Catfish Rod & Reel

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BigTerp

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Considering getting another rod/reel setup or two just for catfishing. I currently have an older Ugly Stick with a Shakespeare Medalist attached that works well for catfish. But would like another setup or two to fill my rod holders when we are just targeting catfish. I have a Pfleuger President on a Berkeley Lightening Rod that I use for bass fishing and really like, but don't want to beat it up catfishing. I also use an older Mitchell reel on an ultra-lite ugly stick for bass, but it's obviously too small for catfish. Any suggestions on a cheap rod and reel, or even combo, for catfishing? I say cheap because I know it will get beat up while catfishing. Don't really want to spend a ton on a high end rod and reel and proceed to beat it up while fishing for catfish.
 
BigTerp said:
Considering getting another rod/reel setup or two just for catfishing. I currently have an older Ugly Stick with a Shakespeare Medalist attached that works well for catfish. But would like another setup or two to fill my rod holders when we are just targeting catfish. I have a Pfleuger President on a Berkeley Lightening Rod that I use for bass fishing and really like, but don't want to beat it up catfishing. I also use an older Mitchell reel on an ultra-lite ugly stick for bass, but it's obviously too small for catfish. Any suggestions on a cheap rod and reel, or even combo, for catfishing? I say cheap because I know it will get beat up while catfishing. Don't really want to spend a ton on a high end rod and reel and proceed to beat it up while fishing for catfish.

7ft Ugly Stick Catfish Rod ($30 - $40)
Any bait caster with a clicker (line out alarm). If you want to catch the bigguns...might want to look at the $100+ Abu reels.
 
I love the old Abu 5000 to 6500 paired with an ugly stick. They work well with large line. Might get a stiffer rod if your going after the big one though.

No idea how well the new ones are made now. ( there not Swedish made anymore) But there still carrying the Abu name. So I'd try one.
 
Holy cow. I ran across the new abu in the bps catalog last night. I didn't no they had gotten that high price now days. Guess that's to much for a catfish in reel.
Betting you could find some old ones on ebay.
 
RiverBottomOutdoors said:
7ft Ugly Stick Catfish Rod ($30 - $40)
Any bait caster with a clicker (line out alarm). If you want to catch the bigguns...might want to look at the $100+ Abu reels.

Any suggestions on a reasonably priced bait caster? Like I said, won't be getting anything to big on the other end. Maybe the very occasional 10-15+ lber.
 
BigTerp said:
RiverBottomOutdoors said:
7ft Ugly Stick Catfish Rod ($30 - $40)
Any bait caster with a clicker (line out alarm). If you want to catch the bigguns...might want to look at the $100+ Abu reels.

Any suggestions on a reasonably priced bait caster? Like I said, won't be getting anything to big on the other end. Maybe the very occasional 10-15+ lber.

That's kind of subjective. "Reasonable price" that is. I think the C3 and C4 are reasonably priced for a reel that will last a lifetime will little maintenance. The C3 and C4 are made in Sweden. I really like the C4 reels for big catfish.

For channels, I would go with a medium action pole. Medium-Heavy will just over power them and take the fun out of it.
 
BigTerp said:
RiverBottomOutdoors said:
7ft Ugly Stick Catfish Rod ($30 - $40)
Any bait caster with a clicker (line out alarm). If you want to catch the bigguns...might want to look at the $100+ Abu reels.

Any suggestions on a reasonably priced bait caster? Like I said, won't be getting anything to big on the other end. Maybe the very occasional 10-15+ lber.

And don't sell yourself short! :LOL2:

You will catch a record fish! :beer:
 
Find a used Abu Ambassadour 5000 or 5500.

Spend some time practicing how to cast it. I started teaching myself about 2 months ago and finally got it figured out.

I have mine on a 7ft Zebco Rhino pole, it was just a cheap heavy pole I had sitting in the closet. Its catfishing, not fly fishing.
 
Jim said:
BigTerp said:
RiverBottomOutdoors said:
7ft Ugly Stick Catfish Rod ($30 - $40)
Any bait caster with a clicker (line out alarm). If you want to catch the bigguns...might want to look at the $100+ Abu reels.

Any suggestions on a reasonably priced bait caster? Like I said, won't be getting anything to big on the other end. Maybe the very occasional 10-15+ lber.

And don't sell yourself short! :LOL2:

You will catch a record fish! :beer:

You never know...... :D
 
RiverBottomOutdoors said:
BigTerp said:
RiverBottomOutdoors said:
7ft Ugly Stick Catfish Rod ($30 - $40)
Any bait caster with a clicker (line out alarm). If you want to catch the bigguns...might want to look at the $100+ Abu reels.

Any suggestions on a reasonably priced bait caster? Like I said, won't be getting anything to big on the other end. Maybe the very occasional 10-15+ lber.

That's kind of subjective. "Reasonable price" that is. I think the C3 and C4 are reasonably priced for a reel that will last a lifetime will little maintenance. The C3 and C4 are made in Sweden. I really like the C4 reels for big catfish.

For channels, I would go with a medium action pole. Medium-Heavy will just over power them and take the fun out of it.

Thanks!!

Would those reels work well for musky as well?
 
i have two setups. one is a Abu 6501 on a Basspro 7'6" telescoping heavy action rod and my other is a Abu 7500 on a 5'6" heavy action ugly stick
 
I use a medium Berkley lightning or med Hvy paired up with a Abu 5500 but you are looking at a hundred and a half for that. Plus side is I use it for bass too.

For a cheap setup it is hard to beat the King Cat combo that Cabelas offers. I bought one and it has held up well. Can be had in a number of weights lengths and configurations. Think I paid 40 for the combo and it came with their salt striker spinning real. I also noticed Zebco and Berkley has rods available. Check out what team Catfish has to offer too.
 
7ft Med hvy to hvy Ugly stick ( $30-$45 ) and a Used Abu Garcia made in Sweden Round Reel. I suggest the 5000 - 6500 size preferably with a clicker. As far as getting a used reel goes I like pawn shops ; never truly know what there going to have in stock, plus you can look over the reel before negotiating on price ( I wouldn't pay over $65 for something even in excellent condition ).
 
I've been using 3 white Berkley 7' Big Game rods with medium action for the last 3 years. They're equipped with Bass Pro Shops CatMaxx open face reels and 20 lb Berkley Big Cat line. Poles are $20 and reels are $50. No issues yet, but haven't caught anything big enough to have me update a thing. Have reeled in 2- 20+ pounders.
 
i run a pair of 7ft uglystick catfish MH action with abu 6500's loaded with 30lb mono ....
 
For big blue cats, I run 7' Ugly Stik Tiger medium rods and 7' Tiger Lite heavy rods with Abu Garcia C3 6500 reels. 65 pound Power Pro, 3-way swivel rig, 2oz-5oz weights, 17-20lb fluoro leader, 6/0-8/0 circle hooks.
When targeting blue cats around 5 pounds, I'll use 7' Berkley Lightning MH rods with C3 4600/5500's with 12lb mono, 1oz weights, and 1/0-3/0 circle hooks.

I've got an older buddy who is essentially a fishing gear hoarder. He has bins FULL of good condition Abu reels (C3's/C4's and variants) in his garage. He sells most of them to me for $30-$40 and I've outfitted myself and all my other friends with gear from him. He's got a lot of 4600's and 5000/5500's, but is kind of limited on 6000/6500's.
If anyone needs a TinBoats.net hookup, let me know! I'll start a thread in the FS section tonight and post some pictures.
 

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