Reel for catfish rod

[shimano]

Planning to get a whisker seeker spinning 7 foot catfish and carp rod.

What reel size and colored reel should I get?

[mrpao]

How heavy of an action is the rod going to be?

My reel choice would be a baitrunner type reel. Either shimano baitrunner, daiwa emcast or penn liveliner. It will make bait fishing easier. 

You dont have to always pay attention when fishing and you dont have to worry about the combo getting pulled into the water.

The size of the reel depends on the power of the rod.

[shimano]

1 hour ago, mrpao said:

How heavy of an action is the rod going to be?

My reel choice would be a baitrunner type reel. Either shimano baitrunner, daiwa emcast or penn liveliner. It will make bait fishing easier. 

You dont have to always pay attention when fishing and you dont have to worry about the combo getting pulled into the water.

The size of the reel depends on the power of the rod.

Medium light action with a light power.

 

[VolFan]

What’s the weight the rod can handle? That should be something like 1-3 oz

[shimano]

3/8 to 1oz.

8-20 pound mono, 65 max braid pound.

[VolFan]

Probably at least a 35/3500 series - I have a Pflueger Supreme XT on a Swimbait rod with similar specs. It does double duty dragging for catfish sometimes. I use 40 lb braid but you could probably go 30 or 50 depending on what you’re catching and how you fish. I wouldn’t do mono but that’s just, like, my opinion.

[mrpao]

That should be a fun rod for catfishing.

I'm not sure how whisker seekers rate their rods, but it should be ideal for most channel cats and smaller blues.

Over the years i have moved to mainly med action rods for most of my catfishing. My local lakes mostly have channel cats and a med action makes it more enjoyable. I still have heavy action rods that i take out sometimes to other lakes. Sometimes I'll even pull out my ultralight rods to do some catfishing. Even a two pound catfish is a good battle on an ultralight.

[Finessegenics]

Doesn’t sound like you need a crazy big reel. But I second the need for a baitfeeder reel. Makes bait fishing so much easier. If you want something affordable, take a look at the Okuma Avenger ABF. Make them in just about all sizes if I’m not mistaken. I have a 4000.

[Bluebasser86]

15 hours ago, Finessegenics said:

Doesn’t sound like you need a crazy big reel. But I second the need for a baitfeeder reel. Makes bait fishing so much easier. If you want something affordable, take a look at the Okuma Avenger ABF. Make them in just about all sizes if I’m not mistaken. I have a 4000.

Agreed with the Avenger. I have 5 of them for catfishing and they're excellent reels. A 40 size should be just fine for your rod. 

[shimano]

Are there any baitrunner reels orange in color to match my rod?

[Bluebasser86]

5 minutes ago, shimano said:

Are there any baitrunner reels orange in color to match my rod?

I'm sure you could find one but it would be easier to find a black reel to match the black on the rod. Okuma has the Ceymar baitfeeder that is mostly black with a little red accent on it for just a little more than the Avenger. I'd be more concerned about getting a quality reel than matching it to the rod though. 

[shimano]

I see, do you think I could also use this 4000 combo for carp?

[Finessegenics]

1 hour ago, shimano said:

I see, do you think I could also use this 4000 combo for carp?

Most definitely. I’d say loosen your fighting drag for carp; I’ve broken off a few leaders/hooks because of big carp (what I assume at least) making really really fast runs after picking up the bait. They make the bait drag scream and then when you engage the fighting drag, it’s almost like too big of a shock to the setup and the carp has won a few times over my knots. Just be careful 

[Bluebasser86]

Carp also have very soft mouths and you'll risk pulling hooks if you don't keep your drag loosened. Not super loose, just can't put too much heat on them.