catfish" rod is under $100.00 and you can still buy one for under $50.00, if that's your budget. I can buy 2 of their 10' rods for bank fishing for the price of a Hellcat. Catfish Sumo has been known to run a special every now and then so I have 2 of their rods. Whisker Seeker makes a really good rod that comes in right at $100.00 they call Full Metal Jacket or FMJ. I've seen Spenser Bauer bend those over double with big Flatheads and I doubt he ever worried about them breaking. Of course, Spenser is a guide and no longer just a UA-cam star so he needs top of the line equipment and I'll bet Whisker Seeker sends him rods at no cost to him because of his UA-cam channel and the exposure they get there. I don't know that to be true but I suspect that most of the bigger catfish channels get support from manufacturers for exposure. It's good business sense. Sorry for the long drawn out response Dieter. Bottom line is to buy as good of equipment as you can afford. Good equipment will outlast and out perform cheaper equipment. But even the cheaper equipment will land big fish if you take care of it. Sadly, most people don't take good care of their gear. Then, when it fails they blame it on the gear. Clean your gear folks!
I’ve fished with many of the newer rods. Ugly Stik for me all the way. I love the action, selection, durability, warranty, accessibility, and price. For me personally, I’m throwing money away buying the higher end catfish rods.
I think the Ugly Stik Catfish Special rods vs the Hellcats …would have been more applicable. They’re both new…but with one being considerably less expensive
I've had my 4 Ugly Stiks for about 15 years, they have always come thru here in Central Indiana!! The best part was when I bought them from Walmart Dieter, the lady back in sporting goods was there when I was checking them for flex and I did bend them backwards and her eyes where as big as silver dollars!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
i'll stick to my whisker seeker rods right in the middle of the price range of ugly stik and hellcat rods plus whisker seeker are also 1 or 2 two-piece rods
😂Ugly stik is the best bang for the buck..catfishing should be the most inexpensive fishing trip you make..bougie BS and glow in tbe dark rods are a joke$$$..88lb blue on ugly stik w/abu 6500..js
I have Ugly Stik rods and I like them but the tip seems a little too soft for circle hooks. I have a HellCat also (not that impressed). I mostly use my Rippin Lips rods. At just about $5 more than an UglyStik they are hard to beat. BUT, that being said.... The Mad Katz are just darn hard to beat. Price is between the other two and the looks and build are every bit as good if not better then the Hellcat. And Mad Katz customer service is top notch and far beyond most other companies.. As an old catfish guy (62 old) this is just my opinion.
Madkatz are the truth, I've had mine for over a year and it still performs like new. Just the color is a bit sun faded from sitting in my car for weeks.
Being on a budget, I've never had anything nicer then a ugly stick. New GX2 works great on carp soft enough to play and stiff enough to fight. We pulled in a 50lbs blue on a old ugly S. Cat rod Last yr. At Wylie. If had to $ to just spend maybe would up grade. But the rod is definitely up to the task ! Catch & release- take a pic to brag!
I have several hellcat and several ugly stick catfish rods of various sizes. I really love the feel of the hellcat. It’s just a different experience from casting to catching fish. Feels more powerful and forgiving. But I love my ugly sticks nearly as much. Inexpensive and I’ve caught many big fish on them. I love all my various size ugly sticks for crappie, too. Got them from 4.5ft to 7.5ft I think I catch more fish on ugly sticks than anything else.
Well I do not change my ugly sick for any other expensive rods the advantage of always think that it has it gives you 7 years of warranty which other fishing rods don't give it's a budget-friendly fishing rod you can compare it to two or three hundred dollar run it does the same work as expensive fishing and it's made in the USA that's the good part of it people like to brag and criticize ugly stick but then again they love foreign fishing rods I understand you pay what you could afford but I still stay with my ugly sticks can't beat the price for the book God bless America
The H2O heavy action 7’ rods at academy are every bit as good as an ugly stick, maybe better for $24.99 and they’re occasionally on sale for 30% off. Beat that. Having said that I love bass pro’s cat max rods.
Got two of the Ugly Stik Catfish casting rods. Throw a Piscifun Chaos XS 60 or Abu Garcia 6500/7000 on them and you're all set. The only problem I have with the newer stuff from Ugly Stik is the guides have gotten very thin.
Hello ,loved this do much. Hey can you compare the Berkley big game rods against these other rods? They are 7ft rods med heavy with the trigger grip and please let me know what you think.
I use custom meat hunter rods, mad Katz rods and uglystik. To be perfectly honest, the uglystik hands down are the best deal around. I own and use the new uglystik catfish specials, and the uglystik catfish rods. What I like the most is action, the backbone and the price. While my custom meat hunter rods cost in price $110.00 on ebay, and my madkatz rods cost $89.99, these 2 brands of catfish rods are comparable in performance and feel. But in build quality, the 2 rod brands out class uglystik. But I don't buy a rod based on looks alone. I buy for price, durability, and how it feels when using it. And hands down for the price and rod quality I say uglystik wins hands down
I think another point that should be brought up is the "lure weight" they can handle for casting and how that's can affect the rod like casting a 6 oz weight on a 1-4 oz rod
I really hope I get an answer back on this question, I talked to the local fishing store in my area, his store is Scc bait shop south eastern Indiana ,and he said, their doing some good catfish fishing on the river at the markman dam, now depending on the store owner operating that given area store, and for what ever is currently in stock, I've seen the video on making the fishing rods, that's cool, obvious that's there's big fish all around, but if you want to go heavier fishing line that's not recommended on any big heavy rod, how do you know if you can go heavier test line, , I don't want to disrespect anyone for catch and release, but I was raised on the idea of keeping food in the freezer, so how do you know you can go to a heavier line and not go against the rod
I've used the Ugle Sticks all of my life and still use them when fishing. I also use the TWC rods. If TWC is good enough for the man Steve Douglas then TWC is good enough for me.
The only difference in cheap and not so cheap rods is made from difference materials. The more expensive Rod is going to be made out of better materials that's really the only difference
I wouldn’t call the Hellcat the MacDaddy of all rods. That’s more of matter of opinion especially when they’re our compatible companies such as Rippin lips . Slimecat . Madkatz , etc that offer similar rods
I have a few ugly stik tiger lite rods and they are phenomenal for trophy river stripers. I have never seen hellcats anywhere. Never even heard of them until I saw this video 5 mins ago. My fav rods are the st croix legend glass. Unreal... where are these rods made.? If it's in china I'm not interested. I only buy American made. St croix. Loomis, lamiglas. Some all star, Cal star. Older fenwicks and kencor that were US made. Reels I only buy avet, accurate, us made, seiglers and top of the line Japanese JDM, reels like saltigas, dogfights stellas and twin power reel made in japan. Even lures, nothing from China, they are our enemy. In the last few years, I have plenty of older stuff made in china but as of the last 5 years or so, nothing from them
Want a in betweener. Try UGLY STIK CATFISH SPECIAL. 8FT rods. They nicer and little more rugged than regular ugly stik. For only 20 dollars more than regular rods
My vote goes Ugly Stick, for the money 💰 it can't be beat. Yes Hell Cat is pretty BUT if it's going to break who wants to have it fixed...whats that tell ya plus it's $100 bucks more. Just my thought on it.
My local Walmart sells white Shakespeare tiger rod and real combos. For like $50-$70 max. That seems a lil cheap! But they look nice asf. But the price makes them seem cheap product.
I use whisker seeker rods for the most part. I have one ugly stik catfish rod. I use it for catchin small 1-5lbs cats. Good rod for fishin small bayous, creeks and ponds.
Rod/reel combo with fishing kit as an emergency setup ua-cam.com/users/postUgkxntWMOZsO1Zfv-pdn_XuffEtNkTYAYu4Z recommend but started to use this every day. The rod is thick and seems durable. I keep it neatly tucked into a regular backpack all the time with my fishing gear, and can grab it anytime, put it on my back and go anywhere. I just read in another review that the rod length below the reel is adjustable as well, so I will try that too for even more portability. Probably the best setup I've ever owned. I lost the cap for the eyelets, but no big deal since I still have the black cloth sheath that came for the pole and I use that. Very portable and high quality.
Catch the Fever has terrible customer service. I ordered medium action rods, they sent medium heavy. When I contacted them they said they would call back, I am still waiting for the call back a year and half later.
Yes Michael, mistakes happen. I’ve had nothing but good experiences with them, but as with all companies, and people, they have bad days. While you shouldn’t have to reach out to them again, I am sure that had you contacted them again they would have resolved the situation. Next time, hit me up and I will make sure the right person knows…😉
@@michaelbandeko3519 I’m the same way. I give a lot of these tackle companies in the Catfish space a lot of Grace. All of them are small, mom and pop operations. They are not Ugly Stik or Abu Garcia backed by millions of dollar. Most, if you try, you’ll actually get the own on the phone, which will NEVER HAPPEN with a major brand. Growing pains. The smaller start ups have them….I think in the end they’ll be a good brand for the industry.
bought an Ugky Stik catfish special , orange in color, each time i drop the rod, the orange coating chips off showing a silver base coat. worst finish ever. Otherwise works as designed.
The ugly stik original catfishing rod is the GOAT. I've caught every species of catfish on mine, with a $70 reconditioned abu 6500 c3... Anyone just getting into catfishing get the UglyStik with a penn spinning or okuma casting reel. Such an affordable, effective, and easy to use setup. Catfishing is so affordable and so fun.
Three Ugly Stiks for the price of one Hellcat is a no brainer! It’s all in the drag!
Im a fan of the uglystik catfish special. Been using ugly stiks for years. They work well for the type of fishing i do. The price is a real big plus. Good comparison Dieter.
I’ve used the Ugly sticks for a many years and I do agree with your opinions and comparing, great video!
Robrob thanks for watching and dropping a comment
I use mostly Ugly stiks, mainly due to cost and performance. They've held up to everything I have thrown at them so far. 2 gx2s 2 catfish 8' and 1 catfish special 9' .
I found the 12' big water and 12' catfish special, though nice, too much for where we fish. Then sold both 12'. Just my experience so far.
I appreciate your honesty on the subject.
Seems too many hate anything cheaper that works.
Use what you can afford and what works!
My 10 foot big water work pretty good too
How would you compare the 12 ft big water vs 12 ft Catfish special against each other?
Nice sales pitch for the hellcat but you have not compared the B&M Silvercat elite that would be a more appropriate comparison and ugly stick rods are still excellent for the money
I cut my teeth on Ugly Stik saltwater rods trolling for tuna. When it came time to outfit my catfish boat with rods realistically capable of handling 30-50 pound catfish, the Ugly Stik was a natural choice. I like the 7-foot length because they easily fit in my truck, but more so because the reel seat is further up the blank giving you more leverage behind the reel. My channel cat rods are the old Catfish Special Baitcasters and a couple of GX2 spinning rods. The actions are perfect for these fish, and like you, I prefer the trigger on the grip of the baitcasters. When targeting Blue Cats I reach for my four Ugly Stik Tiger Med-Lites. To me, they are the best all-around trophy catfish rod. You can pay more, and get prettier, but you don't have to wonder about whether the rod will hold up. Again, the 7-ft length is ideal for my boat and truck. I abuse these rods with planer boards and have used them with diving planers for Spanish Mackeral and Kings. Speaking for me only, they are the ideal catfish rod and they will easily handle a trophy catfish. I have only owned two BCF Med/Heavy rods so my experience is limited. For all the reasons I prefer the Ugly Stiks, I dislike the BCF rods - grip too short, too expensive, wobbly mid-length action, less than stellar reputation. I could give a rat's ass about the color, slots in the reel seat, or if it will lift me while strapped to a forklift. After a month of fishing with the two I bought directly from them, I sold them. I could not honestly have them on my boat with other people asking me my opinion of them if I thought they were less than my best on my boat. I have nothing against CTF. They are a great bunch of folks. I just prefer my Ugly Stiks. I don't mind not following the masses, I'm buying a rod - save the bling, sales hype, record rewards, and gimmick ads. I just want a great rod. I still own every Ugly Stik I have ever owned. They have NEVER failed me. Oh, my Tigers cost me $69 dollars a piece.
Heard Hellcat rods are breaking a lot. So I went with Madkatz.
Love them.
Love my madkatz. Haven't been tested yet but daggum they're beautiful lol
I ordered 4 of the striper stealth ML rods a few months ago. For a $100 bait fishing type rod it's probably the most beautiful and well put together rods I own. I would assume that the build quality carries across the full line from catch the fever.
They are extremely well put together....
Great review Dieter! Seems like you have many rods, or at least access to them. I fish from the shore and I do not like the long handle from the butt to the reel. I noticed that long handle like that on a regular Tiger Spinning rod (not the new Elite). I wanted to ask if you ever had plans on putting Tiger spinning, Catfish, Striper and maybe BigWater rods all side by side to see the difference in them such as how many eyes, where the reel attaches, just simple things.
Ivee used ugly stiks and tiger stiks never had one break or problems also dont baby them though they still around 15+ years caught everything from bluegill to big stripers off them id say buy the rod and reel combo one and throw the reel in your tackle box as a spare and put a good abu garcia or penn reel on it
I love my hellcats and my Berkeley big game cat rods I've caught a lot of fish with them, my hellcats have caught less but they give me more control when I hook into a big carp😁🎣and other fish and turtles😡, you should do whisker seeker rods I have 4 of them and love them caught a lot of different stuff on them
I've been a Ugly person for years from the 80's and Zebco Rino just got a new pole this year. I'm very happy with my price😮 at Walmart on clearance sale $17 each 🎣 ho can say no to that 🤫 price point. I'm going to put the profishinecy sniper reel for it. Fun this summer with my new poles.
Uglysticks to me will always be one of my fav rods
Ugly stick catfish is the best rod I’ve ever owned.
I'm a big fan of the regular Big Cat Fever rods and B'n'M silver cat elites. A decent upgrade in value over the Ugly Stiks without a huge jump in price.
I agree to a certain extent. The BnM silvercat elite is an awesome looking and feeling rod and isn’t too expensive. My only issue with them is stiffness. They feel too dang stiff. It’s hard to get a good long cast with them because the tip doesn’t have a lot sensitivity in it. As a mostly bank fisherman I usually leave the silvercat elite at home because I have rods that’ll cast a lot further out.
@@BrandonSmith-jz3ztcan’t speak for the elite but I have the normal silvercat and it loads up pretty nice. Maybe it’s being MH vs M
I have an ugly stik that is 20 years old and still catching fish with it.
Rippin Lips are just a hair up from ugly stick and a hair better. Either way, ugly stick has proven that they are a hard to beat brand.
Not sure if you did your research before making the video. Ugly Stik released a new Catfish special rod line sizes 7ft up to 12ft .
The GX2 Ugly Stik has soft guides. I’ve had 3 that developed grooves with mono. My Fenwick, Daiwa, and Bass Pro Whuppin Sticks show no signs of wear.
Never had a expensive rod but I just got an ugly stick on clearance and Wal-Mart for 15 $ don't think I could have done better any where else
Nice video!
General question for catfish rods. I think I heard that for catfish it is preferable to use a med-heavy weight rod with a moderate to moderate-fast action. The length though seems subjective from what I am seeing. I will be bank and boat fishing for catfish and in our area some of the cats push 60lbs for flatheads below our spillway. Not sure what they pull out of our lake here but the spillway and river yield some monsters. So my question is what length rod, weight, and power are going to allow for bank or boat fishing for anywhere from a 2lb cat up to shamoo? (I plan to pair it with an Abu Garcia 6500)
More bang for your buck with a Hellcat? There's no way a Hellcat is worth 3x what the Ugly Stick is worth.
I have a Hellcat and it's a nice rod but it was given to me as a gift.
To me they are about like buying a Yeti cooler. If you want to spend $400 on a cooler that basically does the same thing as a $100 cooler, then it's your money. I've personally tested Yeti and Igloo coolers on a boat on Lake Okeechobee during July, and couldn't tell a bit of difference in how they hold ice. Maybe if you fill them up with ice and just leave it closed for 3 days, the Yeti will last longer. Who does that? We filled them with ice, and commenced to throw fish in them. We alternated until we had our limit of bluegill, 100 fish, and both performed perfectly well.
Same with the higher dollar rods. They work and, if I was a guide trying to make my customers feel like they were using top of the line rods, I would use them. As it is, we catch plenty of 20# cats on both rods.
They sure are pretty though.
If price is your determining factor, those rods are not for you. The same is true for a Yeti cooler......
Can these rods be used in saltwater or will the saltwater desteoy them
They're good in salt
If you call the Hellcat a great rod, I’d like to see it against the TWC Whisker Whip then.
when your using circle hooks, and if your using a open face reel, should you close the bell, or leave it open?
Close the bail and loosen the drag
For the last two years I've had the bail closed and the drag set tight and haven't ever really had fail
out of 5 Ugly Stiks that I own, ranging from 5-20 years old. I've only broken one, and that was my fault for shutting a door on it
On the ugly stick line
Why comparing a new hellcat to and old ugly stik
You forgot about the warranty of 5-7year no questions asked
I have a friend who uses nothing but Ugly Stik rods.
I don't have any. Just something about them I don't care for.
I just bought a big game not long ago from dicks for almost $100 only to see it’s a lot cheaper at Walmart
I think the Ugly stix GX2 s are more of an even comparison to the HellCats . mostly because the blank materials are more similar . I love my HellCats but I like Ugly Stixs too . I think the biggest down side to an ugly Stix is it doesn't have the backbone once to get up past 40lb fish . I mean it will reel em in but the last 50lber I caught on one I had the 1st eye touching the handle nearly lol . which is proof they are one of the strongest rods on the market . but lack the same amount of backbone . but I wouldn't be afraid to use one at all . BCF had the HellCats for 40 dollars off at CatCon too that's when I bought mine
You're probably right Keith. I may take a look at one of their rods and see how it compares....
I loved the GX2 I use to have.
Check out youtuber keywest kayaker fishing..the has caught some monster fish including tarpon shark and tuna on a 6'-6" 6-15lb gx2 with a penn conflict 6000 and 65lb braid..hard to BELIEVE until you see it.
Do you think the GX2's are as durable as the original Ugly Stiks? I wonder if they are in that unbreakable category?
I'm still using my ugly stiks from back in the 90's....back then we didn't have many to chose from.....I still got the yellow eagle claws,too.....I got the ugly stik striper rods,too.....
Man those Eagle Claw casting rods were great. Still have some from Piedmont bait and tackle up the road. Never broke one. I love my Ugly Sticks. If you ain't breaking them with those fish you catch then I'm sure they are fine for all... :)
I've got 4 ugly sticks and have caught tons of catfish on them. I recently bought a B&M silver cat 7ft med heavy for 59.99 and love it. There's not a bit of difference between it and my 4 catch the fever rods. I'll take it over a hellcat for price and proformace
Take the ugly stick all day. Don’t need to spend a fortune to fish
New to the sport. Bought an ugly stik a couple of days ago and I’m in love. Looks very appealing as well, black and red slick design. casts far. Grip feels great especially with the trigger handle. Though I haven’t caught a fish; I’ve been snagged a few times thinking it was a fish and I was pulling hard and I’ll tell you that the rod itself is pretty sturdy for how hard I was pulling 😂😂😂! Excited to continue fishing and hopefully all I have some fish catching experience to share with y’all a few weeks from now! 😂
How do you like it now?
Let's see if I buy ten uglystiks it'll cost around $439 now if I buy ten hellcat rods it'll cost me $1,865.6. I know which rod I'm buying and I take the money saved and buy a gps spot lock trolling motor. I don't need a "Pretty" rod to catch fish. Yes I added shipping and sales tax (except no shipping on uglystiks I can pick those up in wally world) . Hellcat rods are for show offs or people with too much money. A rich boys toy. Older people like me ( I"m 66 ) know where to best spend our money. Love you Dieter, really do but in my opinion you blew it on this one.
I enjoy my Okuma BattleCat rod alongside my Ugly Stick. Im sure the Hellcats are nice, but $150 just seems a bit steep for a rod that wont do anything to catch more fish.
Catfish rods have became so expensive, along wit the reels, fishing has became such an expensive hobby
People have become too willing to spend way too much money on hobbies. Various excuses like, well you only live once, or, well it's my favorite hobby so I'll spend whatever I need to on it. Owning hundreds of crankbaits and 50 rods has just become way too common. I have too many bass lures but really just enough to have some replacements should I lose a few in a season or to supply a guest with a few options. A hobbyist need not spend more than $50 on a rod and $80-100 on a reel and you only need two or three. Marketing has created a massive $$$ problem.
Dieter, I think you have gone to the Dark side ! I’m 62 and have been using Ugly Stiks since they came out ! Mac Daddy Hell cat, laughable ! St Croix mojo better than Hell Cat. I own high end Lamiglass, St Croix Legends ect. The best catfish rod you can buy is not based on features. And yes it’s the older Ugly Stiks (Sigma). The Howald Process. You can NOT beat the Original Ugly Stiks. The Tiger Rods. The newer stuff has been down graded and not by Shakespeare, by their owners ! Johnson Outdoors. They have ruined many companies by purchasing them. Those with great history and quality. Ugly Stik, Penn and many others. All for the sole purpose to make a quick killing because of the names of these great companies. Turned what we loved into Chinese Crap !!
Ps. Iv never, never since 1978 had an Ugly stik reel seat fail !!
Ugly stick all day brother 😅💯💯💯😅😅
Never needed more than and ugly stik but I've got 2 twc extreme rods for giant baits and bigger fish. Had my ugly stik for 15 years. Had one break and called Shakespeare they sent me a replacement awesome warranty with them
Have to disagree on the durability of the hell cat way to many Have been breaking close to the tip
The good news is that any of the broken rods were easily replaced...
binding reel seat? LOOKS like ya need to clean your tackle once in awhile.....$140 BUCKS? I thought kat fishermen like cheapy tackle only 😏😏
My stuff gets nasty, and yes, it probably needs to be cleaned. That is why I am good test ground for gear....LOL!
Tl;Dr.
To me, this topic is like off road tires on a 4X4 pickup. I have a Toyota Tundra that had BF Goodrich off road tires on it when I bought it used. But when it needed new tires I bought good All Season tires because over 90% of my driving is on paved roads. It makes no sense to me to buy a softer tire that won't last as long for that small percentage of the time I'm off road. The all season tires have taken me anywhere I want to go. People buy them because they look cool and the advertising world has convinced them that they need them.
Hellcat rods and others like them look cool and sound cool. Do most people need them? No. No they don't. However, you can buy top of the line equipment for about the same as an Ugly Stick if you shop carefully and wait for a sale. B&M sells Catfish rods for about half the price of the Hellcat every day, you don't even have to wait for a sale.
This is all just one guy's opinion, of course. But for most of us, if we're going to spend big money on catfish equipment we'd be way ahead if we concentrated those dollars on the reels we buy. Spend the money on the reel because that's the equipment that'll let you down when you need it most. A good reel that is cleaned and oiled at least every year will most likely last a lifetime for most of us.
None of this applies to professional fishermen and women who guide for a living. If I'm paying a guide then I want to see the best equipment known to man on that boat! I want to feel confident that if they put me on that fish of a lifetime that I'll land that fish. Their equipment takes a beating and many times by folks who have no idea what they're doing. For someone like a guide, who fishes every day, I can see something like a Hellcat actually paying for itself. If I were a guide I'd have a whole rack of them right out in the open where people would see them and they might even be part of my advertising program. But I'm not a guide and I don't fish every day.
I'll admit that I still own a few Ugly Sticks and use one of them occasionally. But I mostly buy B&M rods. Even their most expensive "catfish" rod is under $100.00 and you can still buy one for under $50.00, if that's your budget. I can buy 2 of their 10' rods for bank fishing for the price of a Hellcat. Catfish Sumo has been known to run a special every now and then so I have 2 of their rods. Whisker Seeker makes a really good rod that comes in right at $100.00 they call Full Metal Jacket or FMJ. I've seen Spenser Bauer bend those over double with big Flatheads and I doubt he ever worried about them breaking. Of course, Spenser is a guide and no longer just a UA-cam star so he needs top of the line equipment and I'll bet Whisker Seeker sends him rods at no cost to him because of his UA-cam channel and the exposure they get there. I don't know that to be true but I suspect that most of the bigger catfish channels get support from manufacturers for exposure. It's good business sense.
Sorry for the long drawn out response Dieter. Bottom line is to buy as good of equipment as you can afford. Good equipment will outlast and out perform cheaper equipment. But even the cheaper equipment will land big fish if you take care of it. Sadly, most people don't take good care of their gear. Then, when it fails they blame it on the gear. Clean your gear folks!
I’ve fished with many of the newer rods. Ugly Stik for me all the way. I love the action, selection, durability, warranty, accessibility, and price. For me personally, I’m throwing money away buying the higher end catfish rods.
Many people are "in the same boat" so to speak!
I think the Ugly Stik Catfish Special rods vs the Hellcats …would have been more applicable. They’re both new…but with one being considerably less expensive
I've had my 4 Ugly Stiks for about
15 years, they have always come
thru here in Central Indiana!! The best part was when I bought them
from Walmart Dieter, the lady back
in sporting goods was there when I
was checking them for flex and I did
bend them backwards and her eyes
where as big as silver dollars!!
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I got a lot of mine from Walmart back in the day!
Ugly sticks come in ALL sizes and uses, and every damn one of em is a bargain for that use. I just don't see any gain in going to a higher priced rod.
i'll stick to my whisker seeker rods right in the middle of the price range of ugly stik and hellcat rods
plus whisker seeker are also 1 or 2 two-piece rods
you should look at the newer Uglystik catfish rods. The guides look much nicer than the older ones.
😂Ugly stik is the best bang for the buck..catfishing should be the most inexpensive fishing trip you make..bougie BS and glow in tbe dark rods are a joke$$$..88lb blue on ugly stik w/abu 6500..js
I have Ugly Stik rods and I like them but the tip seems a little too soft for circle hooks. I have a HellCat also (not that impressed). I mostly use my Rippin Lips rods. At just about $5 more than an UglyStik they are hard to beat. BUT, that being said.... The Mad Katz are just darn hard to beat. Price is between the other two and the looks and build are every bit as good if not better then the Hellcat. And Mad Katz customer service is top notch and far beyond most other companies.. As an old catfish guy (62 old) this is just my opinion.
Madkatz are the truth, I've had mine for over a year and it still performs like new. Just the color is a bit sun faded from sitting in my car for weeks.
Being on a budget, I've never had anything nicer then a ugly stick. New GX2 works great on carp soft enough to play and stiff enough to fight. We pulled in a 50lbs blue on a old ugly S. Cat rod Last yr. At Wylie. If had to $ to just spend maybe would up grade. But the rod is definitely up to the task !
Catch & release- take a pic to brag!
Great feedback!
Cheaper rods do the same thing.
Ive been waiting for an indepth video centered around the ugly stik from you
I have several hellcat and several ugly stick catfish rods of various sizes.
I really love the feel of the hellcat.
It’s just a different experience from casting to catching fish.
Feels more powerful and forgiving.
But I love my ugly sticks nearly as much.
Inexpensive and I’ve caught many big fish on them.
I love all my various size ugly sticks for crappie, too.
Got them from 4.5ft to 7.5ft
I think I catch more fish on ugly sticks than anything else.
Well I do not change my ugly sick for any other expensive rods the advantage of always think that it has it gives you 7 years of warranty which other fishing rods don't give it's a budget-friendly fishing rod you can compare it to two or three hundred dollar run it does the same work as expensive fishing and it's made in the USA that's the good part of it people like to brag and criticize ugly stick but then again they love foreign fishing rods I understand you pay what you could afford but I still stay with my ugly sticks can't beat the price for the book God bless America
Still have my Ugly Stik. Got it for 29.99 at Cabelas.
Good video. I used ugly stik spinning rods years ago & really liked them. I too prefer the trigger handle on all of my catfish rods as well.
Im sticking with ugly stick has never failed me
The H2O heavy action 7’ rods at academy are every bit as good as an ugly stick, maybe better for $24.99 and they’re occasionally on sale for 30% off. Beat that. Having said that I love bass pro’s cat max rods.
Its Just too bad They will not ship to Canada,
Im a bass angler and have a couple of high dollar Lew’s set ups. Just caught a pb off a $40 micro rig while fishing for bait.
Who cares about appearance. Quality is what matters most
Got two of the Ugly Stik Catfish casting rods. Throw a Piscifun Chaos XS 60 or Abu Garcia 6500/7000 on them and you're all set. The only problem I have with the newer stuff from Ugly Stik is the guides have gotten very thin.
Just got my hellcat pink heavy power
buy seeker rods or Fenwick. I don't have anything against hellcat but there are alot of better rods out there.
Thats a very nice Chrome Reel. 👍
Hello ,loved this do much. Hey can you compare the Berkley big game rods against these other rods? They are 7ft rods med heavy with the trigger grip and please let me know what you think.
I just want a tough rod that I can catch fish with....
I see you had that CatfishPro 600 reel...I really like mine
To be honest, I don’t know of ANY catfish rod that won’t catch catfish….
I use custom meat hunter rods, mad Katz rods and uglystik. To be perfectly honest, the uglystik hands down are the best deal around. I own and use the new uglystik catfish specials, and the uglystik catfish rods. What I like the most is action, the backbone and the price. While my custom meat hunter rods cost in price $110.00 on ebay, and my madkatz rods cost $89.99, these 2 brands of catfish rods are comparable in performance and feel. But in build quality, the 2 rod brands out class uglystik. But I don't buy a rod based on looks alone. I buy for price, durability, and how it feels when using it. And hands down for the price and rod quality I say uglystik wins hands down
Good video but when you live on a budget ugly stick is hard to beat iv had some for years and never broke one
Honest review as always.
I think another point that should be brought up is the "lure weight" they can handle for casting and how that's can affect the rod like casting a 6 oz weight on a 1-4 oz rod
I really hope I get an answer back on this question, I talked to the local fishing store in my area, his store is
Scc bait shop south eastern
Indiana ,and he said, their doing some good catfish fishing on the river at the markman dam, now depending on the store owner operating that given area store, and for what ever is currently in stock, I've seen the video on making the fishing rods, that's cool, obvious that's there's big fish all around, but if you want to go heavier fishing line that's not recommended on any big heavy rod, how do you know if you can go heavier test line, , I don't want to disrespect anyone for catch and release, but I was raised on the idea of keeping food in the freezer, so how do you know you can go to a heavier line and not go against the rod
Use 30# monofilament and you’ll be set…..
I've used the Ugle Sticks all of my life and still use them when fishing. I also use the TWC rods. If TWC is good enough for the man Steve Douglas then TWC is good enough for me.
Big cat fever white , Hellcat green and orange ! Father's day , birthday and Christmas . This is a good year for me !
Ugly stick is the best 💯💯💯💯
🤙
The only difference in cheap and not so cheap rods is made from difference materials. The more expensive Rod is going to be made out of better materials that's really the only difference
I wouldn’t call the Hellcat the MacDaddy of all rods. That’s more of matter of opinion especially when they’re our compatible companies such as Rippin lips . Slimecat . Madkatz , etc that offer similar rods
I have a few ugly stik tiger lite rods and they are phenomenal for trophy river stripers. I have never seen hellcats anywhere. Never even heard of them until I saw this video 5 mins ago. My fav rods are the st croix legend glass. Unreal... where are these rods made.? If it's in china I'm not interested. I only buy American made. St croix. Loomis, lamiglas. Some all star, Cal star. Older fenwicks and kencor that were US made. Reels I only buy avet, accurate, us made, seiglers and top of the line Japanese JDM, reels like saltigas, dogfights stellas and twin power reel made in japan. Even lures, nothing from China, they are our enemy. In the last few years, I have plenty of older stuff made in china but as of the last 5 years or so, nothing from them
💯❤️Hellcat🎣
I used a Ugly Stik for about 20 years. same rod for every single type of river fishing I did. They are tanks.
Want a in betweener. Try UGLY STIK CATFISH SPECIAL. 8FT rods. They nicer and little more rugged than regular ugly stik. For only 20 dollars more than regular rods
Could you use the hell cat in saltwater?
Funny you should ask that….watch this video: ua-cam.com/video/2x33fc68NCg/v-deo.htmlsi=Iw1UHZgXcpLPz_XN
Can you compare the Hellcat vs MadKatz vs Whisker Seeker rods?
I use the Berkeley big game catfishing rod, i just got an ugly stick catfishing rod the other day. Still wanting my hellcat.
My vote goes Ugly Stick, for the money 💰 it can't be beat. Yes Hell Cat is pretty BUT if it's going to break who wants to have it fixed...whats that tell ya plus it's $100 bucks more. Just my thought on it.
Only complaint about ugly stik (spinning) cat rod is it's like a cooked spaghetti noodle but it'll never break
Nice comparison.. anyone tried Whisker Seeker Rods? ..they are $100-110 look nice and I know a catfish guide who solely uses them.
My local Walmart sells white Shakespeare tiger rod and real combos. For like $50-$70 max. That seems a lil cheap! But they look nice asf. But the price makes them seem cheap product.
I use whisker seeker rods for the most part. I have one ugly stik catfish rod. I use it for catchin small 1-5lbs cats. Good rod for fishin small bayous, creeks and ponds.
Rod/reel combo with fishing kit as an emergency setup ua-cam.com/users/postUgkxntWMOZsO1Zfv-pdn_XuffEtNkTYAYu4Z recommend but started to use this every day. The rod is thick and seems durable. I keep it neatly tucked into a regular backpack all the time with my fishing gear, and can grab it anytime, put it on my back and go anywhere. I just read in another review that the rod length below the reel is adjustable as well, so I will try that too for even more portability. Probably the best setup I've ever owned. I lost the cap for the eyelets, but no big deal since I still have the black cloth sheath that came for the pole and I use that. Very portable and high quality.
I’ve had my ugly stik catfish rod for almost 20 years and still use it and love it!!! hoping to get a new hellcat or mad cats rod though
Catch the Fever has terrible customer service. I ordered medium action rods, they sent medium heavy. When I contacted them they said they would call back, I am still waiting for the call back a year and half later.
Yes Michael, mistakes happen. I’ve had nothing but good experiences with them, but as with all companies, and people, they have bad days.
While you shouldn’t have to reach out to them again, I am sure that had you contacted them again they would have resolved the situation.
Next time, hit me up and I will make sure the right person knows…😉
@@DieterMelhorn I agree with you, folks do make mistakes. I judge a company on how well the fix their boo-boo's.
@@michaelbandeko3519 I’m the same way. I give a lot of these tackle companies in the Catfish space a lot of Grace.
All of them are small, mom and pop operations. They are not Ugly Stik or Abu Garcia backed by millions of dollar.
Most, if you try, you’ll actually get the own on the phone, which will NEVER HAPPEN with a major brand.
Growing pains. The smaller start ups have them….I think in the end they’ll be a good brand for the industry.
bought an Ugky Stik catfish special , orange in color, each time i drop the rod, the orange coating chips off showing a silver base coat. worst finish ever. Otherwise works as designed.
Ugly stick. 100 lb plus alligator garfish. Yea,been there. Spool up lots of line. Lol