Catfish Rods?

[CJIII]

I have a Abu 6500C3 that use for catfishing. I have it mounted on a 7' White Ugly Stik Catfish Rod which I dont like its heavy, you cant feel the bites, plus it catch more turtles than catfish. I am looking for a better rod, that I can feel the bites and lighter weight. I am looking the St Croix Premier MH Rods. Some day I may wont to use the reel for other speices of fish.

[fishingkidPA]

IMO you dont need to feel the bittes for cats. I use an old med. action ugly stick spinning rod. Its a beater and i use it alot for carp/cats. I've never had to feel a bite for catfish. they usually just run with the bait so keep an open bail or super loose drag.

[Stasher1]

Honestly, I don't think you'll find a much better rod for catfish than an Ugly Stick.

[fishingkidPA]

Honestly, I don't think you'll find a much better rod for catfish than an Ugly Stick.

x2

[clayton86]

x3

IMO you dont need to feel the bittes for cats. I use an old med. action ugly stick spinning rod. Its a beater and i use it alot for carp/cats. I've never had to feel a bite for catfish. they usually just run with the bait so keep an open bail or super loose drag.

same here I usually cast it out sit back and wait to see my rod go flying across the bank.....ok maybe not that drastic but u sure don't miss the bite and we have small channel cats where I fish like 6lbs is a good one i use the little glow stick on the rod tip and usually catch it out a my periferal vision

[CJIII]

Maybe I am fishing in the wrong hole. I have had a Channel Catfish make my clicker sing. I also might be using the wrong bait.

[PondHunter]

If you are catching turtles, try a larger hook. Catfish have a fairly large mouth. Circle hooks work well too.

[CJIII]

Ok thanks!

[fishingkidPA]

are you fishing under a bobber or on the bottom? if your on a bobber just try on the bottom or bottom to bobber. it may help deter the turtles from biting but ive never had that problem.

also since you said you were going to use the rod you wanted to buy for other species, you could buy a medium action spinning/baitcasting rod and fish for bass while your waiting for your catfish rod to get a bite. that's usually what i do.

[CJIII]

I fish on the bottom. I just order a Abu 4600C3 for bass fishing, I am planning on getting a St Croix Premier med action rod to go on it.

[Hyrule Bass]

i have an 8ft MH ugly stik catfish spinning rod and it works great for me. its paired with a Penn Captiva CV2 6000. To say you cant feel the bites is mind boggling because i have no problem detecting a bite on it. catfish give good solid yanks on it, i usually just prop mine up on something or have it in a rod holder. perhaps youre just not getting any bites.

also the rod has nothing to do with catching turtles or catfish. in fact, i see that as maybe your number one problem right there. if youre fishing an area loaded with turtles, you might as well move on to another spot because the fish arent there most times, and if they are, the turtles are beating them to your bait. ive even seen this in large lakes like Smith Mountain Lake in VA. one time night fishing with my brother in law, nothing was biting but this big monster turtle, poor guy had like 8 hooks in his mouth by the end of the night. i was not about to try and get my hooks out of the mouth of this thing, especially with it ticked off and hissing at us. we had night crawlers for bait, and a bunch of 2-4 inch bluegill we caught in the cast night trying to get some alewives or shad. turtle bit on both of them and no fish were biting. next night he was gone and the fish were on...try a new location...

catfishing isnt bass fishing, i wouldnt even worry about sensitivity and weight when catfishing. i prefer heavier gear to drive the hooks home when i get a bite, plus when you got the chance for a really big fish it helps to be prepared. although you can land huge cats on lightweight gear, id prefer not to...

[0119]

I catfish with a Premier MH cause thats what I already have and Im wishing for a rod with a softer tip. St. Croix's MH is like everybody elses Hvy anyway. Its too hard to keep bait on the hook on the cast. Try a slip float or check out the european rigs in In-Fisherman. They keep your bait just alittle off the bottom and help alot with turtles.

[CJIII]

I been looking at the St Croix Premier 6,6'' MH model.

[Mountain Angler]

In my opinion ugly sticks are one of the best for catfish and you let them run with your bait man you have a fine setup

[Stasher1]

If you're just looking to save some weight, you could try the Ugly Stick Lite or the Shimano Voltaeus. If you use a circle hook, you won't have to worry about feeling the bite. They'll take the bait and hook themselves when they run.

[CJIII]

Maybe but I really got a bad taste for Ugly Stiks!

[Hyrule Bass]

i'll be laughing if a 50lb flattie or blue breaks your st croix

[Bluebasser86]

Catfish were my first love in fishing, grew up catching them in my grandpa's pond. I like how simple you can keep things and still catch lots of them. If you're fishing for for channels under 10lbs I'd suggest going to spinning gear. My channel cat rods are both 7' M ugly stick lites with Okuma 30 size baitfeeder reels. This is a great setup as the soft tips really show every little tap but have plenty of backbone to fight any channel cat you're going to hook in most bodies of water. My river rods vary by river/type of catfish I'm after. For flatheads I've got a St.Croix Classic Cat with a Calcutta 400B and a 7' XH/F custom built rod with a Penn 209 to handle big baits and big fish in nasty places. You won't be able to notice many small fish pecking your bait though. My rods for blues are a 7' Tica, 8' Whoppin stick, and 12' Whoppin stick. All of them are spinning rods with Okuma baitfeeders in 50, 65, and 90 sizes and are good for lobbing cutbait long distances and fighting big fish in current.

Give a medium or medium heavy Ugly Stick Lite and a spinning reel a try for channels and I think you'll be much happier than you are with what you have now. Keep that one for bigger cats and bigger baits though, that's a good setup for sure.

[bwell]

I had on a HUGE blue cat once, about 35-40llbs while trying to catch some bait fish with my 6'6" M Ugly stick lite. I have never seen a rod bend like that and not break lol. I honestly thought that rod was going to snap back in my face after it shattered but it held up great, Its the only rod I will use for cats.

[CJIII]

Would the St Croix Musky Rods work?

[tomustang]

Would the St Croix Musky Rods work?

The regular premier MH would work, I put mine through hell and back on huge fighting carp, even brought in some logs heh. those premiers are tough

I'd stick with an ugly stick, bit bigger in size though.

[CJIII]

I have not caught many big catfish thou. I really would like to find me a St Croix Classic Catfish Rod.