# am i cool with this?



## Ripley (May 10, 2010)

i have been reading here and at master catters 2 and catfish academy....

a little background...

i have the gear to catch channels... but not much bigger than about 15 to 20 pounds.... just a couple of spinning reels on medium actions poles.... about 25yrs old...

my 4 other poles are lite ugly sticks and couple of ultra lights.. which i bought to fish with my daughter when she was a wee one... i have some old bass gear from my days 20 to 30 years ago in my bassing days....

the last couple of years i have gotten back into fishing after about a 10 year absence...

i will be fishing off the bank ... with maybe about 10 times out of the year from a small 14ft boat...

i want to step up into flats and blues... with what i have been reading.... i want to pick up the abu garcia reels... here is where i am confused... i really don't want any plastic parts... and i would like to have the models with a bait clicker.... 

which model numbers are these? ... i would prefer to buy new ones...however is there a better made used abu .... if so what specific abu should i look for?

also i want to pair them with the ugly stick catfishing rod.... 8 foot 2 peice medium heavy rod .... 

power pro or cajun braid line 50lb...

will this be sturdy enough to handle most everything i'm going to catch?

and is it going to last me along time fishing this rig about 60 to 100 times a year?

before i spend the money ... any suggestions or tweeks and tunings i may want to consider....

i don't know anybody that fishes for these big cats... so ... i have no way of trying any thing out to see if i like the way it feels or works.... the only thing i have learned is what i have been reading off of these sites...

what makes me want to go bigger is i have caught these fish in the last couple of years... 

8lb carp on a berkley lightning rod 6'6" light action..

9lb sheephead on a shakespeare 4'6" micro light spincast... now this was a blast with 4lb line... 

10lb channel on 6'6" diawa combo with 10lb line.. this is my biggest fish ever.... i've caught cats before and always enjoyed the fight... but this what got me wanting to go bigger and better!....

after this .... maybe next year a boat!

thank you for all info and suggestions ... what help you can provide....


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## ducky152000 (Jul 20, 2005)

Abu 6000,6500 and 7000s all cast very well and have clickers, they dont have plastic parts. If i was u and just starting i would pick up the 6000 or 6500 if you are only casting your baits then i would use 30lb big game mono. braided line has no stretch which in turn breaks easy, i personly hate 2 piece rods they are not as strong, because the blank is not one piece, ive caught flathead up to 35 pounds on the white catfish ugly stick in 7 ft. they are a great rod for the money and last a vey long time. the ugly stick tiger rods are even better but 30 bucks more.


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## chubbahead (Jan 24, 2008)

Ripley said:


> i want to step up into flats and blues... with what i have been reading.... i want to pick up the abu garcia reels... here is where i am confused... i really don't want any plastic parts... and i would like to have the models with a bait clicker....
> 
> which model numbers are these? ... i would prefer to buy new ones...however is there a better made used abu .... if so what specific abu should i look for?
> 
> also i want to pair them with the ugly stick catfishing rod.... 8 foot 2 peice medium heavy rod ....


Any model Abu in between the 6000's and 7000's will hold up to blues and flats. I use mostly the 6500C3's and that is plenty for the GMR. If you are fishing the Ohio, you may want to go with 7000's for the extra line and tighter bait clicker when fishing the heavy current.

The ugly stik catfish rods are great rods. I own a few of them. I would stick to channels with them though. They can bring in flats or blues, but I would find something a little heavier. I don't fish out of boats often, so I'm not familiar with boat rods. A lot of boaters love the Ugly Stik Tigers. Maybe some boaters can help you out with a good rod option.


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## dinkbuster1 (Oct 28, 2005)

as stated before start out with an Abu 6000, or 6500, or if prefer spinning an Okuma Baitrunner. an abu 7000 is a bit much to start out with and not really needed in our inland rivers. 

no plastic parts? 

abu's actually have several internal plastic parts but they are not in spots where strength matters so they are fine. i have a couple 6500's i have used for 19+ years and those plastic peices are still intact and have never heard of any going bad. 

just starting out i'd stick with 25lb line, 30 max on a mono line. i havent had enough experience with "braid" to make a suggestion but i do not like it at all for catfishing. 

the rods you have now are great for channels but for targeting bigger fish you will need rods that are a little more stout for casting large baits and setting hooks. for bank fishing i suggest a rod no shorter than 9ft.


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## BigMha (Nov 24, 2005)

caught this on a 5' ultra light ugly stik spinning combo w/ 8# power pro.

 

i know you're after the bigguns, but the proper use of your drag system is priceless


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