catfish rigs...
 

i want to get a few more catfish rigs this year...i just got into chasing bigger cats last summer. fish were upto 20lbs. probably looking to order 3 rods and 2 reels. i have 2 reels and 1 rod. broke a rod last year. im probably going to stick with spinning gear. ive never used baitcasting gear and everyone i see fishing them always has troubles in the day...let alone at 2am on the river bank...i rather just stick with spinning.

i was thinking of ordering Okuma Avengers for the reels. 6 ball bearings and 1 roller, 220yds of 25lb mono capacity..i have one of their ultralight reels on a trout rod and love it...hopeing these avengers are as nice.

they also have "baitfeeder" models...what is that and how does it work?? my fishing is all done from shore with the rods in holders and big live bait..when the rod folds inhalf i set the hook. should i order the baitfeeder or no???

rods...i was thinking about shakespear sturdy sticks or ugly cat sticks. the sturdy stick is cheaper, 6.5 or 7ft long, and handles upto 8oz lures. the ugly cat stick is 7 or 8ft long and handles upto 3oz lures. the ugly cat rod sounds better...and is more expensive..the 8ft model would be nice to really get the bait out there a ways...

anyone know anything about any of this stuff? other recomendations?? i dont wanna spend a fortune. this is going to be the last summer i'm home in PA to catfish. wherever i end up the rest of my summers i dont know...but i may not have catfish so i dont wanna spend a fortune for a couple fish this summer...but definently want a couple decint rigs for this summer. figure i'll have 4 good rigs. 2 for me and 2 for dad(if he comes fishing..) and if he dont i'll have 2 spares ready to roll when i snap a line or gotta retie or whatever....cant catch fish if your bait isnt in the water.

thanx guys..let me know what you think...

RE: catfish rigs...
 

I bought a reel last yr on a trip to AZ. Simply amazing....... I think it wasa Quantum Blue runner. Bought at sprtsmans warehouse for about $40. I'm using 20lb test mono and I think it holds 200+yds. I'm at work right no and will check when I get home. The rods I use are 7-8 med heavy, I like to be able to see even the smaller fish hit. Not too stiff and Ilike to e-glass not graphite...... especially for shore fishing.
Bait runners are a good option. My next spin reel will have this option. Don't go too cheap, big cats are hard on equipment and so is the shore. Mud rocks sticks and such.
My first reels didn't last the first yr...... but that was catching over 200 34"+ channel cats

RE: catfish rigs...
 

Where could you possibly go that doesn't have catfish? Every area of the country I have ever been has catfish.

RE: catfish rigs...
 

Bass Pro Catmaxx combo..I have both the baitcaster and spinning reels on 2 poles and they are great. Have tackled any type of cats I have asked them too.

The spinning combo is by far the better pole IMO. Can be had for $100 if you buy both together.

RE: catfish rigs...
 

thanx guys i'll look into them..

honestly my 40$ walmart special combos fair me well. ive been using them for atleast 5+ years now. bought 2 of them. last year i broke 1 rod. i got a snag and was walking back to break it and one of the guides blew off causing the rod to go to a wierd angle and broke the wooden rod. figured id atleast use both reels for my spares...a better rod is definently in order..and better reels will be nice...something with a decint drag and nice and smooth operation

i know catfishing gear gotta be tough. exspecially with ME lol. i tend to always end up fishing solo. i cant seem to find anyone willing to sit down the river at all hours of the night waiting for that ONE bite. my biggest fish come passed 11pm. noone wants to sit around passed 11pm unless they are drinking...i aint puttin up with boozers while im catfishing! theres a time and place for everything lol. im just serious about my fishin..but anyways..im always kicking over a rod or dropping one down the hillside while i try to carry ALL my gear down in one trip etc etc...

cant wait for this year. i know i can probably catch me a couple here and there now...but late june or so is when the river temps heat up along with the fishing...and i'll have the new rigs here by then. sooo i'll just keep groundhog huntin till then on my days off to pass the time

RE: catfish rigs...
 

All the man made lakes southwest of my house in central Wy- & southwestto the colorado state line & the platte river system thats supplys them that we normaly fish has no cats( dosnt even have bullheads:D)

Have to go to the otherside of casper/ the dave johnstone coal power plant in glenrock& downstream from that to find some chaneelcats as far as i know , ever heard of or experencedanyways.

RE: catfish rigs...
 

knightia and goherd..thats most likely the direction im heading. west or north...or Alaska. im most likely going to be a Park Ranger in a national park. i can go pretty much anywhere...but i dont like the heat:D and always wanted to see north or west or alaska. we will see where i end up...if theres big cats there then i'll rig up properly...till then i dont wanna dump 100s into rigs just to use this summer. next summer i'll most likely be chasing wildfires as a fighter or be somewhere else doing something in a park or something along my career path...gotta do my practicum next summer so i'll be doing something and doubt/dont want to be here in PA..

RE: catfish rigs...
 

Sounds good Mauser( i can undertsand where your coming from)- we can have a lot of wildland& forestfires here in wy & it can get pretty hot in some locations even without the fires .
Catfish you will find asome in some locations here &other places like the mtn streams etc none or even the platte river( biggest major river in wy i think) not so many cats someplace or none that i know of nearby to me anyways.

Much of game& fishs moneys& efforts go into trout esp rainbows.( i do wish they would put efferts into a bigger varity of fish in some locations)

I wouldnt mind checking out alaska more myself- cats or no cats :D

RE: catfish rigs...
 

I should add that few fish we have here now in wy are native to the area whre i fish- they where introduced. Many & most of the lakes are manmade with the daming of the rivers etc.
There are 4 dams upstream( going south)from my house which is southwest of casper. The platte is fed from snowpack & mtn streams etc in wy & from the colorados front range mtn ranges south of me also- the rocky mtns & are the rivers orgins. Also south of me is the greatdivide basin area & the red desert of wy- it is a true desert with very little rainfall there-rain dosnt fall to much at my house either:D

The red desert is surrounded by that great divide line( the rocky mtns) & its mtns- water from one side going& flowing to the pacific ocean & on the other side to the alantic ocean ( and or the gulf?)etc ussally .

It is the only place that froms a circle( a rough circle)of that mtndivide line anywhere that i am aware of - all water stays within that circle of mtns that falls within& forms the red desert- with no outlets to either oceans i believe.


I have seen more rain in the last 2 mths here in the southern us where i am now-then i have seen fall in almost 2 yrs in wy where i live( and its about 7 yrs of drought conditions- even in good yrs of rainfall it isa very dry, semi arid place even in the good yrs of rainfall in my part of wy).

RE: catfish rigs...
 

heres my newest catfish/striped bass rig I purchased last year for fishing the colorado river and few other places here in Arizona for catfish and stripers. its a abu garcia ambassadeur 6000 reel spooled with 20 lbs trilene big game line on a 7 foot medium action Ugly stik lite. the rod I got at wally world on clearence for 15 bucks and the reel I nabbed off ebay for 30 bucks.