In March I'm going down to Texas for a family reunion and figured it's time for this midwestern boy to try a bit of saltwater fishing while I'm there. I have the typical freshwater rigs that are probably too light but I do have a serious catfish rig that could do the job. It's a 9 1/2 foot heavy action spinning rig that normally wrestles big cats out of muddy weed infested holes along the Mississippi river. I've pulled 45 pound blue cats with no real problem.
My question is; would this catfish rig work in saltwater? Could it handle surfishing along Padre Island?

Your catfish rig should be plenty for shore/jetty fishing.
If space is'nt an issue I'd bring along your other gear as well.
As long as it's not ultra-light you could have some fun using it
too. Put some heavy line on. Also, you probably already know
but be sure to give your gear a good fresh water rinse after use.

PKnTX

Catfish rig should be fine. I fish outta galveston alot becuase i have a house on the bay down there. You have to fish the surf at the right time, i.e when the waves are very low. I fish the surf with my standard bay fishing rods, 12 pound test on a spinning or baitcasting reel. Whenever i fish the surf my main target is speckled trout. If your going to the jettys you may need something a little bigger. How heavy is the line on your catfish rig? If you are going down in the summer the bull reds should be running and it should be good fishing. However those fish can reach 40 pounds so be ready. If you catch cats up to 45 pounds you should have no problems. You will of course have to get set up with the right terminal tackle though. A local baitshop should intruct you on what baits to use. Good Luck.

As others have said, the catfish rig will do fine, especially in the surf. Bring along those bass rigs too! Any medium, to medium-heavy baitcasting, or spinning rigs will do fine for most reds, specks, and flounder fishing! Most all of my gear sees double duty! There are even times that in certain places you can catch Reds on one cast, and Bass on the next!

exactly. the cat rig will work great. it will definately be more than enough. you would be surprised what some of your other stuff would work also. i've fished in the grass flats with ultralight gear and brought in a 10 ld or so saltwater cat. you just have to be more careful with the lighter stuff.