Shakespeare Ugly Stik GX2 Boat Fishing Rod

Shakespeare Ugly Stik GX2 Boat Fishing Rod

Whether you’re a novice angler or you’re someone who’s got a little more experience but you don’t want to break the bank when buying new gear, Shakespeare is the perfect brand for you. With a reputation for manufacturing top end gear on a budget, Shakespeare is the foremost manufacturer of tackle for anglers who demand quality but who don’t want to spend above the board in order to get it. This Ugly Stik is no different, and has all the class of a top quality rod at a great price. Widely respected as being the toughest boat rod on the market, the new Ugly Stik GX2 aims to follow in the footsteps of its predecessors. The GX2 has already proved its muscle during Shakespeare’s testing process and it continues to be indestructible in practice. If you’re looking for a new sea fishing rod for fishing from a boat, the Ugly Stik should be your only choice.

The Shakespeare Ugly Stik GX2 is built on the same blank construction as the original Ugly Stik concept. This means that this Ugly Stik offers a combination of a short butt section and a long tip, allowing the rod to showcase a smooth and progressive power curve. With traditional ‘put-in’ joints, where the tip fits into the butt section, this rod can also offer the traditional Ugly Stick tough blank. It also has the famous clear tip. In short, the GX2 has all the hallmarks of the great Ugly Stik rods that came before it.

There are three different rods in the range. The first of these is the 7ft 4 inch 12lb – 20lb rod. This is the ideal tool for the angler who enjoys drifting over sand banks. It is also more than capable of handling pollack and bass when you’re lure fishing over wrecks and reefs. This rod offers a characteristically soft tip, allowing you to enjoy playing your fish, but it also has a huge amount of power down into the butt section. This enables you to ramp up the force when you need to. The second rod in the range is slightly longer, at 7ft 5 inches, and it represents a significant step up in power too – with a class rating of 20lb to 30lb. This has the same supple tip as the 12lb – 20lb but it engages the hard fighting power significantly sooner. This is ideal for using over a reef for medium conger and ling, as well as for larger pollack and cod. It can also be used over medium sand banks for turbot and big rays. The final rod in the range is 30lb – 50lb and it is 7ft in length. This is a real powerhouse of a rod and it is ideal for wreck fishing. It can even handle sharks and, in testing, the Shakespeare team were unable top break it – even when they loaded it up with 23kg of weight.

Across the range the Shakespeare Ugly Stik GX2’s are fitted with stainless steel line guides, which have been titanium lined. This is because the brand wants much more than just the blank to be hardwearing and these line guides can more than match the rod blank in terms of durability. These are also suitable for use with both braid and monofilament – allowing you as the angler the benefit of choice. All of the rods boast a modern handle design, so they look as impressive as they feel. They have also been designed with a large fore grip, to allow you to use two hands when you’re really up against a fighting fish, but they don’t have any EVA on the butt section. This is another decision that has been made with durability in mind, as EVA can wear very quickly – especially in saltwater conditions. The two smaller loaded rods in the range have graphite reel seats. The 30lb – 50lb has an aluminium reel seat, to add that little extra durability and to prevent the reel from rocking. The Shakespeare Ugly Stik GX2 is the ultimate sea fishing tool for the heaviest duty of anglers.