It seems there was a thread a while back where a lot of us were mentioning which all-around spinning rods they favored for sunfish and the occasional trout, and as I'm in the market for a new rod I thought I'd start an updated thread.

I'm leaning toward getting a St Croix, as the G Loomis rods are out of my budget.

Given what is on the market today, if you were going to purchase a new light or ultralight spinning rod, which one would you get and why?

There are a lot of great ultra light rods on the market. As for me I have always used very simple rigs for sunfish. A good Ol' Shakespeare Ugly Stick 4'8" rod combo is the way to go for sunfish. Not expensive and I have caught a LOT of BIG FISH using it!(Including a lot of Trophy Bass and Crappie). Best deal for me! Love that Ugly Stick! Again just my two cents.

Most anglers who frequent this board know I have tried more than a few rods in this pursuit of the sunfish we all love. The latest and I believe greatest I have tried is the St Croix Panfish Series of rods. I have the 6'9" Ultra Light powered Fast action rod (PFS69ULF) and the 7'0" Light powered Xtra Fast action rod (PFS70LXF). I will probably get the 6' model this year and may get 8' 2-piece. The thing I really love about this rod is it seems like the 1-piece models were made specifically for guys who cast ultra light jigs and rigs for panfish. The blank has plenty backbone in the bottom half - 2/3 and a softer top section because of their blended blank technology. The two blank materials work together to form a rod that has just the right action to cast light jigs out of sight. the greatest blank in the world is wasted without equally great guides and this rod has great guides. Pac Bay Minima guides keep the line shooting thru the guides like silk and the greater spacing from the blank simultaneously keeps the line off the blank saving you from distance robbing line slap. I was skeptical of the reel seat until I tried it. Now I love it. Don't know if I would like it on all my spinning rods, but it definitely works on this rod series.

St Croix also basically makes the same rods in their Trout Series. The biggest difference being that the 1-piece rods in the Panfish series are 2-piece rods in the Trout series.

I have only tried the G Loomis Trout Series once before I bought the St Croix. Was going back and forth between the two. It really came down to price. The rods perform very similar although the G Loomis flexes further into the handle than the St Croix does and the G Loomis tends to be more "whippy" which I tend to like for my lures with treble hooks, but it didn't have the right feel for me when casting and retrieving jigs and most importantly, feeling the jig, the structure and the bite.

One more thing I like about the St Croix Panfish rods is how they fish like a completely different rod when fished with microlines/braids compared to fishing them with mono. For more info see my previous post.

Great post and you are going to get some really good information on tackle from some really neat anglers. Jagg for one knows a lot about tackle and has given some very good advice on all types of products. His knowledge as paid off for me. As for me I have always targeted the bass over the years. I also love fishing for Catfish,White Bass,and Stripers. I do not target sunfish but love reading the post in this section. My favorite rod has always been the Ugly Stick. Like Chuck (BAF) said it can handle some big fish and the performance is very good.


Love threads like these! Good post.

I also bought my first St. Croix Panfish Series 7' light last year...love it! I wanted a rod specifically for casting jigs/slip bobber set ups in my private lake and this rod is perfect. I like a longer rod when fishing light tackle as shorter rods will minimize your casting distance. I have used Berkeley Lightning rods in almost all lengths and sizes and they are a good value at their selling price. The St. Croix is three times the price, but well worth the money. I am thinking of getting some 7' BPS micro lites as their reviews are pretty good and it is one of the few under $100 that is that specific length and action...will update when I use them!

Thanks guys!

I have a variety of reels, but only use Ugly Stik rods. Like banker, I use the 4'8" ultra-lite for sunfish, but it can handle just about anything. I recently purchased the Ugly Stik E-lite. It is a little of an upgrade from their standard ultra-lite rods, has a cork grip, an I love it...

Ugly Sticks are what I use. Best value for the money I think.

Looks like it's a race between St Croix and Ugly Sticks! Thanks for the input everyone.

Kinda depends on your style of fishing. If you are fishing bait or fishing a rig that doesn't require a lot of feel, the Ugly Stiks will definitely do the job. If you are fishing jigs or other lures or rigs that feel and sensitivity is a necessity, you're better off with a graphite rod.

That's the biggest difference between the two. Ugly Stik is a graphite/glass hybrid. St Croix and other rods like it are graphite (normally a higher strain of graphite the further up you go on the price scale). There is a modulus scale to measure the sensitivity and quantifying the quality and strength of the rod and graphite. Unfortunately, most companies no longer list the ratings on their rods, but there are sites that can give a relative rating across company lines. Hope this helps.

It helps a lot. I'm too fidgety to be a bait fisherman, and have long preferred fishing with spinnerbaits and jerk baits. Of course, I just bought a fly combo so will be adding that to my arsenal as well. In the meantime, I was still leaning toward the St Croix and your advice is helping to tip the scales in that direction.

Like Jagg stated, it all depends on your style of fishing! I am sure you will make the right choice that will fit your style of fishing. What ever you get, hope you nail em!

Ugly Stik has been my go to for years and great for young'uns

I did quite a lot of research and narrowed my selection down to the St. Croix PFS69ULF as mentioned by jagg and perhaps others. There are a few easy ways to sort of break down a purchase selection, what is best for each of us.

The first is price, I suppose, and there is simply nothing wrong with many of the less expensive models. I was given an Ugly Stik panfish rod by a neighbor and I am sure I will use it.

But, price aside and looking at other issues:

1) If you are going to hang a line over the boat gunwale and target panfish down in submerged brush, etc., then this is where you will most likely want one of the very long rods so that the line can be dropped vertically. I didn't; I want to cast/flip/pitch and skip, so that let me eliminate some of the longer rods;

2) and, if you want to fish really ultra-light, some rods like the St. Croix rods are intended for down to 1/32 lures. I wanted down to that lower range, so from the St. Croix panfish rods, it eliminated some stiffer rods;

3) and, if you want some relatively long casts, I do on occasion, it would lead to one of the longer ultralights and St. Croix's 6'9" is the longest rod in that category.

So, this is what I purchased; it is on back order.

I am going to match this one up with a Stradic CI4+ 1000 series and I ordered some of the Sufix Nanobraid in 2 lbs. (.001 diameter) to see how it works.

If I were to add another rod, I might go for a shorter ultralight rod that could be easily carried in a small car and not take up any space so I could fish when I am on the road. St. Croix has a 5'4" model with the same line and lure specifications as I have mentioned for the 6'9" model. That shorter rod would be an excellent rod for many circumstances.

Brad

I have the 7' Panfish St. Croix for casting small jigs and slip bobber setups at my tank. Absolutely love it. Has a Sonora 1000 with 6 pound mono and works beautifully for that application. I am getting some 7' BPS Microlites with some Pflueger Presidents to compare...may try the Pflueger Purist reel on one. I would love to get a Stradic but can't justify spending that much cheese on it with a 5 month old at home!
That St. Croix has really changed my pond fishing and made it more enjoyable. Hoping that the Microlites will be a cheaper, almost as good option.

I agree with you, Brad. A couple more consideration are knowing your water and knowing your fish. If you are fishing in a lake with a foot or so of visibility and/or the panfish in your waters are not wary of your shadow, seeing you on the bank/boat or are not tackle shy, you may not need a rod capable of making really long cast or that can feel the tiniest little bump. On the contrary, you may need a rod with a softer tip like an Ugly Stik or similar glass rods that give and have more forgiveness when a panfish bites a bait and turns/runs. Ugly Stiks and other glass type rods can sometimes be better at fishing bait in tight quarters. A rod with a faster tip can at times be a split second to fast and take the hook from the fish instead of letting the fish turn with it.

However, if you fish clear, deep water, if your fish are line shy and are very wary when your shadow lands on them and get lock jaw if they see you on the bank or in your boat, you really owe it to yourself to try a longer, super sensitive, light graphite rod in UL or L power with F or XF actions. A lot of the time, but especially on new, clear waters, I like to sight fish. It's not like what we think of as sight fishing specific fish a pitch away. More like using your sunglasses to spot likely fish holding cover and/or structure (and sometimes fish). Sometimes it's sight fishing by pitching to likely deep water spots, but more likely is spotting a likely rock pile or isolated weedbed a long cast or maybe two casts away. At those distances, a light rod with backbone and a fast, responsive tip is an absolute must. Trust me! I have fished those same circumstances with a short 5' Ugly Stik. You can not cast nearly as far with the same 1/32 - 1/16th oz jigs and no matter how sharp your hooks are, your hook up ratio drops drastically. Some make up for it by fishing tandem jig rigs or other rigs, but in my experience fishing all types of clear waters in Centex, the Hill Country and SouthTex, a single jig, lure or baited hook is day in and day out the better option. Even when I'm fishing vertical from the boat it is often 15'+ In clear water. When I fish vertical with rigs like drop shot, split shot or deep tandem rigs I will often fish a shorter rod (5'4"-6'), but it will still be a light graphite rod (to feel the bites and cover/structure) and will be a Fast action Extra Fast action (XF) is often too fast; rips the hook from the fish before he can really bite and run/turn.

Large sunfish in the clear CenTex waters require stealth and finesse. A long rod made for making long casts helps with the making long stealthy casts with uber light jigs and rigs, but all the stealth in the world is for naught if you can't feel what's happening on the other end as soon as you lure/bait hits the water.

Good "adds," jagg, to some sort of defining system to narrow down how to choose a rod and a reel, too.

There are so many choices. What other targeted species, panfish in general, support a selection of rods from under 5 feet all the way out to 10+ feet?

Yes, the farther away a cast is made, the faster the tip can be without too many concerns about yanking the hook out on a hookset. Far casts equate to longer rods, in general, rods that are designed to "load up" tossing really light lures effectively.

I can hardly wait to give it a go.

Note that offshore fishermen who fish over the side of a boat for huge fish on the bottom? It requires a very short rod for the leverage advantage to shift in favor of the angler; offshore fishermen use long rods for fish caught nearer the surface where a long rod helps "control" the fish as it generally swims horizontally.

The 10 footers just aren't my thing, I don't think, so I think I'll eventually end up with this 6'9" ultralight rod and likely something really short, too.

*** 5 month old kids trump $200 reels for most of us at that stage in our lives. I remember! I bought the Ci4+ 1000 for $139 on sale and I don't think I would have paid full retail for it. They are water tight and low maintenance so I am hoping I'll get 2X life expectancy out of it where it drops the effective cost.

Brad

***The 10 footers just aren't my thing, I don't think, so I think I'll eventually end up with this 6'9" ultralight rod and likely something really short, too.***

Rods that long are usually for "dipping" minnows, jigs, slip float rigs and so forth into buck brush, stake beds, brush piles and the like. I tried to cast with one 9'6" dipping rod once and was highly frustrated. I do have a 8'6" float 'n fly rod that does great for fixed floats put at 5'+ above jigs/hooks and it does the job well enough but it's really made for that purpose and can't do much else very well. I know a guy who has the 8' SC Panfish Series (8', 2-piece, L Power, MF action, PFS80LMF2) and he cast jigs and both float rigs with it with ease. I'm not quite there yet, but maybe one day. Have more confidence in the sensitivity I know is there with the 6'9" and the 7'.

Best panfish rod ever. imho. Quantum Micro MS-54SUL Super Ultra Lite 1-4lb 1Pc

You hook into a nice sunnie with this thing, and it's like fighting a shark.

I wouldn't buy a rod. I'd handline first. If I wanted a rod I'd build one off a fly rod blank: 5 wt to 7 wt is a good range.

Love the Bass Pro series spinning rods including their ultra lights. My 3 and 5 weight flyrods are slowly becoming my favorites.

Mentioned elsewhere in a short report of my catching 20 or so trout at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries, that I used a 4'8" Ugly Stik today with my Stradic Ci4+ spooled with 2 lbs. SOS monofilament and casting a 1/32 oz. hair jig (white eyes/black body and chartreuse feathers).

The little Ugly Stik? It handled it all with aplomb!

I didn't make whippy casts loading the little rod up, I just made left and right horizontal casts and I found that I could cover around 50 to 60 feet with soft and simple casts.

I am assuming that the 6/9" St. Croix on order will cast a 1/32 oz. even farther to cover a bit more water.

If anyone heads out there to catch some trout, I fished the back pond, the smaller one.

Not a single bite from a bluegill or a bass.

Brad

I lucked out several years ago and got a 2 pc custom rod built on a G Loomis 842 blank for about $45. It has been my favorite rod by far for panfish!

Nice!