Shakespeare Ugly Stik Tiger - 1 or 2 pc??

 I have an old Penn 500 reel that needs a permanent rod. Considering adding a Shakespeare Ugly Stik Tiger Casting rod to the arsenal but can't decide between a one or two piece rod. I've never fished one but know a lot of you guys own, use and recommend them. Anything more than a medium appears would have the action of a broomstick, but I could be wrong, and certainly don't mean any disrespect. The only reason I'm considering a two piece is the obvious advantage of travel and storage. Either way, I'm shooting for the 7' model, but just can't decide on a 1 or 2 piece.....opinions??

I own two Ugly Stik Tiger rods: a 2-piece medium action 7', and a 1-piece med-heavy 7' model. I use the former for fishing shallow water where I don't need more than 12 ounces of weight to stay near bottom, while the 1-piece is for deep water stuff that requires 16-32 ounces of weight.

Between the two, I use the 2-piece medium outfit a lot more often because I'm usually fishing in less than 100 feet, and I don't need that extra power of the med-heavy rod to manage heavy lead weights. The 2-piece medium has landed plenty of big fish for me over the years, including a 150 pound thresher shark, so I wouldn't worry about its fish-landing potential. It's more about how deep you plan on fishing and how much lead you think you'll need to fish at that depth.

That's some good solid info Clayman. I'm leaning toward the 2-piece medium action 7' for all of those reasons, but primarily looking for a rod that has some hooking ability/decent action for smaller fish as well as the big fellas. Not talking bluegills in the freshwater, but if a shaker or a bass got on, I'd like to enjoy the fight a little bit rather than just hoisting a potential fish in.   

I own two Ugly Stik Tiger rods: a 2-piece medium action 7', and a 1-piece med-heavy 7' model.

Curious....Is the medium weight rod, spinning or casting? The Penn I'm wanting to mount belongs on a casting rod so that's the way I'm leaning.

I own two Ugly Stik Tiger rods: a 2-piece medium action 7', and a 1-piece med-heavy 7' model.

Curious....Is the medium weight rod, spinning or casting? The Penn I'm wanting to mount belongs on a casting rod so that's the way I'm leaning.

They're both casting.  The 2-piece med action allows larger rockfish to make a good account of themselves, but if I'm targeting rockfish, I'll switch to a lighter spinning outfit to make it more enjoyable.  I usually just use the Tiger when targeting lingcod.

I have a 7' medium, 2-piece Tiger I use for halibut, lings (depending on location), and occasionally salmon from a downrigger. It's a casting (not spinning) version. I like the 2-piece because I find it easier to transport. It's quite stout.

I've got a one piece that I got a good deal on off Craigslist and use for Sturgeon and Lings.  It is harder to transport so the two piece would have been better as when I use it I have to put down the center pass through on the back seats to get it to fit, but other than that I really like the rod.

Kevin

I have a 2-piece Ugly Stik Tiger spinning rod (I think the 20-50lb line model) with a Penn 6500 reel (50lb braid) on it for some of my "bigger" fishing. I'd trust that setup to haul up anything that I can catch from a kayak. It handled a 60" sturgeon just fine in December. The weakest link in the chain on that fish was me, not the rod, reel or line. 

Personally, I think a tiger stick is too heavy for lings. I usually use a bass rod........ or a barbie pole.

Personally, I think a tiger stick is too heavy for lings. I usually use a bass rod........ or a barbie pole.

You need to target bigger lings

If a barbie pole can land halibut and sturgeon, it can handle any ling.

Besides, lighter tackle makes the fight more fun.

If a barbie pole can land halibut and sturgeon, it can handle any ling.

Besides, lighter tackle makes the fight more fun.

I don't want to use a Barbie rod or bass rod to pull 8-10 ounce lead weights around. And, I hate losing 20-30 pound lings when they run into the rocks and snag me up when the rod is overpowered by the fish (and practically every ling tries to do exactly that on their first run).

In addition to all that, lingcod fishing is more of a meat harvest operation for me than anything. They all fight the same. I prefer to land them quickly until I get two fish I want to harvest. I save my light tackle fun-time for salmonids.

The reel you are using is designed to have what 8-10 lbs drag stock out of the box, and for 30lb test if I am not mistaken. So a heavy rod is really going to be over kill. Sure they are hot-rodded to the extreme, but stock this is within the design parameters.

I have fished both the M and the ML one piece rods and like both of them for Salmon, rockfish, and any other thing I have been able to bring up. I like the ML one piece as it gives me decent sensitivity with some backbone.  I would go for the one piece.

I have used the Penn 500, and Surfmaster 100, Beachmaster 155, as well as a Shimano TRG-100G on those two rods without issue.