ultra-lite r/r

[cook]

So whats the main purpose of using an ultra lite rod and reel?
I have a little 5' outfit,not sure of the rod but a zebco spinning reel...6# line,been using it for a couple weeks bank fishing.

PROS-lite weight for lots of casting,easy to keep in the car,easy to carry thru the woods,...and..and...uh,thats about it.

CONS-fear factor when catching a bass or catfish,small reel takes lots of turns to retrive a long cast,short rod makes hooksets difficult.

I'm thinking its mainly for fishing from a boat or maybe from a dock/ice fishing.

So what situations ya'll use them for?

[PawPaw Gene]

cook, my first ultra lite was a Diawa 500 reel on a 4'10" rod. The reel held about 90 yds or less of 4# test. I bought a pair of them for me and the wife 30 something years ago when we were just starting out fishing. That reel had a great drag for such a small reel, and that very important when use such a light reel and line. We've hooked and landed hundreds and hundreds of fish with those rigs, mostly crappie, gills and small bass. Of course you don't fish over such a long period of time with out hooking into some big or odd things. I landed my first 4# bass on a beetlespin with mine. My wife hooked and then proceeded to hand me the rod after hooking a 25# carp. I fought that fish for 20 minutes or so but got him to land and into the net. Since we were fishing at a boat launch it didn't take long to get a crowd gathered to watch the action. On another occasion, she hooked a turtle of around 15 pounds. Now turtles don't fight like fish and are hard to land. They swim towards the bottom and every inch of line you gain takes a hundred yards of work. Man do they give you a challenge. Of course she again passed me the rod to do the job which i accomplished and we had turtle for supper. I probably have more stories but my clutch is slipping a little cuz I have CRS. By the way I still have both of those reels and they still work but have a lot of slack in them because there were no bearing back then only bushings. Sorry to say the poles are gone to there happy resting grounds. My Dad stepped on the tip of one of them and it snapped and I don't remember (CRS) about the other. Anyway, don't let the size of those outfits put fear into you. You need a light hand but you can do a lot with them.

"gene"


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[LunaticFringeInc]

I have a little Shakespeare Spinning reel and a small light 5'6'' rod rated for 4-8 lbs test. It seems to have enough back bone to still put the hurting on a fish and a fast enough action to toss pint sized lures for quiet some distance. I use it from the bank a lot for inpromto fishing excursions and fishing from my Yak. Its been such a effective little outfit I find myself using in about 90% of the time.

While I have broke off a few really nice Bass, I have also made some amazing catches. I have landed several Channel Cats in the 4-5 lbs range and several Hybrids in the 4-6 lbs range and dozens of bass in the 3-6 lbs side of things. Its all about patience and skill and keeping them out of the nasty stuff. Admittedly this is easier said than done.

I have found over the last several months my fish catches have just about doubled. I attribute this to the light line, small baits and light splashes of a bait hitting the water that tempts even spooked fish that have had lures thrown at them all day. I actuially find that I do much better on Sand Bass using these down sized lures made for Ultra-Lights and havent seen a reduction in size of them either. There aint very many wall hangers in a body of water but there are a ton of 1-2 pounders generally speaking and these guys can be a real blast on light tackle. Aint fun and excitement half the reason we fish?

Just my Buck 0 five...

[Fatman]

Man I fish my UL everywhere!!!!!! Bass Pro Pro Comp 2 6', 2 piece and a Shimano TX-110 reel with 6 lb line, but have an extra spool of 4lb.

I've caught catfish up to 11 lbs, smallmouth up to 6 lbs and one Northern Pike that went almost 16 lbs and was a BLAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I still use spinning, casting and fly tackle but most times I have the UL stick in my hands. It's just so light I love using it.

Fatman

[Blackhawk19]

Cook, if you have your drag set right you can catch some pretty big fish. I caught a 36" Grass Carp on this Tiny Light Rig from Bass Pro, OK so it took 20 minutes but I had a ball.

Bass Pro Shops TinyLite Spinning Rod and Reel Combo

[rnvinc]

5 ft. UL's are great for "shootin docks'.....

[cook]

I guess I was asking what situations they are designed for.The rod is kinda short for lifting a lot of line for a quick hookset,and the reel spool is about a 10:1 retrive.I'll go back to my 7' rod and shimano for bank fishing,but I'll miss the light weight,still run 2/10 powerpro on it...makes it kinda ultra-lite

[gabowman]

Cook, I got a barn full of UL's I use for nightstalking out of my boat. I fish 8 rods and my son fishes 8 rods all set in rod holders tightlining while anchored up at night. Alot of times you NEED that UL sensitivity to even SEE the light biters.

[speckfinder]

use to throw small jigs

[Fishtaco]

I have several UL rigs that I use, but my favorite is a Pflueger Trion GX7 set up. Its a a couple of years old now and its only like a 4.3:1 gear ratio. That can be a problem when setting the hook.

The way I get around this is to keep the slack out of the line. The rod is only about 5'6 long, so you have to use every inch of that for setting a hook on really aggressive bites. I lift up or to the side and when lifting up, I go over my head and back. I don't try to rip the lips off, just a firm steady lift. When going to the side, I will turn my body to the side and pull the rod well out to the side while starting to reel.

Keep the drag set so you can pull line from the reel by hand and adjust as you think is necessary. I fish 4 or 6 # test mono on this rod. It is a spinning set up.

I do miss many bites with it, because it seems that most of the time they will hit my bait as soon as it hits the water and I have too much slack in the line to be able to set the hook. I think I will try some braid on this rod this fall, and I think that will help with the hook set issue.

I wish it had a higher gear ratio. Recovering even a touch more line per crank would be a nice improvement.

Where this rod shines is the ability to put a small bobber or bait in a tight area with precision and under the trees. I love this thing back in the trees. Longer rods tend to be a real frustration in those areas.

I believe in the right tool for the job, and this is the right tool for small fish in tight areas.

Hope that helps.

Fish Taco