Old Rod, What Should I Set It Up For?

[aquaholic]

I have an old spincast rod thats 6'6" medium heavy action.  Its got an extremely long handle which makes it a real pain to fish it for a long time. I was thinking about putting a conventional reel on it and using it for night catfishing. Would the fact that its a spincast rod and the guides are (im assuming) bigger than normal casting rods cause any issue? Im not looking too cast any extreme distances or anything.

[Fishes in trees]

I vote catfish gear.  Everyone needs a good set of catfish gear.  I seldom go cat fishing, but when I do I don't want to spend half an hour or more going through my shop putting suitable gear together.  So, I keep everything separate and ready to go.  Rods hanging on the wall ( wrapped in plastic)  Everything else kept in the catfish gear tote, ready to go. Tackle bag with hooks & weights, stringer, rod holders, etc.  Reels spooled & oiled, wrapped in paper towels inside a zip lock bag, etc.   I might go a couple of years without going cat fishing, but when it is time to go, I am ready.

 

Take the time now and put a dedicated catfish gear box together and then you don't have to worry about it anymore, just grab the tote and go.

[lmbfisherman]

I don't have much experience with spincast rods other than buying one for my kids.  I guess if you really don't care what happens to the rod, don't see the harm in trying it.

[aquaholic]

I vote catfish gear.  Everyone needs a good set of catfish gear.  I seldom go cat fishing, but when I do I don't want to spend half an hour or more going through my shop putting suitable gear together.  So, I keep everything separate and ready to go.  Rods hanging on the wall ( wrapped in plastic)  Everything else kept in the catfish gear tote, ready to go. Tackle bag with hooks & weights, stringer, rod holders, etc.  Reels spooled & oiled, wrapped in paper towels inside a zip lock bag, etc.   I might go a couple of years without going cat fishing, but when it is time to go, I am ready.

 

Take the time now and put a dedicated catfish gear box together and then you don't have to worry about it anymore, just grab the tote and go.

this is probably what ill end up doing im just worried the guides may cause some issues. Guess ill have to try it out and see.

[Capt.Bob]

I think you mean you have a spinning rod, if it was a spincasting rod it has the same handle and eyes as a casting rod.  If it is a spinning rod I would put a spinning reel on it, If a casting rod,,,,I would use either a casting reel or a spincast reel. My catfish setups are an old bionic blade 6'6" casting rod and a 6'6" old Abu Garcia Gold Max, both MH with 30 year old 5500c Ambassador's, and one old 6'6" Bionic Blade spinning rod with a Stradic 4000 FI. All these rods are the older IM-6 rods and still catch'n fish.

[aquaholic]

this is the only picture i could find of the same model on ebay. I was under the impression that a rod equiped with a spincast reel had to have bigger guides on it? If not then ive been concerned over nothing

[new2BC4bass]

I only have one spincast rod.  A Daiwa Mini Cast from over 30 years ago.  The guides are larger than on a baitcast rod, but not as big as a spinning rod.  I don't see that it would matter much if they were since you aren't interested in maximum casting distance.  I am like you in that I hate having gear sitting around that doesn't get used.  I see no reason why it wouldn't work just fine as a catfish rod.  That longer handle could be put to good use on a huge catfish. 

[aquaholic]

I only have one spincast rod.  A Daiwa Mini Cast from over 30 years ago.  The guides are larger than on a baitcast rod, but not as big as a spinning rod.  I don't see that it would matter much if they were since you aren't interested in maximum casting distance.  I am like you in that I hate having gear sitting around that doesn't get used.  I see no reason why it wouldn't work just fine as a catfish rod.  That longer handle could be put to good use on a huge catfish. 

ya thats exactly what i thought. The pole just screams catfishing to me. Now i just need to figure out a good conventional reel to go with.

[new2BC4bass]

Make it an aluminum frame/side plate reel as catfish can get HUGE depending on where you live.  How much are you looking to spend on a reel?  Catfish pole is one place an Abu Garcia round reel would shine.  Not that they can't also shine for regular bass fishing.  I have some Black Max 1600 reels that will throw a light lure into a strong wind with less trouble than many low profiles reels.  Definitely not a catfish reel, tho.

 

Do you want a low profile or round reel?

[aquaholic]

round reel, I dont have any of those yet. And the features i really want are a line out alarm and the ability for it to free spin. Dont really have any price range but id like to keep it under 100 if possible.

[Capt.Bob]

That would be a casting rod, and I would put an ambassador on it, a 5000, 5500, or even a 6000 or a 6500, any of them will handle any catfish, and can easily be had used for less than half of that. Auction sights are full of them and parts are a dime a dozen, they are tanks, maybe not the smoothest thing around, but inexpensive and just keep on going! It will work great with any casting reel you put on it, but those are classics! 

[new2BC4bass]

Search        catfish forums       and see what others are using.

[5dollarsplash]

That would be a casting rod, and I would put an ambassador on it, a 5000, 5500

 

This.  I wouldn't go with the larger ones unless you really need that line capacity.  You can find them at great prices used, and the older models are tanks.  Take a look at the Abu C3 if you want new, for muskie folks around me they seem to prefer it to the C4.

[Dwight Hottle]

round reel, I dont have any of those yet. And the features i really want are a line out alarm and the ability for it to free spin. Dont really have any price range but id like to keep it under 100 if possible.

 

Take a look at the flea market forum. There is a okoma induron 250a on sale for $45. That would make a good cat fish combo for you, inexpensively.