The best rod for catfish will have quality components including a good reel seat and locking system, stainless steel guides, and a length between 7 and 10 feet (or more). Combine all these things into a rod with a medium-heavy or heavy action, and it should be fine for most catfishing situations.
What rod do you use for catfish?
Fishing Rod Power
In most situations, a medium (M) or medium-heavy (MH) action will be best for channel catfish, and for blue and flathead catfish a medium-heavy (MH) action is most often preferred.
What size reel is good for catfish?
While spinning reels in size 10 or 20 can land big catfish in the hands of an experienced angler, most catmen prefer 30/300-size or larger.
What is best rod and reel for big catfish?
You want a reel that can handle the heft often required with catfish bait and tackle.
- Best Overall: Abu Garcia C3 Catfish Special.
- Best Rod/Reel Combo: Ugly Stick Catch Ugly Fish Catfish Spinning Combo.
- Best Spinning Reel: Team Catfish Gold Ring 5000.
- Best Casting Reel: KastKing ReKon.
- Best Spincast Reel: Zebco Omega Pro.
What size hook is best for catfish?
The optimal size for channel catfish is typically a 2/0 or 3/0 hook when using a Kahle hook. If you choose circle hooks for small to medium-sized channel catfish then a 5/0 or 6/0 size will usually work best.
What is the best catfish reel?
The best choice for a catfish reel is the Abu Garcia Ambassadeur fishing reel. The cheaper alternatives claiming they are “just as good” as the Abu Garcia reels simply aren’t no matter what you may have heard. Cheap reels are not the same quality and they won’t last.
How do you set up a catfish rod?
Use a three-way rig with a 20-pound-test main line and a 17-pound-test leader. Secure a 2- to 4-ounce bell sinker to one ring of a barrel swivel or the bottom ring of a three-way swivel with 6-pound-test line. Cast this rig into place, and the sinker hangs on the bottom and holds the rig in place until a fish strikes.
Is a 3000 reel good for catfish?
Yes, they absolutely can! They can provide enough drag and, assuming you’re using 10 lb. braid (which you should be), they have enough line capacity to handle nearly any fish you can find in our inshore waters. The other big advantage of these reels is that they’re very light.
What is a 5000 size reel good for?
Reel Size 5000
It is commonly used for freshwater salmon when targeting deep and hard-flowing rivers. Big game saltwater tropical species like Mahi Mahi, Giant Trevally, barracuda, and others are also targeted using a 5000 size reel.
What is the best catfish bait?
Best Catfish Baits
- #1. Nightcrawler. First on the list is the ubiquitous nightcrawler, favored food for all fish species.
- #2. Gizzard Shad.
- #3. White Suckers.
- #4. Skipjack Herring.
- #5. Stinkbait.
- #7. Bluegills.
- #8. Punchbait.
- #9. Chicken Livers.
What length fishing rod should I get?
A short (6 feet or less) rod is ideal if you want to make short, accurate casts. When pinpoint accuracy is less critical, a long rod (over 7 feet) is the way to go. Dingy or dirty water and heavy cover are two situations where short-range accuracy is part of the recipe for success, and a shorter rod can really shine.
What colors do catfish see?
Based on the research that I did, channel catfish are visual predators. Their eyes focus mostly on greens and blues because those colors stand out in most water conditions.
Why are circle hooks better for catfish?
Circle hooks are designed in such a way that they usually hook the fish in the corner of the mouth. A fish swallows the baited hook and begins to move away. This movement pulls the hook from the throat, decreasing the chance of the fish being hooked in the throat, roof of the mouth or stomach.
What is the best time to fish for catfish?
The best time of day to catch 3-seasons catfish is from an hour before sunset until 2 hours after sunrise and during the winter, from late morning until just before sunset. These are not hard and fast rules, but you will find the most active and hungry catfish consistently biting in these windows.
What color fishing line is best for catfish?
Bright colors such as neon green, yellow or orange help keep the lines in order and enable you to see what is going on. Most catfish live in dark or muddy water, and with their aggression, they just don’t care about line color. So do yourself a favor and spool up bright line.
Do catfish feed more at night or during the day?
Myth: Catfish are more active at night. Fact: Catfish are active at all hours of the day and night, this includes all three species of catfish. Catfish can easily be caught throughout the day regardless of the season. Catfish eat when they are hungry, not when it gets dark.
Can you use a spinning reel for catfish?
Because of their ease of use, they are very widespread and come in many different shapes and sizes. Spinning reels are great for small to medium-sized catfish. If a catfish is too large, it can damage or even break the spinning reel with its power due to its design.
What weight rod should I use for catfish?
If you’re targeting eating-size catfish weighing less than 5lb / 2.3kg, a short, light, or ultralight spinning rod paired with a compatible reel will do the job. But a 9–12ft / 2.7–3.7m model made from the most robust materials is needed if you hope to catch a trophy flathead or blue cat weighing 50lb / 22.7kg or more.
Do you need a leader line for catfish?
Catfish leader line also serves as a “shock absorber” when a catfish strikes. This absorbs the force of aggressive strikes from big catfish. That shock absorption is important with mono and braid but due to the lack of stretch in braided fishing line you should always use a monofilament leader.
Do you fish for catfish on the bottom?
Smaller fish are preferred for cooking because bigger ones, except for flatheads, can get tough. For the most part, catfish are bottom feeders and usually hold in deep water, although they will move into shallows to feed, especially at night.
What is a 6000 size reel good for?
Choosing a fishing rod to go with this size reel: 6000 or 60 is where we where we start to move into larger size fishing reels and as such this size fishing reel will usually suit 5-8ft boat fishing rods, 8-9ft general purpose spinning rods or 10 foot rock/surf fishing rods with a line rating of anywhere between 6-15Kg