Is there a rod that is not like fishing with a broom stick my Berkley big game are just like a brook stick
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Is there a rod that is not like fishing with a broom stick my Berkley big game are just like a brook stick
What size cats are you targeting? Almost any light to medium spinning rod will handle cats up to about ten pounds. I’ve caught lots of 3-5 pounders on UL rods.
Ugly Stiks make good catfish rods.
I agree. When you are using a "dedicated catfish rod", you're talking about some pretty decent sized fish. If all you are targeting are "eating sized" catfish, then you shouldn't be using a rod labeled "catfish". You are much better off with bass or walleye sized tackle (including reels and line).Quote:
Originally Posted by deathb4disco
You can get the berkley big game rods in lighter action. That is what I use. I like the lighter action for striper fishing and works good on cats. I have caught two over 50 lbs this year so they can still handle the big uns. You can order them from walmart. I think it is the 7.5 medium action.
Honestly for eating-sized cats I use a crappie rod. Or a 9 wt fly rod blank that I've built into a spinning rod. Even a salmon/steelhead rod is better for most catfishing than dedicated catfish rod. Most catmen use too heavy of gear. A catfish a super fun fish to finesse fish with.
Yep. I regular see guys catfishing with rods that could land small sharks.Quote:
Originally Posted by funbun
Never ceases to amaze me.
I think most of those you are seeing can be divided into two camps. First is perhaps like the original poster who gets "fooled" into thinking that they need a "catfish" rod just for eating sized catfish. The second is those who are genuinely hoping that all of their catfish are 30+lb flatheads.Quote:
Originally Posted by deathb4disco
Agreed. I match my tackle to what I'm likely to catch, not for the monster I might catch. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by DoyleAlley
I usually catch 2 to 5 lbs ever once in a while 10 lbs
I use a couple of 9' medium actioned ugly sticks for catfish. They are actually pretty sensitive showing hits and catching bait robbing dink bluegill & perch while catfishing.
Ugly sticks "CATFISH " comes in a 7 ft medium action .
Thanks everyone finding a rod right now is about like trying to find tackle sold out
Time to build your own.Quote:
Originally Posted by no luck
I have no ideal how to build oneQuote:
Originally Posted by funbun
https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...g+rod+buildingQuote:
Originally Posted by no luck
I like the Catfish Ugly Stiks 2pc 8ft med.hvy, they're great for catfish 2#-70# as well as well as stripers, then there is the Kast King Brutus MH 8' 2pc fast tip and a little more sensitive than the ugly stik. Most of the stores within a 60 mile radius of me are sold out. I'm sure something will be available on Amazon just have to wait a bit. We never know what size were going to catch around here.
BP Graphite or Berkley Lightning Rod -- $35:
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This is an old thread, but hopefully it will help someone else down the road
I fished for catfish growing up. I fished farm ponds, where a 5 pounder was a monster. For those, whatever cheap rod I could find worked.
If you are looking for big cats >10pounds, get a fiberglass rod. Anything MH or a strong medium will work. Academy had such rods for $8 or so 15 years ago. They were nothing exciting, but were cheap and strong. You can spend over $150 on a catfish rod if you so desire, but there are a lot of great options from $60-90. You don't NEED those rods, but they are built for 25+ pounders and should be able to bring in a world record size if needed.
For a little less money, the Ugly Stick gx2 seems like a super solid rod. I don't know how heavy the power is, but Luke from Catfish and Carp on youtube did a couple of videos trying to break one. The videos were interesting. He broke a penn battle 2 (I think) reel trying to break the rod.
On the low end, the h2o express from academy for $15 is a place to start. It won't be light nor terribly sensitive, but it will do the job. You can go up in price from there.
The "trophy cat" youtube peeps talk about needing an aluminum reel seat (yeah, because the blank plus a plastic reel seat is going to be where the rod breaks. Lol. Oh, and thick, stainless guides because "there are no inserts to break" -- again, clearly a huge issue. Lol. They also talk about 80 pound leaders and 60 pound main lines. It's like chasing bluegill with a medium rod and 15# mono... It will get the job done, but it's overkill.
One thing that's good is a baitclicker because you aren't doing "cast and retrieve", but rather "cast and rightline and wait".
What makes a "catfish" better? Traditional fiberglass is heavy and not terribly sensitive. S-glass is lighter and almost as strong, and offers more sensitivity. S-glass/graphite composite makes it even lighter and more sensitive. Nicer handles cost more, aluminum reel seats cost more, double locking rings on the reel seat, heavy duty guides, glow-in-the-dark rod tips, etc... They all cost more.
The original b 'n m Silver Cat is supposed to be a good priced entry into "catfish specific" rods. They have the silver car elite and silver cat magnum which will cost more. When you get up into the $60+ range, you have a lot of options -- most of which you can't find in your favorite retailer. These include brands like Rippin Lips, Whisker Seeker, Tangling with cats, muddy river catfishing, and a few others that are slipping my mind.
I hope this helps someone.
I've got several casting rods for cats. We get channel's here up to about 6# and I like my Round reels and 6'6" rods. One of my favorites surprised me. Got it off Amazon for under $20. Berkley Cherrywood Med action. Most other's ate about 6'^" also and either med Lt or med One med heavy and it works fine. Using up the last of my 14# line and going to stick to 10# and might have a little 12# to use up still.
I use the ugly stick catfish (white rod ) or the newer medium action ones . B/m has one that I like with a thin handle that also is medium weight .
Hard to beat those Cherrywood rodsQuote:
Originally Posted by Don Fischer
For eatin cats I just use a medium rod with a spinning reel.
I have two different sets of catfishing rods. One for the eating sized (which I rarely use) and the other set are my striper rods with 10/0 hooks loaded for big catfish. I love feeling the pull of those big catfish...and especially love seeing the takedown. It can get pretty hard getting the rod out of the holder if the fish is big enough. HA!:)
I will have to say though...it's more about the reel than it is the rod. With 10/0 circle hooks the rod loads up and the pressure sets the hook for you so bigger fish might need a bit stiffer rod. On smaller catfish you set the hook generally so lighter rods detects a lighter bite better. Ive caught striper in the 10-15 lb range with crappie equipment. You just gotta have decent reels with the drag set right.
I'm really only interested in eating size fish, up to around 6#. My rods are all med action 6' to 7' and recomended line weight up to 17#. Biggest fish I ever caught was right at 25#, salmon in the ocean. Got it on my Berkley Lighting Rod. have a couple Berkley Cherrystone rods I really like also. Someone already said it, match the rod to the size fish your hoping for. With cats thats a pretty big gap. I get bullheads up to about 12" and have a fairly light set up for them using a low pro level wind reel. For channels where I'm at it seem's that 6# is a big fish. That is reflected in the equipment I use. But I've heard they get up to 50# maybe more in the Columbia River and the Resivor over near Richland. Still I'll use the equipment I have and hope for eating size fish. On the off chance I might want to try to catch a big fish I go to my sturgeon rod; match the rod to the size fish you want to catch.My sturgeon set up will certainly handle even a 100# fish and my med action rods will handle anything I'm targeting!
FYI The world record blue cat caught at Buggs Island here in Va weighed 143 lbs and was caught on an Ugly Stick with a Shimano reel and 30 lb test line.
I have my ABU 6500 on a 7' berkley Lighting rod, medium action. Biggest fish I've caught on it was a 25# salmon out in the oceaan. I suspect it would also handle a 25# cat. Have two shakespere ugly sticks, 6', med action I put low profile reels on just for bull heads but I suspect they would handle decent size eater cats also. For most fish I like 6' tp 7' med action rods. Spinning would probably work with them to but all my spinning stuff except a couple are UL rods. To slow I think for bigger fish even if I was to try them. If I were targeting fish bigger than 25# to 30# or so, I have a 7' rod I got just for sturgeon with 80# braid on it. If all I had was the sturgeon rod I'm pretty sure I could catch 3# cats with it! :-)
Nothing like an old ABU.
Lots of them. Just depends on what size fish your targeting or expect to get. I don't think about big cats much, I want eater's. My heaviest rod for them is about a ned action rod. Bet it's heavy enough for 20# cats as I got 25# salmon on it!Quote:
Originally Posted by no luck
I have one dedicated catfish rod for when I travel to look for big critters,however most of my catfishing is for bullheads,the biggest bull you’ll get is around seven lbs,the average is much lighter so any good med. bass rod or even panfish rod is all you’ll ever need here and if you play a big one right you can still win.Quote:
Originally Posted by DonF
I load most of my poles with green 20 lb braid except the couple ultralights I have ,this the same size as about 8 lb mono so line breaking is not a worry usually.and most of my poles are Mitchell 300’s ( French made)older Penns ,newer ones are Pfluegers,and two bait casters ,a Kastking,and a Lews combo I just bought,they are all pretty capable rigs!better at bringing fish in than I am at finding them sometimes!
I'm in the market for a couple of matching catfish rods/reels myself for bluecat drift fishing on the Ohio river. Currently undecided on the reels but I believe the rods will be BnM Silver Cat Elite.
I have one dedicated catfish rod for if I travel to look for big critters,however most of my catfishing is for eating size bullheads,the biggest bull you’ll get is around seven lbs,the average is much lighter so any good med. bass rod or even panfish rod is all you’ll ever need here and if you play a big one right you can still win.Quote:
Originally Posted by DonF
I load most of my poles with green 20 lb braid except the couple ultralights I have ,this the same size as about 8 lb mono so line breaking is not a worry usually.and most of my poles are Mitchell 300’s ( French made)older Penns ,newer ones are Pfluegers,and two bait casters ,a Kastking,and a Lews combo I just bought,they are all pretty capable rigs!better at bringing fish in than I am at finding them sometimes!
I reccomend a big cat fever or whisker seeker,I have the BCF and it is truly built like a tank, mine is a med.hvy spinning rod,but if I buy another I’ll get a baitcaster style rod and top it with a Penn conventional or a good low profile bait caster .Withthat you shouldn’t have to worry about any catfish you hook.
I'm not reallyinto low profile casting rods but I did get two ust for bullheads. Filled both with 6# line and have themon Ugly Stick ^' med action castingrods. I'd use them for small mouth bass also. Likr especially round casting reels but other than my ABU 2500 all are pretty good size!Quote:
Originally Posted by shootrj2003
We fish for giant catfish and giant gar 5ft+ in rivers full of heavy debris. We use swimbait rods and surf rods. Attachment 464779Attachment 464783Attachment 464782Attachment 464780Attachment 464781
Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk
Yeah, you gotta go heavy if you have to pull'em out of a lot of brush. The rivers here in Alabama are so smooth you can catch most cats on 8 lbs mono.
Unless I go north to the big lakes or to the Delaware river,this is the biggest bull head I’ve ever come aroundAttachment 464835
ugly stix medium action .
Don't need no stinkin' rod!
Attachment 464873
Ugly sticks are among my favorite rods ,I always had at least one since they came out - in the 70-80’s? A friend told me “ You gotta get one ,Bro!” So I did ,with a used Mitchel 300 which I believe is among the ones I still own.
There is a problem with cat's I think. Seems like they come in size extra small to excessively large. the rods I use where I fish are mostly med action and 6.5-7'. biggest I've got was 8 1/2#. Smallest maybe 1 1/2#. Using rods heavier seem to me like using a winch! Then we do have lots of bullheads near here and I set up some with low profile reels and 6# line for the bullheads and small mouth bass. two are Shakespere Ugly Stix and one is a Daiwa strike force. All are 6' and med action. Truth be known I actually have a lot more rod/reels than I need. Sometimes I take my ABU 2500 on a 6 1/2' rod for bullheads. Works fine but somewhat more fun with the low pro reels.Quote:
Originally Posted by no luck
You should set up your rod and reel to handle the fish you hope to catch!