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