catfish combos?

[ohihunter2014]

what's your catfish setup? I went a few years ago targeting them in a lake Erie tributary and got a couple fish Ohio channel cats on a 6ft medium ugly stick and what a fight but I was scared the rod was going to obliterate! I was looking at an ugly stick 7ft medium/heavy with a 50 size spinning reel today but if I went for larger cats such as big channels and flatheads would that be too light?

[frosty]

I don't have a catfish setup as I normally don't target them but imho, an ugly stick would be ideal for catfish. They are seriously indestructible! I saw a video of a guy online trying to break one, it was pretty amazing the amount of things it would pick up!

[bigfruits]

i just use one of my heavy bass rods.

[JustJames]

I bought one of those 7' MH ugly stick catfish rod pair with shimano nexave 4000 size for my brother in law. It is good and affordable but quite heavy for my liking. Myself I have shimano crucial inshore rod 7'2 MH pair with shimano symetre 2500. I use my setup for both bait&wait and drifting with no problem.

[Falkus]

Bass Pro Shops CatMaxx
7'6 MH Rod with Fast action 

Abu Garcia Ambassadeur C4 6600c4

Spooled with 40 Lbs Mono Line 
Hook: Owner 10/0 Hook 
Bait: Top Secret 

 

Target: 40+ Lbs Catfish
 

[nameiztaken]

On 3/18/2017 at 1:35 PM, frosty said:

I don't have a catfish setup as I normally don't target them but imho, an ugly stick would be ideal for catfish. They are seriously indestructible! I saw a video of a guy online trying to break one, it was pretty amazing the amount of things it would pick up!

assuming you're talking about the go-kart one lol
Anyways my friend caught this on a Shakespeare trout combo he got for $20 (close to ultralight, it was the coolest fight I've ever seen, took like 15 minutes of tug-of-war) It weighed in around 20. Combo handled it no problem...

 

 

[soflabasser]

Ugly Stik with a Penn or Shimano

[Fishinggeek]

I use my striper rod for catfish. Works great... cast a mile and has no problem horsing 25-40 pound fish. The rod is a 8 foot Tica and the reel is a Shimano baitrunner 6000oc.

 

 

[Fishes in trees]

Should you choose to use a heavy bass rod, like a flipping stick, as a cat fish rig - use regular hooks, that you set on strike detection.  Most catfish guys these days use circle hooks - you don't set them, rather you just tighten up as the fish takes the bait and swims away.  The catch is that your rod needs to have a kinda or really flexible tip, so that the line can tighten up without pulling the hook out of their mouth.

This was addressed in In-fisherman magazine a decade ago when one of the writers was describing his issues setting hooks using a flipping stick.  Take a moment and look at the rods being marketed as "catfish " rods these days.   They will have a very flexible tip, compared to the backbone of the rod.  If you are going to fish circle hooks (most serious catfish guys do these days) that flexible tip is important.

[ohihunter2014]

16 minutes ago, Fishes in trees said:

Should you choose to use a heavy bass rod, like a flipping stick, as a cat fish rig - use regular hooks, that you set on strike detection.  Most catfish guys these days use circle hooks - you don't set them, rather you just tighten up as the fish takes the bait and swims away.  The catch is that your rod needs to have a kinda or really flexible tip, so that the line can tighten up without pulling the hook out of their mouth.

This was addressed in In-fisherman magazine a decade ago when one of the writers was describing his issues setting hooks using a flipping stick.  Take a moment and look at the rods being marketed as "catfish " rods these days.   They will have a very flexible tip, compared to the backbone of the rod.  If you are going to fish circle hooks (most serious catfish guys do these days) that flexible tip is important.

IMO the ugly sticks have a flexible tip. would this be sufficient?

[Bluebasser86]

A lot of variables go into choosing the right setup. What type of water are you fishing? If there's current you'll need something to handle heavier weights and the additional strain while fighting a fish. What is your average and what is your top end sized fish? What species of catfish are primarily going to be targeting? What type of bait and rigs are you going to be fishing?

 

I have everything from 7' MH Ugly Stick Lites I use for lake channels, to 8' XXH with a Penn 309 I use for big flatheads, to a 12' surf rod with a 90 Okuma baitfeeder that I use for big blues on the Missouri and Kansas rivers. 

It's just like bass fishing, have to suit your gear to the task at hand. 

[scaleface]

I use 7'6" flipping rods with Quantum 1310 baitcasters spooled with 15  lb Big Game . I dont go after  monster cats . I  caught one about  forty  lbs and that was on an ultra light .

[Fishfisherson]

C3 6500,c4 6600 on 8'mh Cabelas king cat rods

[soflabasser]

On 3/20/2017 at 11:23 AM, ohihunter2014 said:

IMO the ugly sticks have a flexible tip. would this be sufficient?

 Yes there are.Have caught plenty of big channel catfish on those rods.Also caught sharks that where +8 feet long and several hundreds of pounds with Ugly Stiks,so should be able to handle any catfish that swims.

[ohihunter2014]

On ‎3‎/‎21‎/‎2017 at 3:26 AM, Bluebasser86 said:

A lot of variables go into choosing the right setup. What type of water are you fishing? If there's current you'll need something to handle heavier weights and the additional strain while fighting a fish. What is your average and what is your top end sized fish? What species of catfish are primarily going to be targeting? What type of bait and rigs are you going to be fishing?

 

I have everything from 7' MH Ugly Stick Lites I use for lake channels, to 8' XXH with a Penn 309 I use for big flatheads, to a 12' surf rod with a 90 Okuma baitfeeder that I use for big blues on the Missouri and Kansas rivers. 

It's just like bass fishing, have to suit your gear to the task at hand. 

The only thing i have caught is channel cats about 24-26 inches. I would like to target large ones or flatheads or blues but not sure if i have those around me. when i went out for channels it was in the river with slip bobbers and 2 night crawlers on a hook and let it hit the bottom or just touch it.

[ThePolkFolk]

Little late to the party but you can catch Catfish and Carp on youtube. Luke recently put out a vid on his setups and that man catches some serious cats...

[Bluebasser86]

On 3/24/2017 at 11:15 AM, ohihunter2014 said:

The only thing i have caught is channel cats about 24-26 inches. I would like to target large ones or flatheads or blues but not sure if i have those around me. when i went out for channels it was in the river with slip bobbers and 2 night crawlers on a hook and let it hit the bottom or just touch it.

Is there current where you're fishing? I like to use a slip sinker rig with fresh cut bait. You can catch any of the big 3 catfish on that setup with cut shad, carp, or herring are usually good choices.

 

I prefer spinning rods with baitfeeder reels for fishing for channels and I'm guessing some current. Longer rods help you reach current seams and keep line off the water to reduce drag and keep from having to use extremely heavy weights to keep your bait on the bottom. You're dealing with fairly large channels, and if you throw in some current, you'll want a fairly stout rod to handle them. The rod I use often for that situation is an 8' saltwater whuppin stick from Cabela's, a surf casting model, with a 65 size Okuma Epixor baitfeeder, loaded with 50lb braid. Lead and hooks are kind of personal preference and something you have to adjust to the situation.

The slip float rig you mentioned is a good way to cover water in slow moving rivers. I don't use it often because of the amount of snags in our rivers, it usually ends up floating into a mess and losing the whole rig. If you have smooth bottom areas, it's extremely effective at times.

[Boomstick]

My catfish rod is a Berkley Tec Cat Hunter 8' MH rod paired with a Daiwa Regal Bri 4000, which is a Bite n run reel with a massive amount of drag that is ideal for catfish that is not too expensive (Luke from the catsandcarp youtube channel uses them frequently and said he has had great luck with them which was why I picked it to be honest). It's pretty new to me and I've hardly got a chance to try it out, but the rod has a great overall feel and is fairly light which is why I bought it. I used it bass fishing a few times after I broke two rods and it worked decently other than the tip being super fast. Another rod I considered is the Rippin' Lips Super Cat 7'6" medium heavy, which is an affordable S-glass rod. I definitely prefer 7'6" or 8' rods because they are not too excessively long but I don't own a boat so I spend most of my time shore fishing, so it helps me cast that extra distance which can be important for catching cats.

 

Since I usually fish with my kids, I'll need to add at least one more catfish rod. My oldest kid has an Ugly Stick gx2 that should at least be fine for at least the typical sized channel cats that we have in the northeast, but I was going to gift my youngest son a catfish rod for his birthday at the end of the month. I was thinking of getting a Cabela's King Kat spinning combo, they seem to be good for the money, and I liked the King Kat a lot better than several more expensive combos I've seen.

 

EDIT: I just realized I brought back an ancient thread, sorry

[soflabasser]

On 3/21/2017 at 3:26 AM, Bluebasser86 said:

I have everything from 7' MH Ugly Stick Lites I use for lake channels, to 8' XXH with a Penn 309 I use for big flatheads, to a 12' surf rod with a 90 Okuma baitfeeder that I use for big blues on the Missouri and Kansas rivers. 

It's just like bass fishing, have to suit your gear to the task at hand. 

A heavy action Ugly Stik with a large Penn or Shimano reel is more than enough for any flathead, blue, or channel catfish. I have Ugly Stiks that have caught me sharks that weigh several hundreds of pounds, a catfish is warmup for these rods.

On 6/13/2017 at 10:20 AM, Boomstick said:

EDIT: I just realized I brought back an ancient thread, sorry

It has been a long Winter up North this year, lots of people are bringing up old threads. lol