Is the Ugly Stik Catfish a good rod for pike?
From the time I started fishing up until just recently I’ve only ever had one general purpose rod. As strange as it sounds, I had never considered the idea of having multiple rods, until one dreadful day a monster of a pike laid waste to my precious rod! I learnt a hard lesson that day and knew I’d better get a tougher rod for pike fishing!
After much deliberation, I made the decision to go with the Ugly Stick Catfish Spinning Rod . It wasn’t an easy choice but in the end, I chose the Catfish for several key reasons.
The Catfish is a good casting rod
The catfish is long and flexible which makes it a good casting rod. This is an important feature to me because most of the lakes I go to for pike are full of weeds. Being able to cast further is nice when fishing from shore to get past the weeds.
It’s also nice to be able to cast a heavy braided line. With a bigger rod, I don’t notice the heavy line and have no problem power casting.
The Catfish Spinning Rod is built tough!
This wasn’t a huge selling feature for me since other rods are equally as strong, like the UglyStik Tiger or Striper. I definitely wanted a strong rod but was more focused on the other characteristics.
That being said, the UglyStik Catfish is definitely strong enough and should be able to handle any large pike!
I like the long handle
I like the long handle for sticking into the mud (when baiting) or holding onto while trolling.
The price is right!
I got my Ugly Stik Catfish from my local fishing store. Altogether I walked away with the Catfish (spooled with 30lb test) for under $100.00. I felt pretty good about the price and feel that it’s definitely worth the money!
The Catfish is a good looking rod
Although it’s a matter of personal opinion, I think both the UglyStik Catfish and Striper are sharp-looking rods!
Final thoughts
If you’re looking for a heavier rod for pike fishing you should definitely consider the UglyStik Catfish! It’s a great rod for casting, has good flexibility, and won’t break! Which are all excellent features for a pike fishing rod.
I've Included a link incase you want to check out the Ugly Stick Catfish Spinning Rod for yourself.