Recommended rods for catfishing

Last summer i started actively pursuing catfish in my area. Mostly channels, if not all was what i caught, this year i want to expand on that and go after blues and flatheads. Now the rod i used was not picked out for catfishing but was the sturdiest rod i had. 7' Abu Garcia MH fast action rod with 8-14lb test. Granted i switched between 20lb mono and braided line on my reels for that rod. Short story, the tip of the Vendetta broke off mid summer and i finally got rid of it after it got too cold to go fishing again.

Now i am looking for a new rod. The Vendetta had no problem handling the smaller channels, even the 16lb channel was easy (the tip was broken by this point). So i want something more sturdy that will be able to handle the blues and flatheads this summer. So I am curious what brands should i look for when choosing a new rod for catfishing?

And yes, I will be getting a little heavier of a mono and braided line for the reel and backup spool. Oh, and it is a spinning reel.

Or would it be easier to try and find a salt water rod?

I don't know about Nebraska, but here in Ohio, the best catfish gear is sold at paylakes that specialize in trophy sized blues and shovels. I use a couple of heavy 7' catfish rods with spinning reels. I bought my other half a 10' Diawa catfish/surf combo for his last birthday. The spinning reel has a bait clicker on it, which is nice when fishing in the dark. A lot of the serious cat fishermen we see prefer the 10' - 12' surf rods with baitcasting reels. We spool up with 30# Big Game mono since the lake we go to doesn't permit braid. If we're just out on our local state lake, we fish for channels with our bass gear and my husband has landed a 25" channel on pretty light gear.

Interesting, I have a baitcasting switch on my spinning reel as well. I use it regardless of it being night or day. I can just toss the bait out there, click it on, sit back and relax until spool starts clicking. Normally i have it on its lowest setting, so the most subtle hit will alert me and i don't have an issue with it spitting the bait back out because it is too tight. However i do believe i will change that sort of thinking from now on. As last summer, something, most likely a very large catfish, grabbed my bait and took off with it so fast the line ended up birdnesting and getting tangled in the first loop on the pole before i had time to even grab it. It broke the 10lb mono line, and that is when i opted to for heavier line and fine tuning the resistance on the baitcaster switch.

I might have found a rod. Shimano Talavera 7' MH Fast action rod with 14-30lb test. $90. Which is just about as much as i spent on the Vendetta. I can't fit a rod over 8' in my car and I'm not a very big fan of two piece rods.

For the last 5 or 6 years, I've used the BPS Graphite series 7'6" muskie rods. They work great, detect the bite well, and will handle bigger fish. You can catch them on sale every now and again for 35 or 40 bucks.

Get you a Shakespear ugly stick. Won't have to worry about breaking it.

Ugly Stick Tiger rods

FYI - The Daiwa I bought is a Sealine Surfrod (2 piece) paired with a Daiwa Regal 5000 BRI spinning reel. Price was a little over $100. He sets the drag so that live bait doesn't set off the clicker, but chirps if a cat picks it up. Too loose and a large live bait will be half way down the lake. One of the combos I use is an inexpensive Southbend spinning rod/reel. A couple of years ago, I wasn't paying attention to my glow stick while we were loading the truck and saw it take off across the lake. Long story short, got the rod, reel and 15# blue in, no damage done. Reel just needed a little cleaning and new line.

The heaviest BPS graphite rod i have seen in the store was 4-12lb test.

Ugly Stick was the first one i looked at, maximum on that is 20lb test.

Since my Okuma Avenger came with two spools, one has 20lb mono and I just put 30lb braid on the other today.

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Originally Posted by ChrisCarter

The heaviest BPS graphite rod i have seen in the store was 4-12lb test.

Ugly Stick was the first one i looked at, maximum on that is 20lb test.

Since my Okuma Avenger came with two spools, one has 20lb mono and I just put 30lb braid on the other today.

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Not sure the line rating, 7'6" heavy action rods, I usually use 20lb. mono, have caught plenty of 20lb/+ fish with them.

Yea, the guy at the store convinced me its not the matter of the test line on the pole, but rather what kind of line you use. Made sense when he said the fish doesn't break the rod, the person holding the rod breaks it. So I went with another Abu Garcia Vendetta.

Pretty much all of my rods besides jigging poles and fly rods are ugly sticks. I have bought all kinds of rods, the ugly sticks have survived.

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Originally Posted by cray

Get you a Shakespear ugly stick. Won't have to worry about breaking it.

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I have tw0 of the ugly stick catfish (white) rods with abu -garcia reels . great setup .jmo.

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Originally Posted by eagle 1

I have tw0 of the ugly stick catfish (white) rods with abu -garcia reels . great setup .jmo.

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yep.....hard to beat

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Originally Posted by BillyB

Ugly Stick Tiger rods

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I also use a pair of Shakspeare Tiger rods, each 7 foot long medium/medium-heavy. I bought the rods as a combo with the Shakspeare Tiger spinning reels. The reels I have spools up with Berkley Big Cat 40 lb line. The line is mono but I'm considering possibly switching to a braid line this next summer.

My favorite is a 13ft Meat Hunter with an Ambassadeur 7000 spooled with 30# pink Andy. Always after the big cats!

ugly stick catfish ,will get the job done .:popcorn

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Originally Posted by eagle 1

I have tw0 of the ugly stick catfish (white) rods with abu -garcia reels . great setup .jmo.

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Yessir, that's what I use too

I love my meat hunter, light weight and sensitive but still E-glass so its really strong. have an okuma pro XS in it with 120lb tug of war braid. I use this pole mostly for drift fishing the missouri and mississippi rivers. I also have 4 10ft berkley glow sticks and use them several times a week for the past 7 years and love them, too. you can lean all your weight on a glowstick and not break them, but they are less sensitive and weigh more. have shakespear tide waters on the glow sticks and 50lb berkley big game. I use these rods for anchor fishing in hard current. they have been very good rod/reel combo's. also have a couple of berkley big game spinning rods with shimano reels on them, great for medium duty catfishing. my next rods will either be War rods or Surge elite's. both have aluminum reel seats and rings and stainless guides. great rods!
I know most of you are asking why these super heavy set-ups for fish mostly under 30lbs.... well the current I deal with requires really heavy weights and it takes a serious rod to cast 2lbs of lead+ 1lb of bait. on top of that, I fish waters where I might catch a fish over 100lbs and I want to have a fighting chance when that pig eats my skipjack. :yikes

I really like the white Ugly Stik Catfish rods. You can get the 1 piece 7' MH model in casting or spinning or the 2 piece 8' MH model in casting or spinning. I'd rather have the 7 footer, but the 8 footers break down for storage, so I got one of the 8' in spinning and another 8' in casting. Okuma ABF Avenger 50 on the spinner and Abu 6000 on the spinner.

Ugly Stick Tiger Rods are the only way to go. Not expensive and excellent rods. Have hauled in numerous fish over 80 pounds with them including sturgeon, catfish and spoonbill.

I've always liked the Ugly Stik Catfish rods. I have several 7 to 8 footers, both spinning and baitcasting. I prefer the spinning rods for more delicate presentations like dip bait and usually use 20 lb mono on them. My 8 foot baitcasters are spooled with 65 to 80 lb braid on 6500 c3s. Team Catfish has a line of rods that are getting popular around here now. I plan to try the Catfish Warrior line soon.

The ugly stik tiger is the best rod for under 60.00 out there. If you are after a monster cat, I would go with a war rod for about 110.00 that com in a R1(heavy) and R2(med/heavy) and a Tangling with Catfish Extreme(heavy) rod for about 90.00. They are beast rods and could bring in the next world record cat I believe. Everything about them scream quality! It depends what you want to put into it. A Tiger med/heavy rod will just about do the same for less. They have been around for a long time because of their reputation as great catfish rods.

what billp said

I use Ugly Stiks exclusively.

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Originally Posted by crappiemandan

I also use a pair of Shakspeare Tiger rods, each 7 foot long medium/medium-heavy. I bought the rods as a combo with the Shakspeare Tiger spinning reels. The reels I have spools up with Berkley Big Cat 40 lb line. The line is mono but I'm considering possibly switching to a braid line this next summer.

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I have the same set up but not particularly happy with the reel. I also have 2 Quantam 7' w/Q spinning reels I've had for 15 years. These 2 are pretty versatile for fishing lakes and rivers. I use 20lb line on all of them and have not hook too big of a fish yet.

There are many catfish specific rods out there. I like an 8' MH rod. Ugly Stick Catfish rods work well. BPS sells a CatMaxx rod, but have heard the line guides aren't very good. Here is a site with most all the catfish rods on the market.
http://g4wildamerica.blogspot.com/20...action_21.html

Yea I ran into a USAF security forces guy at a local lake who had one he bought back in Oregon and used it for salmon fishing, sold it to me for $40 plus the reel. It was a good deal, seeing how it was already spooled with 50lb test and I had the same reel on another rod that I paid $120 for. I loved the Ugly Stik catfish rod so much, i bought another one and put that other reel on it.

I ordered a Silvercat and Magnum rod from B&M today. Will see how they work.

B n M silver cat all the way.

go with the ugly stick- white catfish or tiger- I got 8 of 'em & love 'em

We sell a lot of okuma battle cats around here. They are a great rod

I have a couple of cheap surf rods with spinning reels on them that have been giving mr good service for this purpose.