# rod/reel for channel cats



## Guest (Mar 3, 2009)

i fish mostly inland lakes in ne ohio but haven't fished for cats in years. i have a couple of amb. 5500s matched up to seven foot mh casting rods. good enough for channel cats. when i did fish for them back in the 70s, all we used were med. spinning rods and mitchell 300s.


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## tcba1987 (Jun 22, 2004)

those should be good channel cat combos !!!


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## misfit (Apr 5, 2004)

perfect rigs for channel cats.mine are basically the same.
7 foot med/hvy rods rated up to 1 1/4 ounce,paired with amb. 5000 and abu record 50.


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## Guest (Mar 3, 2009)

thanks guys. i have three outfits as we speak. looks like i will be spending some summer nights up at pymatuning.


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## misfit (Apr 5, 2004)

i like the baitfeeder spinning reels,but i'm too old and tired to start investing in too much more tackle at this point,LOL.


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## Guest (Mar 3, 2009)

same here, rick


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## striperswiper (Oct 14, 2008)

i dont normally use heavy equipment with channel cats i use a 200Q Shimano spinning matched with a 6'6" Ugly spinning rod with 30lb spider stealth also for the smaller ones i use a Shakespeare Microspin ultralight reel Matched with a 4'6"Microspin rod with 20lb spider stealth they seem to work well


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## misfit (Apr 5, 2004)

the above listed rigs are not anywhere close to "heavy equipment".they are standard bait casting rigs that are basically bass fishing type stuff.ugly stick.micro or ultra light equipment is not suitable for casting the baits and weights used in most of my fishing.now for small streams,ponds and very light baits,fine,but trying to cast an ounce or more with that tackle is only asking for tackle failure.sure it will handle fairly large fish under the right conditions,and with a bit of finesse,but it is not rated for the terminal tackle normally used for most fishing.


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## boonecreek (Dec 28, 2006)

i,ve got a silver 5500 abu, i put a clicker side off a 6000 on the 5500 and it worked great. now all i need is a junk 6000/w a good clicker plate!


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## striperswiper (Oct 14, 2008)

misfit said:


> the above listed rigs are not anywhere close to "heavy equipment".they are standard bait casting rigs that are basically bass fishing type stuff.ugly stick.micro or ultra light equipment is not suitable for casting the baits and weights used in most of my fishing.now for small streams,ponds and very light baits,fine,but trying to cast an ounce or more with that tackle is only asking for tackle failure.sure it will handle fairly large fish under the right conditions,and with a bit of finesse,but it is not rated for the terminal tackle normally used for most fishing.


this is true i use this for small lakes and ponds throwing small weights Like my avatar its a 15lb 37" flatty caught on 20lb braid and a 4'6" Ultralight rod it was a fight but it makes it fun now in the river i use a Prostaff888 with 25lb line matched to a 8' Medium/Heavy SouthBend for the smaller ones for the larger ones i use a Abu6600 With 65-80lb SpiderBraid matched with a 7'Medium/Heavy Rhino


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## fishdealer04 (Aug 27, 2006)

For channel cats I use Abu 6500's with a 7 ft MH rod and 20 lb Vicious or Big Game Line. For larger cats (blues and flatheads) I use 8 ft MH and Heavy rods with 6500's and 30 lb Vicious line. Dont need anything heavier than that and they perform great.


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## Snagman (Jun 28, 2008)

I got back into catfishing last year after a 30+ year absence. Still use a pair of 5' Shakespeare Wonderod's (fiberglass), each fitted with Abu-Garcia 5000D direct drive reels. Not exactly the "hot" set-up, but the catfish don't seem to care.


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## katfish (Apr 7, 2004)

> i'm too old and tired



And drifty


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## katfish (Apr 7, 2004)

Abu 6500 loaded with 20 will handle the big cats too 










It is always better to be lucky than to be skillfull 










You can get them on lighter line if you have enough patience 










This 52 was the largest flathead I have caught on the 6500s with 20 pound test. It pulled Kayla and me and the 14 foot boat around a while before we landed it.


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## misfit (Apr 5, 2004)

> And drifty


not to mention poor


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## Guest (Apr 1, 2009)

went to dick's in boardman today and picked up a few berkley bionix sticks for 19.99 apiece. they are 6.6 medium actions, but are stiffer than the 7 ft. med-hv rods i use. plan on these for cats now.


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