Let's be honest—most fishing stories are either about the one that got away or the one that made us look utterly ridiculous. Mine is both, with a side of high-tech humiliation courtesy of my new drone. It all started when I decided to upgrade my fishing wardrobe with some stylish ugly stik apparel and ended up in a standoff with a very curious whale.
My journey began at the local big-box store, where I stumbled upon the ugly stik elite costco special—a deal so good I couldn't resist. I walked out with an ugly stik bass combo that promised to make me the terror of largemouths everywhere, and an ugly stik catfish special combo because why not diversify my failures?
But I didn't stop there. Oh no. I went full fishing fanatic. I acquired an ugly stik bigwater combo 10ft for those "I might actually catch something" moments, and an ugly stik bigwater spinning rod 15ft that's so long I'm pretty sure it violates local airspace regulations. For good measure, I added an ugly stik deep sea fishing rod—because you never know when you'll need to fish from a cruise ship.
My collection grew more absurd by the day. I found myself the proud owner of an ugly stik bluewater 24kg that could probably land a small submarine, and an ugly stik carbon spinning rod so light I almost forgot I was holding it. I even picked up an ugly stik crappie spinning rod because sometimes you need to aim small.
The real treasures, though, were my ugly stik elite 2 combo and ugly stik classic—rods with so much heritage I felt obligated to use them. I paired them with an ugly stik carbon casting setup that made me look like I knew what I was doing (I didn't) and an ugly stik elite ultra light for those "delicate" fishing moments that never actually happen.
But the crown jewel of my collection was the ugly stik bigwater pursuit iv spinning combo—a name so long it needs its own paragraph. This beast came with an ugly stik elite medium action that promised to handle everything from panfish to porpoises. I felt unstoppable.
The big day arrived. I dressed in my finest ugly stik apparel, loaded up my ugly stik carp rod (just in case), and even brought along my ugly stik elite ice fishing rod despite it being 80 degrees outside. I was prepared for anything—except what actually happened.
I launched my drone, set up my ugly stik big water fly rod, and began casting with the confidence of someone who's watched too many fishing videos. For the first hour, the drone captured stunning footage of me untangling line and muttering words that would make a sailor blush.
Then something extraordinary happened. A dark shadow approached—then another, and another. Suddenly, I found myself surrounded by a pod of curious whales who seemed fascinated by my ugly stik elite salmon steelhead rod. One particularly bold whale surfaced so close to my ugly stik bigwater spinning rod 15ft that I could have measured its breath (note: don't).
In a panic, I grabbed my ugly stik deep sea fishing rod like it was a lightsaber and I was facing down Darth Vader himself. The whales, apparently amused by my tiny human gestures, circled for what felt like an eternity before losing interest. My drone captured every second, including the moment I almost dropped my ugly stik elite ultra light in the ocean.
I didn't catch any fish that day. But I did learn several valuable lessons: First, no amount of ugly stik apparel can make you look cool when you're being shown up by marine mammals. Second, whales have no appreciation for premium ugly stik carbon spinning technology. And third, sometimes the best fishing stories aren't about what you catch—they're about what catches you off guard.
So if you're ever feeling down about your fishing skills, just remember: somewhere out there, a guy with an ugly stik bluewater 24kg is being judged by a pod of whales. And that guy is definitely me.
Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go edit this drone footage before it goes viral for all the wrong reasons.