Thread: 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.

Originally Posted by cray

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

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

Originally Posted by eagle 1

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

yep.....hard to beat

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.

Originally Posted by BillyB

Ugly Stick Tiger rods

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.