# ulua rods



## tronsi (Oct 26, 2011)

is anyone using ulua rods for surf fishing?

want to buy a new surf rod, i mainly fish from the bank(sturgeon, striper,catfish),,, saw a tica ulua hawaii ulma 13' and shimano tallus ulua, really liked the design of the tica, but are these good for distance? it's about 32oz, so might get heavy with the reel and 6&bait,seems like the blank is bigger too, would like to know what is the diameter at the butt, could not get that info from the tica website, 

also i plan on gettting an avet, the sx will look too small i think, or should i get the mx instead? maybe it will have better balance, 

opinions please


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## RuddeDogg (Mar 20, 2004)

The Tica is a GREAT rod for the price.


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## OBXnKerr (Mar 13, 2009)

Tica is a good rod for the price, but you do get what you pay for and the guides they use are not the best. I have an 8' UHEA that I use for throwing metal and light bottom duty, and the tip top and 2 other guides have all had the inserts pop out in the course of a year and a half. I was able to repair them myself, but it's something to think about.


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## RuddeDogg (Mar 20, 2004)

The guides on the Tica Ulua rod are completely different from the factory guides on the other rods. They are incredibly strong.


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## tronsi (Oct 26, 2011)

i believe in hawaii they call the guides hilo, they are like springs, i am just afraid the line would get caught in between and snap, i may end up fixing them like OBX mentioned too. but i still like the design, can view here: http://www.ticaamerica.com/product_detail.aspx?id=81&catid=42 ,
sorry, i am new here, don't know if i can post the link.

my main concern is are the unusual guides going to hinder distance casting or not.
when fishing for sturgeon, it's at the river so no need to cast that far, but when i get to the bank, the lake is really big so i need to cast farther.

i got here while trying to get information about reels and rods and am glad i discovered this site. thanks for your inputs. 

read many things about different brands but nothing about ulua rods for surf fishing.

also need to find a reel that would match with the rod.


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## RuddeDogg (Mar 20, 2004)

Yes, you are correct. The "Hilo" guides were designed in the the 40's by Sumie Tokunaga. These guides are stronger, built heavier and last longer than the "usual" guides or the older "boat guides". What was happening was that he "usual" were being pulled out of the wraps. Don't forget when we Ulua fish we are fishing from cliffs. Hence the need for a stronger heavier guide. You won't any issues with distance with those guides. It really boils down to personal preference.


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