Here is my 2 cents...The Ugly Stik is a really great rod...very durable & has great bend action with the fiberglass tip. But...after fishing with the St Croix Elite for the past year I will never go back except in an emergency. Just for the heck of it I used a Ugly Stik last week for about an hour for old time sake. The sensitivity to detect light strikes is about half as good with the Ugly stik & it just feels "heavy" when compared to the St Croix. If you are on a budget & want a very durable rod then the Ugly Stik will work just fine. As far as casting distance with the shorter rods I think the line you use is more important then the length of the rod. I don't have any problems casting 4 lb. test a pretty long way with the five & a half foot rods.