Uploaded November 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
When Shakespear came out with the Ugly stick, my mom bought me the 5' 2 pieces for Christmas I believe. That was way back in about 1978 or so. I soon saved and bought another, at Gemco, in Fullerton, CA. It was a one piece 5' Ultra lite and paired it first with a Sigma 035 reel I bought at a tackle shop in Lahabra called bait and tackle. It was us locals go to shop. Later I paired my Sigma reel with a Kencore super ultra-lite 3' rod. My all-time favorite combo.
Kencore was a soul owned rod company run from a storage unit in LaMirada. Not allot of people know this. The owner was an Asian guy, I can't remember his name. I met him at Hooker Tackle the 1st time, located first in Lahabra, where the cat in the custard cup is now. It had a 10' sword fish on the roof to get noticed. Mostly salt water, Kencore had a saltwater line, and he supplied them. They he supplied Savon tackle in Santa Fe Springs. They were his real business, as they stocked a number of sizes and styles of his rods. Also, Turners carried his line for a couple years.
The guy could never keep up with demand. He took on a few guys and ran for a decade or so, then retired. I went to his storage unit, and he sold me a 4' 2 piece to go with my 3' one piece. That rod fished all over ca, my grampas area in Arizona and was my prized position. I gave it to my brother's son when he started going off on his own riding a bike or skateboard to my local fishing hole. It seemed the right thing to do. I saw myself in him.
I then fished my Daiwa 500c on my ugly stick and broke a 12-year record at Parris Lake with a 13" very thick Bluegill on the marina. Pity it only lasted 2 months, Now the record is about 3.25 pounds there. But, to a few still alive, they know at a spell, I was on top. I was in 8th grade, when we use to ride our bikes from Brea, just west of the mall, to Savon Tackle and it was usually just for these micro bobbers they sell. They could be found NOWHERE ELSE. Along with a small lead jig with feathers that weighed 1/132 of an ounce and was smaller than a dime. The bluegill, crappie and bass, could not resist them. They came 1 at a time, in a see thru plastic tube with a white cap. Displayed in a 5-tier plexiglass case. For $1.79 at first, then $2.50, (mind you, minimum wage was $3.30 at the time). Now days, Turners is the ONLY place they can be found and its rare. The one on Willow in L.B. is the best shot.
I could go on and on this subject! I remember it all, as if it were yesterday. But it's been 45 years! Most of the people who we on the in, back then, are in the GONE now days. It was about a 5 or 6 hour turn around on our old BMX bikes. Thats including time to investigate creek beds along the way for bait, crawdads, minnows etc. and grabbing something to eat, which was usually a K-Mart sub for $.88 cents and an cherry Icee. Yeah, those days hold me together even now, almost a half century later. I miss those day, the fishing, the friends, the adventures. Tech your children to fish. Let them possibly tap into some of the GOLD, I have experience in my day.
When Shakespear came out with the Ugly stick, my mom bought me the 5' 2 pieces for Christmas I believe. That was way back in about 1978 or so. I soon saved and bought another, at Gemco, in Fullerton, CA. It was a one piece 5' Ultra lite and paired it first with a Sigma 035 reel I bought at a tackle shop in Lahabra called bait and tackle. It was us locals go to shop. Later I paired my Sigma reel with a Kencore super ultra-lite 3' rod. My all-time favorite combo.
Kencore was a soul owned rod company run from a storage unit in LaMirada. Not allot of people know this. The owner was an Asian guy, I can't remember his name. I met him at Hooker Tackle the 1st time, located first in Lahabra, where the cat in the custard cup is now. It had a 10' sword fish on the roof to get noticed. Mostly salt water, Kencore had a saltwater line, and he supplied them. They he supplied Savon tackle in Santa Fe Springs. They were his real business, as they stocked a number of sizes and styles of his rods. Also, Turners carried his line for a couple years.
The guy could never keep up with demand. He took on a few guys and ran for a decade or so, then retired. I went to his storage unit, and he sold me a 4' 2 piece to go with my 3' one piece. That rod fished all over ca, my grampas area in Arizona and was my prized position. I gave it to my brother's son when he started going off on his own riding a bike or skateboard to my local fishing hole. It seemed the right thing to do. I saw myself in him.
I then fished my Daiwa 500c on my ugly stick and broke a 12-year record at Parris Lake with a 13" very thick Bluegill on the marina. Pity it only lasted 2 months, Now the record is about 3.25 pounds there. But, to a few still alive, they know at a spell, I was on top. I was in 8th grade, when we use to ride our bikes from Brea, just west of the mall, to Savon Tackle and it was usually just for these micro bobbers they sell. They could be found NOWHERE ELSE. Along with a small lead jig with feathers that weighed 1/132 of an ounce and was smaller than a dime. The bluegill, crappie and bass, could not resist them. They came 1 at a time, in a see thru plastic tube with a white cap. Displayed in a 5-tier plexiglass case. For $1.79 at first, then $2.50, (mind you, minimum wage was $3.30 at the time). Now days, Turners is the ONLY place they can be found and its rare. The one on Willow in L.B. is the best shot.
I could go on and on this subject! I remember it all, as if it were yesterday. But it's been 45 years! Most of the people who we on the in, back then, are in the GONE now days. It was about a 5 or 6 hour turn around on our old BMX bikes. Thats including time to investigate creek beds along the way for bait, crawdads, minnows etc. and grabbing something to eat, which was usually a K-Mart sub for $.88 cents and an cherry Icee. Yeah, those days hold me together even now, almost a half century later. I miss those day, the fishing, the friends, the adventures. Tech your children to fish. Let them possibly tap into some of the GOLD, I have experience in my day.
