# Best inshore saltwater spinning rod?



## lollygagger

Most of this will probably be a "mines the best" or just opinions, however what would y'all say is the finest medium heavy spinning rod you can buy that will last many years?


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## ThaFish

Star Rods Stellar Lite series. Light as hell. Feels amazing. Casts like a dream. Put as much heat as you want on it too, cause it's got a lifetime warranty. Get it replaced no questions asked no matter how it breaks. Hands down best value for the money in my opinion. LOVE my 8' medium Stellar Lite.


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## barefoot

Easy, use the best rod/reel you can afford.

But if you need brand names...I have a Wal-Mart Penn combo I pd. I think $65 several yrs. ago and THIS I my favorite rod of all the rods I have. Landed everything from bream to Spanish, pomps, reds, hundreds of trout and so on.

Use equipment that you are comfortable with and control from a casting, fish-fighting standpoint.

Just my opinion..


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## MathGeek

The 7-8 ft medium heavy ugly stiks are tough as nails and last a loooooong time. We fish a lot, and we don't baby the rods in the boat. We've eventually broken a few of them, but it took almost a decade of hard use to do it, and most are still going strong.


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## lollygagger

I have to agree math geek


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## Jackin' 'Em Up

Go with a custom rod. I can build a good rod the way I want for the same price as a really good store bought rod. You can put what you want on it. The options are endless


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## The Pitt

I couldnt disagree more on the Ugly Stik. The only thing theyre good for is trolling from the kayak.

Ive got Star, Shimano and Wright & Mcgill rods I couldnt be happier with. Get something with a lifetime warranty and youre good to go.


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## NoMoSurf

Yeah, I dont like Ugly Stik rods either. Good rods and almost indestructible. I just hate the action.

I dont know if you are talking best period, or best for the buck. Right now, my favorite is an Abu Garcia Verittas. They are about $70-$80 and love it. Other nice ones that I have had are G Loomis and Star. My favorite that I ever owned, hands down, EVER EVER EVER was a Shimano Interline. It had no guides, the line ran inside the rod. It was super fast action and would cast a MILE!!!! I read reviews of them that said the casting was bad, but not for me. By FAR the best rod that I have ever owned. REALLY RARE to find now. And cost a fortune when you do. They have a cult following.

The best rod is really a personal thing. Alot of people like Ugly Stiks, I hate them. Just go look at some rods and find one with a price, action and weight that you like.


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## 192

I own star, key largo, shimano and G Loomis inshore rods. All have their purpose and have worked great for me.


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## ThaFish

NoMoSurf said:


> My favorite that I ever owned, hands down, EVER EVER EVER was a Shimano Interline. It had no guides, the line ran inside the rod. It was super fast action and would cast a MILE!!!! I read reviews of them that said the casting was bad, but not for me. By FAR the best rod that I have ever owned. REALLY RARE to find now. And cost a fortune when you do. They have a cult following.


Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't those Interline rods made by Daiwa? I've never tried one but they look pretty cool!


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## NoMoSurf

ThaFish said:


> Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't those Interline rods made by Daiwa? I've never tried one but they look pretty cool!


You are correct! I had a shimano reel in my lap and had shimano on the brain. Good catch! I stand corrected. :thumbsup:


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## badonskybuccaneers

NoMoSurf said:


> Yeah, I dont like Ugly Stik rods either. Good rods and almost indestructible. I just hate the action.
> 
> I dont know if you are talking best period, or best for the buck. Right now, my favorite is an Abu Garcia Verittas. They are about $70-$80 and love it. Other nice ones that I have had are G Loomis and Star. My favorite that I ever owned, hands down, EVER EVER EVER was a Shimano Interline. It had no guides, the line ran inside the rod. It was super fast action and would cast a MILE!!!! I read reviews of them that said the casting was bad, but not for me. By FAR the best rod that I have ever owned. REALLY RARE to find now. And cost a fortune when you do. They have a cult following.
> 
> The best rod is really a personal thing. Alot of people like Ugly Stiks, I hate them. Just go look at some rods and find one with a price, action and weight that you like.





The Pitt said:


> I couldnt disagree more on the Ugly Stik. The only thing theyre good for is trolling from the kayak.
> 
> Ive got Star, Shimano and Wright & Mcgill rods I couldnt be happier with. Get something with a lifetime warranty and youre good to go.


We have several of the Ugly Stick rods- including inshore rods on some of our lite spinning and baitcasters. They come in 7ft Med and Med/Lite action. I have been very pleased with them, they have good action in my opinion are durable rods and are reasonably priced. I have used other quality rods by makers like Wright & McGill, GLoomis, Falcon, and Shimano- but a lot of my go-to combos have the Ugly Stick rods... Just the best bang for my buck... its my personal prefrence...


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## ThaFish

badonskybuccaneers said:


> We have several of the Ugly Stick rods- including inshore rods on some of our lite spinning and baitcasters. They come in 7ft Med and Med/Lite action. I have been very pleased with them, they have good action in my opinion are durable rods and are reasonably priced. I have used other quality rods by makers like GLoomis, Falcon, and Shimano- but a lot of my go-to combos have the Ugly Stick rods... Just my personal prefrence...


Yeah, I do enjoy the Ugly Stik Inshore Select series. For $50 they're a pretty great deal too. The Ugly Stik Lite series isn't bad either. I use the 5' Ugly Lites in fresh water for live-baiting with big shiners for northern pike in small creeks & they perform excellent.


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## lollygagger

I actually have a g loomis and a st croix mojo inshore and well I guess they are both excellent rods, I'm seriously looking for an inshore rod that will last dang near forever and if not will have a warranty to replace it


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## badonskybuccaneers

Some of my Ugly Stick Rods I've had for several years- never had any problem other than my abuse and normal wear / tear... Their warranty reads:



> Ugly Stik® warrants to the original purchaser that its rods are free from defects in materials or workmanship for a period of five (5) or seven (7) years, depending on the type of Ugly Stik®, from the date of purchase. Ugly Stik® is not responsible for normal wear and tear, nor failures caused by accidents, abuse, alteration, modification, misuse or improper care. This applies to either rods purchased separately or as a combo unit.


Not bad for around fifty bucks... I'm not saying they are better rods than any other either. My stepson, Braxton, had one break at the 2nd eye. Not sure why... He was disappointed in the rod. But I reminded him-_ it had traveled in the back of his PU truck and it was a couple years old already. We've owned several without issues, so don't be disappointed and say they're bad rods_. We'll just relace it- I'll just consider it a fluke, maybe it was even damaged riding around in the back of that truck. 
They're are lots of other quality rods out there, and each has his / her favorite go-to. 
The only ones I'll really say something bad about were the first serise Wright & McGill Flats Blue rods. Had some bad reviews, but we got one anyway- had our first one break on the first fish caught on it! That being said, we are currently testing on one of the 2nd serise flats blue inshore rods (just released earlier last year). They were suppose to have improved the strength... Everyone deserves a second chance! So far, so good. I also have a nice Wright & Mcgill 2 pc surf rod I really like. We have abused it on bonita, bull redfish, spanish.... it is a nice rod. I keep it mostly for travel.


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## 49913

Don't want to diss anybody's equipment, but facts are facts. A good, not great quality set of stainless guides costs at least 25 bucks. Reel seat and grips, basic ones, 10-15 depending on materials. A good, not great quality blank is 50 bucks. So if you're buying a 70 or 80 dollar rod, it wasn't built for free labor. You have to wonder what you're getting. Doesn't mean a cheap one won't catch fish, obviously. Anyhow, to answer the question, the best Inshore model I've used, with reasonable money on the blank, is the Phenix Ultra MBX 700MH, with AmTack's Microwave Guide System. Just my opinion.


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## Tugboat

lollygagger said:


> I actually have a g loomis and a st croix mojo inshore and well I guess they are both excellent rods, I'm seriously looking for an inshore rod that will last dang near forever and if not will have a warranty to replace it



G loomis has a life time warranty,I have greenwaters and pro greens and have had 3 of them replaced with no questions asked and received a new one within 7 days,all warranty claims were due to stupidity on my part. I am a g loomis customer for life they make a very light weight well made rod. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## thewarhammer

I really like the Wright & McGill flats blue7'9". It has a fast tip. A lot of give in the first 3.5 feet which I think is a must for keeping fish on the wook when they jump or make a run near the boat. It also has a really strong backbone. That is to say the last 4 feet of the rod has enough umph to horse a bull red. It is my everyday rod. I have caught everything from specks and flounder to 60lb black drum. My wife caught a 150+ bullshark on hers last time we were in venice. Just a all around great rod. With that being said our back up rods are ugly stick. They are not nearly as refined or balanced but they are bullet proof and will kick big fish a$$.


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## MathGeek

UncleMilty7 said:


> Don't want to diss anybody's equipment, but facts are facts. A good, not great quality set of stainless guides costs at least 25 bucks. Reel seat and grips, basic ones, 10-15 depending on materials. A good, not great quality blank is 50 bucks. So if you're buying a 70 or 80 dollar rod, it wasn't built for free labor.


You think the biggest manufacturers are paying the same for components in quantities of 100k as the custom shops are paying for small quantities?

You ever see the production line in a facility like Shakespeare?

The economies of scale are mind boggling.


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## tat

Alot of stuff to make this a personal choice. I have a couple Ugly Sticks and will only use them for bait fishing = no feel. I use lures almost exclusively. My favorite rod is an All Star Platinum - they don't make em any more and I broke the tip of last winter. So now I'm looking for my next favorite. I don't want to spend GLoomis or high end St.Croix prices. Definitely a challenge.


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## badonskybuccaneers

tat said:


> Alot of stuff to make this a personal choice. I have a couple Ugly Sticks and will only use them for bait fishing = no feel. I use lures almost exclusively. My favorite rod is an All Star Platinum - they don't make em any more and I broke the tip of last winter. So now I'm looking for my next favorite. I don't want to spend GLoomis or high end St.Croix prices. Definitely a challenge.


Just curious, what series Ugly Stick rod(s) do you have and what action?


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## 49913

MathGeek said:


> You think the biggest manufacturers are paying the same for components in quantities of 100k as the custom shops are paying for small quantities?
> 
> You ever see the production line in a facility like Shakespeare?
> 
> The economies of scale are mind boggling.


 No, of course I don't think that. But next time you're in Bass Pro, start pulling some of that stuff off the rack, and check the position of the guides, related to the spine. Check and see what guides are on factory rods. You ever replace a reel seat on one of those, and see how it was glued on? What finish is used on the guides? Good epoxy, or some cheap junk you can pick off with your thumbnail?
I fished for 15 years with a couple of Ugly Sticks and caught a lot of fish. They were OK. But the thread was about what one's opinion was, on the best they've used. 
A long conversation about what OEM's do in their practices, is probably for another thread.


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## tailfisher1979

St. Croix Tidemaster, Avid or Legend Inshore, 7'6" MF or MLF. Made in America. Please don't buy Chinese.


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