# Cabin "Catfish" Fever



## LeeWoolery

Picked up some catfish tackle and gear this winter.

132 Pound digital scale ( wishful thinking ) 










150 quart Igloo cooler that I'm making into a portable bait livewell for the back of my truck










10 foot. two-piece, graphite European style catfish/stugeon rod distributed by Wacker Bait in Illinois that I'm using with a Shimano Baitrunner 8000.



















European rod rest system that lets you place your rods on any surface or angle.



















European style landing net with soft mesh and 50 inch arms that folds up for storage.










I'm doing my best this season to practice catfish ( and carp) conservation and see that those trophy fish are returned to the water unharmed to live another day and give the next angler the same joy that fish gave me.

Can't wait for spring to get out on the water.

All the best,

Lee Woolery
Speedshot
www.speedshotphoto.com


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## BigFishHunter

How much was that scale and where did you get it from if you don't mind me asking?


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## katfish

Lee
I once had a 9 foot rod and a 40 pound flathead almost beat me 
to death with it. You have no fear of using 2 piece rods?

That big cooler would be sweet and you can make aeration 
system with a bilge pump and pvc pipe. I made one for my truck 
and even hauled flathead in it when I fished tournaments.

The Europeans guaranteed their weigh slings were sturdy
enough for the largest fish. Did not last a season of big flathead.

If you are thinking of carrying all that gear along a bank, a
cart of some kind would be handy.

I will be interested in your quest for big flathead.


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## LeeWoolery

BigFishHunter:

Got that scale from www.wackerbaits.com

Cost $125.00...they have an anolog version for $100.00

This is the nicest one I've found.

Good luck


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## LeeWoolery

Robby,

...appreciate your suggestions...

The 9 foot rod is mainly for casting heavy muskie plugs and swim baits but has a great action for catfishing.

I have a bilge pump and spray bar for the cooler I picked up a Cabela's.

I just weight the fish in the net...the weigh slings didn't look all that heavy duty to me.

I travel pretty light...The rod pod and landing net fold up and are carried in a bag with shoulder strap. Rods in a rod bag and reels and tackle in shoulder-style bag. I carry a 5 gallon bucket full of baits in the other hand until I can put them in a net in the lake or river.

All the best,

Lee Woolery
Speedshot


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## Vince™

Looking good Lee. I like the Scud block and bank stick setup. I am a "Euro" carp fisherman and I was very surprised to see the gear you had and even the mention of wackerbaits! (Add an "s" to bait... www.wackerbaits.com )

Now you just need a couple of alarms!  Delkim!

Good luck out there.


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## LeeWoolery

Vince:

Thanks for correcting that. 

Paul at Wacker Baits has some great tackle and so do the boys at Big Carp Tackle in Oklahoma.

The Wacker Baits Big Cat/Sturgeon rod he sells for $ 99.95 is the best bargain I've seen on a spinning rod specifically designed for catfish. I'll use for carp as well. 

I tried all kinds of bank sticks over the years but...more and more...I find myself along a river bank or lake shore on rocks, rip raps or concrete and there's no way to drive into that material unless you carry a portable hammer drill in your tackle box.

I've used that Scud rod pod on a flat gravel bar and on a 20-30 degree rocky bank this winter with no problems.

No bite alerts...went over my own fiscal cliff with my fishing budget this season.
All the best,

Lee Woolery
Speedshot


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## Vince™

I've dealt with both of those shops and haven't been disappointed. Carpkit is also a really good place. Simon is a super nice guy and if you see anything you want from UK sites he can usually get it for you. 

A pod is definitely the way to go when uncertain about the bank conditions. Looks like you went with Fox banksticks too. Quality stuff!


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## M.Magis

That&#8217;s some nice stuff. It&#8217;s a shame what my gear looks like after a few trips.  It doesn&#8217;t stay new for long. I&#8217;ve never liked long rods for flathead either, though since we&#8217;re not long distance casting we don&#8217;t need them. I suppose that even though they give the fish a lot of leverage, if you can&#8217;t cast far enough to reach the fish in the first place it doesn&#8217;t matter. As long as you aren&#8217;t fishing heavy cover and don&#8217;t have to horse a big fish in, it will work fine. It&#8217;ll just take longer.  Be careful weighing big flatheads in your net. Pics may be deceiving, but it looks a little on the delicate side as far as hanging things from it. Seems like it would bend with 40+ lbs hanging from it. But it sure would be handy, they way it folds up. I want to see another pic when you get it slimed up with flathead slime.


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## Vince™

Magis, You're right about weighing big fish in those types of nets. I always get scared when I have someone new fishing with me and they try to lift the fish with the handle horizontal even after telling to the with the handle vertical in the air. You can even net the fish and remove the two arms rolling the net down to the fish. They disconnect very easily. I've had many 20's, a couple 30's and one 40 (carp) in my net and it hasn't missed a beat. Like this...










For larger fish a weigh sling is very useful. I use the Chub Eazi flow sling which packs down quite small but can easily handle fish over 40lbs (carp anyways, catfish tend to get longer)


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## LeeWoolery

M.Magis said:


> Thats some nice stuff. Its a shame what my gear looks like after a few trips.  It doesnt stay new for long. Ive never liked long rods for flathead either, though since were not long distance casting we dont need them. I suppose that even though they give the fish a lot of leverage, if you cant cast far enough to reach the fish in the first place it doesnt matter. As long as you arent fishing heavy cover and dont have to horse a big fish in, it will work fine. Itll just take longer.  Be careful weighing big flatheads in your net. Pics may be deceiving, but it looks a little on the delicate side as far as hanging things from it. Seems like it would bend with 40+ lbs hanging from it. But it sure would be handy, they way it folds up. I want to see another pic when you get it slimed up with flathead slime.


M.Magis:

Thanks for the comments about the rods and landing net...

I like the longer rods for casting heavy baits and lures but every now and then I bring out a pair of 6 ft. Shimano Beastmaster "Toads and Tails" saltwater rods I picked up years ago on close-out from Fisherman's Quarters in Dayton, Ohio.

You always unhook the net from the handle when you lift a fish and weigh them with the European style landing nets...comes off fast.

The mesh on the net looks every bit as rugged as my other landing net but being able to fold that thing up will be a welcome relief...and I can't wait to get that net covered with carp and flathead slime really soon.

All the best,

Lee Woolery
Speedshot


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## LeeWoolery

Vince:

Yea...very happy with Wacker and Big Carp...I talked to them about importing some of the tackle they use in Europe for catfishing...pretty neat stuff. They get into fish over there in the 150-250 pound range in big rivers so the stuff they use has to be pretty tough.

All the best,

Lee Woolery
Speedshot


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## Vince™

Ahhh yes, the Wels. Those are absolute brutes!


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## LeeWoolery

Vince said:


> Ahhh yes, the Wels. Those are absolute brutes!


Vince:

Those guys that fish in mainland Europe are using tackle for fish that we could only imagine. The world record for the Wels catfish is 250 pounds.

They are using 12 foot rods and Shimano Baitrunner 8000-12000 spinning reels. I have yet to see anybody fishing for those monsters with a baitcaster.

I'd like to see some of those fish over here in a pay lake somewhere in the USA...preferably SW Ohio.

All the best,

Lee Woolery
Speedshot


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## rustyfish

Wow that must be nice. My idea of a new combo is taking a reel off the rod that I broke last year and putting it on the rod that had the reel with the missing crank.....brand new now!

I'm buying on of those rod holders because that thing is sweet. Will it tip if you cant get the back leg into the dirt, tight lining the river can pull pretty hard. 

The net does look questionable. I'm sure it fine, heck it may be great. It just not what I'm used to seeing.


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## LeeWoolery

RustyFish:

Here's a "real-world" view of the rod supports on the shores of a gravel quarry from today.

I bought this unit from Wacker Baits for $85.00. The front sticks are adjustable and there is a whole in the back of the center support for driving in a camping stake. It's a fairly heavy duty unit and is made of steel. I don't think you have to worry about it getting pulled in.

The net you see in the picture is not the one I just bought...I think it will do the trick...if I use it right.



















...and here are some of the alternatives I saw on the banks today:



















In all honesty...I remember back to days when my dad would outfish us all with a Johnson Century, 6 pound test and a fiberglass two piece rod and my brother and I were using fishing gear worth more than the car he was driving. He would use one rod and held his finger on the line and rarely missed a fish.

I don't think I learned a thing from him!

Oh well...somebody has to make the tackle companies rich.

Anyways...I don't drink, smoke, gamble, take drugs or chase women who do...so I deserve to splurge a little.


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## rustyfish

Yep it spreads out more than i thought, im buying one. I use 4 small sheppards rods I stole from my moms garden. She got them on sale for like $3 a piece, so I took them and bought her some big ones lol. They work very good but not everywhere.


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## LeeWoolery

Rustyfish:

...the front legs go up another foot and you can buy different shapes and sizes of rod supports that fit on top. The whole thing tears down in about 30 seconds and fits in a bag that's about 3 feet long.

I have three or four sets of great rod holders but they are all made for dirt...not for gravel or river banks or rip raps around some lakes.

Good luck,


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