Ugly Stik GX2: Which Size to Buy, Rod or Combo

The Ugly Stik GX2 is a tough $59.95 graphite-and-fiberglass rod, and the 7 ft medium is the one to buy for bass and walleye. Need a reel too? Get the spinning combo at $79.95. Prices, specs and the warranty are Ugly Stik’s own, read Nov. 9, 2026. None of these rods was fished for this page: the picks come from the maker’s charts and the reviews named below.

A GX2 rod lists at $59.95 and the spinning combo at $79.95. On paper, you’re getting the reel for $20.

Which Ugly Stik GX2 should you buy?

Match the size to the fish you actually catch. The price won’t help you choose, because it’s the same in every length.

• Most people: the 7 ft medium spinning rod.
• No rod and no reel yet: the spinning combo in 6 ft 6 in or 7 ft medium.
• A child of about 8 to 12: the Youth combo, 5 ft 6 in.
• Panfish and small-stream trout: an ultralight, the short ones for tight creeks.
• You want to try a baitcaster: the baitcast combo, 6 ft 6 in medium.

There are 20 spinning rods, up to 9 ft (2.7 m), and 14 casting rods, up to 7 ft 6 in (2.3 m). Don’t overthink the rest of that list. If you only buy one, make it the 7 ft medium.

What size line goes on a GX2?

It depends on the model, so use that rod’s rating. On the 7 ft medium, that’s 6–15 lb line and 1/8–5/8 oz lures. On the ultralights it’s 2–6 lb and 1/32–1/4 oz. The medium-heavy spinning rods step up to 8–20 lb line.

Read the numbers and not just the power word. Power is how much the rod resists bending, and makers don’t agree on what the words mean. Ugly Stik rates its 6 ft 6 in “light” GX2 at 4–10 lb and 1/8–1/2 oz. St. Croix prints those same numbers on its Premier medium-light spinning rods. Shopping by the word alone can leave you a size off.

Stay inside the rating. A lure well under it won’t bend the rod enough to cast far. The spinning rod guide goes through power and action in full, and the fishing line guide is the next stop if your spool is empty.

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Is the Ugly Stik GX2 a good rod?

Yes, if you want a rod that’s hard to break. OutdoorGearLab put ten spinning rods through its tests and named the GX2 its most durable. It scored 8 out of 10 for durability, where a $165 St. Croix got 6. Overall it scored 77 out of 100, and that St. Croix scored 83. The reviewers recommend it for families and for rough shorelines with brush or slick rock.

Owners agree on the toughness. On Ugly Stik’s own site the spinning rod held 4.5 out of 5 from 50 reviews on Nov. 9, 2026, and 88% of those owners would recommend it. Outdoor Life made the GX2 spinning combo its 2026 pick for beginners. Jason Kaefer of Wild Outdoor, who owns the 7 ft ultralight, says “you could bend this rod in half” and not break it.

Here’s the trade. The same review that crowns it for durability calls the action “a bit soft for precision” and the rod “heavier than most”. Its 6 ft 6 in test rod weighed 7.4 oz (210 g), and OutdoorGearLab says it needs a heavier reel to balance. That softness is the price of the fiberglass.

So it’s a rod for live bait, kids, truck beds and rocky banks. It’s the wrong rod if you fish a drop shot or a jig all day and need to feel every pebble. A GX2 tells you less about the bottom than graphite does. For most weekend fishing that matters less than it sounds, and a rod that’s still in one piece next June has its own value.

What are you getting for $59.95?

Five parts do the work, and you can find each one in the drawing.

The blank. Ugly Stik calls it Ugly Tech: “a combination of graphite and fiberglass”. The glass is why it bends instead of snapping. The graphite keeps it from feeling like a broomstick.

The Clear Tip. The top of the rod is clear, and Ugly Stik dates it to the 1990s. Its line on the tip is that it “proves strength doesn’t have to sacrifice sensitivity”. That’s the maker talking, so read it as a claim.

The guides. The Ugly Tuff guides are one-piece stainless steel with a PVD coating. There’s no ceramic insert in them, so there’s none to pop out. Ugly Stik says the hard coating “reduces line fray”.

The handle. It’s shrink tube, not cork. Cork is the comfort option, and it’s one of the things you pay for in the Elite.

The reel seat. It leaves the blank bare under your fingers. Ugly Stik says that gives “better hand feel and increased sensitivity”.

Should you buy the GX2 rod or the combo?

Buy the combo if you don’t own a decent reel. Buy just the rod if you do. Here’s what each package adds over the bare rod at list price.

Twenty dollars won’t buy you much of a reel on its own, and the reviews say so. The spinning combo’s reel comes in sizes 20 to 50 with three ball bearings (two in the 40 and 50) and 6–15 lb of drag. Owners give that combo 3.8 out of 5 from 31 reviews on Ugly Stik’s site. Seven of those are one or two stars. Four of the seven are about a reel handle that broke or came off, and the other three say the combo arrived broken or broke on first use. Outdoor Life’s listed con points the same way: “The rod is of better quality than the reel”. Kaefer is kinder. He calls the reel “a combination of mostly plastic and some metal components” and still rates it dependable for a starter.

The baitcast combo scored lower, 3.4 from 24, and 54% of those owners would recommend it. The reel is a 6.5:1 with magnetic cast control and 15 lb of drag. The baitcaster combo guide sets it against six others, and it isn’t the one we’d pick if casting distance matters to you.

Photo: Pfc. Nikki Phongsisattanak, U.S. Marine Corps (public domain)

The upgrade is easy. Keep the rod and swap the reel when the reel gives out, or buy the rod and a better reel from the start. A Pflueger President is the reel we’d put on it. And remember the warranty runs differently on each half. The rod gets ten years, the combo’s reel gets one.

Still choosing between brands? The rod and reel combo guide puts the GX2 next to nine other combos. The beginner rod guide walks a first-timer through the whole purchase.

What’s the difference between the GX2, Elite and Carbon?

More graphite each step, so a lighter rod with more feel. Stay with the GX2 unless you can name the bite you’re missing.

Move up to the Elite if most of your days are panfish and trout on light line. $25 buys a lighter rod and a cork grip. It’s sold in 14 spinning models from 5 ft to 7 ft 6 in (1.5–2.3 m).

Move up to the Carbon for jigs and Texas rigs, where you’re feeling for the bottom and the GX2’s glass mutes it. Ugly Stik puts a number on the weight only for its Carbon Walleye and other species rods: 30% lighter than like GX2 models, on average, in its own lab testing. That’s the maker’s claim, so treat it as one.

Stay with the GX2 for kids, live bait, bank rods and anything that rides loose in the truck. Length and power still matter more than the series. A 7 ft medium GX2 is a better bass rod than a 5 ft 6 in light Carbon, whatever the price tag says. The Ugly Stik rods page lays out the whole ladder, from the Dock Runner to the Bigwater surf rods.

Does the GX2 come as a travel rod, an ice rod or a kids’ rod?

Yes, all three. The travel kits list at $89.95 for spinning and $99.95 for baitcast. The travel spinning rod alone is $59.95 and the ice rod is $36.99. Check the packed length on the box before you count on it fitting a suitcase. The telescopic rod guide explains when a collapsing rod is enough and when a multi-piece travel rod fishes better.

For a child of about 8 to 12, the Youth combo is the one to buy once. It’s a two-piece 5 ft 6 in (1.7 m) medium rod rated 6–12 lb, with a size 30 reel, at $59.95 list. Ugly Stik prints no age on it, only a grip for smaller hands. The age band is ours. The kids’ fishing pole guide covers younger children, who do better with something shorter.

What does the GX2 warranty cover?

Ten years on the rod, for the original buyer, against “defects in materials or workmanship”. Keep the dated receipt, because you’ll need it.

What it won’t cover: normal wear and tear, commercial use, and “accidents, abuse, alteration, modification, misuse or improper care”. So a car door isn’t a warranty claim, however tough the rod is. Ugly Stik doesn’t repair rods or sell parts. A rod that qualifies gets replaced for a $9.95 processing fee.

To claim, email support@uglystik.com. Send a photo of the brand and model just above the handle, and a photo of the break. Add the dated receipt, a short note on how it broke, and your address and daytime phone number. A rod that doesn’t qualify “may also be submitted for a discounted replacement”, and the number for details is (800) 466-5643. Reels inside a combo get one year.

What is an Ugly Stik GX2 good for?

Rough fishing, and fishing where the rod takes the abuse. Think live bait on a bobber, a catfish rod propped on a bank, a rod that gets stepped over on a dock. OutdoorGearLab lists its best use as stream, lake, boat and ocean, and says it “can handle large trout/bass with ease”.

It also throws farther than you’d guess from a soft rod. OutdoorGearLab calls it “capable of long-distance casting” and says it “casts far with ease”. That helps from the bank.

Where it falls short is finesse. A soft rod that needs a heavier reel to balance is tiring and vague for a day of twitching a small plastic. If that’s most of your fishing, you’ve outgrown the GX2 and that’s fine. Keep it as the spare.

Ugly Stik GX2 or Shimano?

They mostly do different jobs here. Buy the GX2 for a tough rod at a low price, and look at Shimano for the reel you bolt onto it. A GX2 with a Shimano Sedona or a Pflueger President reel is a sensible pairing.

Want more feel from the rod itself? Then you’re shopping for graphite, and you trade away some of the toughness. The best fishing rods list sets the GX2 next to the $100 graphite rods, so you can see what that extra $40 buys.

How old is the GX2, and has it changed?

Ugly Stik’s own timeline puts the GX2 at 2013, and the company now describes it as having “improved components for added durability and increased sensitivity”. So a review from a few years back may describe a slightly different rod. Go by the current listing and the rating on the rod in your hand.

The name on the box can throw you too. GX2 is a series of Ugly Stik. Shakespeare introduced the Ugly Stik in 1976, and both names now belong to Pure Fishing. So a listing that says “Shakespeare Ugly Stik GX2” is using the old family name for this series.

The picks

GX2 spinning rod, 7 ft medium. The one to buy if you own a reel. It’s the right length for bass and walleye from the bank, and it’ll outlast your interest in being careful with it.

GX2 spinning combo. The first outfit. Take 6 ft 6 in or 7 ft medium, fish it, and replace the reel when it quits. The rod will still be fine.

GX2 baitcast combo. Cheap enough to find out if you like a baitcaster. Skip it if you already know you do, and put your money in the reel.

GX2 casting rod. For when you already own a baitcaster you trust and want a rod you can’t easily hurt.

Elite spinning rod. The step up when the fish are small and the bites are light.

How we chose

The sizes, ratings, list prices, owner scores and warranty terms are Ugly Stik’s own, read on its product pages on Nov. 9, 2026. Shops often sell below list, so check the price where you buy. The dollar gaps in the table are simple subtraction from those list prices. The verdicts are quoted from the reviewers named. The count of low reviews is ours, from reading every one- and two-star review on the combo’s page. No rod was cast or tested for this page. The rods hub explains power, action and length for every kind of fishing.

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Stop guessing hook sizes. Lay any hook on this page and read it

A jar of loose hooks and no packet in sight. Guess wrong and you find out with a fish on.

The True-Size Hook Chart. Print it at actual size, lay a hook on the outlines, and the one its bend fills is its size. One sheet, front and back, for the tackle box.

• 14 hooks from 9/0 to #8 at true size, plus a ladder from #32 to 12/0
• The size for 17 fish and 16 baits, from bluegill to tuna
• A 2/0 circle that gapes less than a #4: why a 2/0 is not always a 2/0

Every outline drawn from Mustad's published dimensions; every size from the 25 sources on the page, Maryland DNR and Idaho Fish and Game among them.

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