# Catfish Shore River Rod/Reel



## eatwhatyoukeep (May 2, 2005)

Could someone recommend a great catfish rod/reel combo that will cast a mile and have the power necessary to land big channels and flatheads? I think casting rods would provide a little more distance. And what line would you use? Thanks


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## H2O Mellon (Apr 5, 2004)

Sure! A Shimano Calcutta mounted on a St Croix Classic Cat should do. Now of course if you didnt want to put $600 into a combo, there are others! I think your going to hear lots of examples but I think it might be hard to find something that's great for both big channels and big flatheads.

If your going to be fishing solely from the bank & know for a fact that your going to be casting very long distances, you'll prob want to look for a rod that's at least 9 feet long & maybe even 10 feet long.

Catfish connections sells a rod made by Wildriver called a River Cat. I recentely heard a really good review of these rods. (This model comes in 10,11,12 feet lengths). The rod is only $21m 10-30 # line but yet rated for 1-5 oz. I think I am going to be purchasing one Friday just to have something for long casts from the bank.

I would perfer Abu's to Penns if your wanting to make long casts, unless you went w/ a Penn gti series. Now the right reel may be tricky. An Abu 6500 sounds about right, however I think you'll have line cap issues. (The 6500's in my experience will outcast the 6000's. I think it's due to the bushings versus bearings.) If you wanted a reel for flatheads and wanted mono then I'd go w/ 30# or 20# for a channel setup. If you go w/ 30# line, the 6500 wont hold a ton of line. If you stepped up to an Abu 7000 your line cap problem is fixed however your now at overkill stage for channels. The same goes for the tg series of the Penns; overkill for channels, unless your going to be catching 10#+ channels one after another & if so.... PM ME THE LOCATION!  

I think, if you can you should look at getting two setups. One for channels & one for flatheads. You do not have to spend a fortune either. There are good cat rods out there for $20. I think the Power Pro rods by Pinnacle are a great buy for the money. ($20). If you look around there are some decent buys on Abu reels on EBay sometimes. I used to get the refurbished ones for a steal but cant seem to get them this year.

Good luck. I hope you find what your looking for. If you want more specifics or examples of combos, let us know.

PS-Where are you located at?


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## eatwhatyoukeep (May 2, 2005)

Thanks for the great recommendations. I am located near Caeser's creek lake but would plan on using these rigs on the lower Miami, Ohio and Licking River in Kentucky and maybe the Kentucky River


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## H2O Mellon (Apr 5, 2004)

Catfish Connection (www.catfishconnection.com) has everything you need & like I said, you don't need to spend a small fortune to get good quality catfish equipment. When I 1st started I did not believe that. I bought $150 rods & $100 reels, now I perfer some $30 rods & $60 reels to those high priced ones.


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## neocats1 (Oct 14, 2006)

Of course if distance is a priority, you have to use spinning reels. They cast farther than bait casters.
A really good combo is an Okuma Avenger with the bait feeder. Under $50.00 most places.


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## misfit (Apr 5, 2004)

> Of course if distance is a priority, you have to use spinning reels. They cast farther than bait casters.


 not necessarily so.overall,a good baitcasting setup will outcast a spinning rig.
for most fishing situations,i good spinning rig will work,but a baitcaster sometimes is a better choice.


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## catfishhunter33 (Apr 6, 2004)

reely(pun intended) basic stuff
the abu 6000/6500 series reels are not lacking in any capacity issues.theses reel and the models under are not designed for 20--50lb mono.they are more inclined to be affected by line diameter which in turn reflects on capacity.

6500 series---14lb/245yds 17lb/190yds
7000 series---17lb/325yds 20lb/270yds
7000hsn series---17lb/210yds 20lb/180yds

my point being that if i use say power pro in the 30lb test at 8lb diameter of mono i can get over 300yds of line on my 6500s.no capacity problems for me.now if one doesnt like or cant afford power pro then the answer would be to move up to the 7000 series???? 
$20 for power pro vs $200 for a new rod/reel/line????


trade off's--when fishing with 11ft surf rods at the hamilton dam i can bounce 5oz sinkers off the wall on the other side of the river--approx 100yds.it doesnt matter if it is casting or spinning. i use abu 6500 rockets and shimano 4500 bait runners.now if i use the same reels on say 7-8 ft rods my distance with 5oz will be about 60 yds max.so in my case it doesnt matter to me on the distance thing it becomes more of a convenience thing.


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## misfit (Apr 5, 2004)

good points 33.as you pointed out,a lot of variables come into play when considering casting distance.for most people,under "normal" conditions,either type rig will work.i do believe though,that all things being equal,baitcasting gear will cast farther.also,when those distances are needed,i think braid is the only way to go.distance being one,and more important to me,the stretch factor.imo,at 100 yards mono has way too much stretch to provide good hooksets unless you are a good sprinter and have 50 yards of open ground behind you  
in which case,the 6500 is plenty suitable.and i'd prefer it over a spinning reel for flatheads.though good spinning gear is quite capable of handling larger size fish.


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## neocats1 (Oct 14, 2006)

Granted that variables come into play. Using my 12' Master Power stick and 30# braided line, I can cast out 150 yrds. Of course the rod is designed for 2-6 ounce weights. I know that this is not a long cast when the record for distance casting is at least double this. But 150 yrds. is pretty impressive to me.


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## dinkbuster1 (Oct 28, 2005)

i use 25lb big game on my 6500's, unless your not casting long distances i wouldnt use anything larger in diameter. mine hold more than enough 25lb test, i can cast 100yrds and still have almost half the spool left.


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## eatwhatyoukeep (May 2, 2005)

Dinkbuster, do you have any trouble setting the hook at that distance, even when using circle hooks?

Does anyone have experience with the Okuma reels (after checking catfish connection...)? Will they also cast 100 yards? This might be a good option that could be used in saltwater surf and boat.

Thanks


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## neocats1 (Oct 14, 2006)

eatwhatyoukeep said:


> Dinkbuster, do you have any trouble setting the hook at that distance, even when using circle hooks?
> 
> Does anyone have experience with the Okuma reels (after checking catfish connection...)? Will they also cast 100 yards? This might be a good option that could be used in saltwater surf and boat.
> 
> Thanks


I have a couple of Okuma combos. I love them. Not sure about the distances. Just got a new Avenger spinning combo with the bait clicker feature, but it hasn't touched water yet. It's a smooth reel and the rod is stout enough to handle anything I can catch.
I would guess that if put on my 12' rod, I probably could cast 100 yrds. I can with other spinning reels.


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## bmanoftheyear (Oct 14, 2006)

listen to neocats that dude can cast a country mile with that big ole pole.
He shocked me when he did it


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## eatwhatyoukeep (May 2, 2005)

I am set concerning my questions on the spinning outfit. I will probably use spinning gear for the channel rig and baitcast gear for the flatheads and blues. Plus I can use them in saltwater a little bit if I am careful with them. So now I am only concerned about the heavier baitcasting outfit for flatheads and blues

My remaining questions are:

1) Has anyone used the daiwa firewolf reel, or the Daiwa Sealine baitcasters? It holds quite a bit more line than the abu 6500. 

2) I checked out the power braid today and it didn't seem like it would have much abrasion resistance. When you rig this with a no roll flat sinker do you use a mono leader up from the sinker to cut down on line wear?

3) For Flatheads and Blues is a 2-5 ounce weight range about right?

Thanks again


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## fishdealer04 (Aug 27, 2006)

eatwhatyoukeep said:


> I am set concerning my questions on the spinning outfit. I will probably use spinning gear for the channel rig and baitcast gear for the flatheads and blues. Plus I can use them in saltwater a little bit if I am careful with them. So now I am only concerned about the heavier baitcasting outfit for flatheads and blues
> 
> My remaining questions are:
> 
> ...



1. I have not used any of the Daiwa reels other than a few smaller spinning reels I use for bass fishing. I use nothing but Abu Reels for catfishing and Muskie fishing now and have never had a problem. If you are using more than 300 yards of line then maybe you might want something bigger...but I think for most situations 300 yards will get you through most cat situations.

2. I use Spiderwire Stealth Braided line. Great abrasion resistance. I use the braid for my main line and my leader. I use no roll sinkers, egg sinkers, bank sinkers, pyramids, you name it I have used it and never once had a problem with the braid. Plus with such a small diamater my Abu reels easily hold 300 yards of it at 65 lb test.

3. As for sinker weight your range is going to vary on the situation. With faster current or larger baits you might need larger sinkers. Slower current, or smaller baits you can get by with smaller sinkers. I have sinkers ranging from 1/8 oz. all the way to 12 oz.

Hope that helps you some...


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## neocats1 (Oct 14, 2006)

I've found it. The ultimate catfish rod. 10' rod that can cast 12 oz. over 100 yards and has the backbone to pull in a 90# flathead in strong current in the Ohio River. A little on the pricey side but it will last and has a goo warranty.
www.classicdestiny.com


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## H2O Mellon (Apr 5, 2004)

Seems like a god rod, but I wonder why it's a complete graphite blank? Also, I'm not sure how many flatheads that guy has caught, but he says the rod is sensative enough to "feel the lite bite of a flathead". Dang man, maybe I've been lucky, but usually my flatheads are not lite biters.


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## misfit (Apr 5, 2004)

i'm not sure i'd wanna be casting 12 ounces of weight 100 yards.after a little bit of that you should have "popeye" arms


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## neocats1 (Oct 14, 2006)

misfit said:


> i'm not sure i'd wanna be casting 12 ounces of weight 100 yards.after a little bit of that you should have "popeye" arms


Yeah and for the cost it should cast itself and then reel in the fish.


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## eatwhatyoukeep (May 2, 2005)

Thanks for the answers. I have read about guys getting spooled on the ohio river by blues so I want lots of line capacity. I do realize that sometimes the fish are only 30 feet from the bank but appreciate all the input so I will be less limited.


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## boonecreek (Dec 28, 2006)

what do u all think about 6000b orange on 10 ft kingcats.


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## joadb (Feb 19, 2007)

I have two 7ft ugly stick tigers with garcia 7000c3's on them-you can drag in a stump with them and i can cast them pretty far too.


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