shakespeare rod

Question
hi Richard: what is your opinon on UGLY STIK.I just pick one up;short handle bait casting rod 5'6";medium action; going to combine it with a abu-garcia 5500 auto shift reel;the reel has two gear ratio 6.3.1 and 4.8.1 retreive.Remember i had a question before on the same reel that has a 5.3.1. gear ratio;took a long time to land that 5lb.fluke;seem i was turning the handle all day.seems as you get older you don't want to hold on to a heavy rod anymore.and between the combo from a ugly stik and a abu-garcia reel it like holding a feather in your hand.do you think the rod and reel will work. salt water fishing  

Answer
Richard;
    I absolutely love the ugly sticks.  I got my first one over twenty years ago and still use it for flounder and fluke.  Right now there are 7 ugly sticks of different lenghts and actions in my collection.  Depending on species and the type of fishing I am doing, one or more of these is almost always included in what I bring along.  I do own and use other rods, but can honestly say none is more useful and versatile than the ugly sticks.  Yesterday I was out striped bass fishing using clam bellies in one of the local south shore creeks.  I used 2 rods, both 6'6" medium action ugly sticks with bait casting reels loaded with 12 pound test mono.  One rod was a 20 year old fresh water model with the black rubber grip which I fished dead stick with a 1/4 ounce sinker, and the other was one I bought two years ago that is a salt water model with cork grip which I used to float out the bait with no weight in the current.  I had 6 bass up to 31 inches.  I say this not to brag, but to illustrate just how happy I am with the ugly sticks.  The only suggestion I could offer is that for fluke fishing, you may want to consider the longer "trigger" handle on a 6 to 7 foot rod.  I still like tucking the rod under my left arm pit while playing a fish and the short butt on the 5'6" rod might put too much stress on your wrist, especially if you are fishing fluke in the ocean where you have to deal with heavy sinkers in deep water.  
Rich