I learned pretty quickly that a baitcasting rig can't be beat for this application. The reels are perfect for fighting these fish and the whole rig is much more compatible for setting your rods in a holder. The reel that I landed on is an Abu Garcia Ambassadeur 6500 C3. It's incredibly strong, smooth, solidly put together, and it has a clicker. The clicker is basically an alarm that lets you know if something is pulling out line. Another nice bonus is that it's relatively cheap at around $80. I have 2 right now.
For a rod, I use a 7' Medium-Heavy Ugly Stick Catfish rod. These things only cost a little over $30 and they are just about perfect for what I do. First of all, they're white. I can see them as plain as day no matter how dark it is outside. They're a really powerful rod with a soft tip. The soft tip makes it nice for casting delicate baits and is helpful when using no stretch braided lines. The power gives me a lot of confidence when I get into a big fish. I haven't run into a fish yet that this rig didn't handle beautifully.
I'm generally a monofilament guy, so I used that bright green Big Cat line by Berkley for a couple of years. I didn't have any real complaints about it, other than it was a little bit springy. Some of my reading led me to get curious about braided lines. The guys on the catfish forums touted Power Pro, hands down. I went with their 80# hi-vis yellow. I hated it at first. I had to go through a learning curve and I was whiffing on my hooksets. I almost decided to switch back to mono, but I gave it some time and started connecting again. Now I love it. It's great for casting. I had maybe 2 bird nests all last summer and they were pretty easy to get out. With it's strength, I have a huge amount of confidence when fighting fish. After a little use, the line loses the outer coating and fades a little bit. Don't worry, this is actually a good thing. It maintains its strength and it becomes more pliable. I actually prefer the line to be broken in.
The In-Fisherman guys teach that a slip rig can't be beat for fishing on the bottom for flatties. I use a 3 ounce no-roll sinker and a bead above a #3 or #5 Berkley McMahon barrel swivel. The bead protects the knot. I exclusively use the Palomar knot. It's a must with braid. Don't go cheap with your swivels. You'll be mad when Pylodictis olavaris turns it to scrap and disappears back into the depths. I like short leaders and I use the same braid that goes on my reel. I spend some time in the winter tying up a stock of them so I can get back into the water quicker if I break off. I generally keep my leader shorter than 8 inches. It leaves plenty of room for live bait to move around enough to get noticed, while giving them less opportunity to get snagged up on some wood or under a rock. Sometimes with cutbait, I skip the leader and let the bead and sinker slide right down to the hook. This is another trick that the In-Fisherman boys taught me. This lets you hug a snag with your bait while, again, making it less likely to get caught on it. This set up doesn't seem to deter the fish in the least.
I'm still figuring out hooks. I do like Kahle hooks for cutbait. This is a pretty popular hook that a lot of guys use. I have the Mustad 37140 in several sizes ranging between 1/0 and 5/0. Another cutbait hook that seems to work fine is the Eagle Claw #084. I just have that in 5/0. Good channel cat hook. For the big baits that I use for flatties, both cut and live, I like the 10/0 Mustad 92671. I also have that hook in 7/0 for just a little smaller bait. I'm really starting to become a fan of Tru-Turn's T722 O'Shaughnessy catfish hook. I bought that in 8/0 last year and it became my prefered hook. It comes out of the package nice and sharp and maintains its point. It's Perma Steel Finish doesn't rust. This is a huge bonus. I'm planning on adding a few more sizes of this hook to my arsenal this year.
I looked all over the internet and went to a dozen stores to track this stuff down. I finally discovered the web site Catfish Connection. This little company, based in Pana Illinois, is fantastic. They have absolutely everything that you need for catfishing and they get it to you in a hurry. I've had great luck with them.
I just remembered one nightfishing must, a headlamp. I messed around with a few different $20 lights and they were okay. I finally decided that this was something that was worth investing in. I researched them a little bit and landed on a Petzl Myo XP for about $85. I picked it up at a local EMS store. A good, bright headlamp can really make your time on the dark river trouble free. This one turns night into day, at least in the area immediately surrounding me. I keep a big pack of AA batteries in my boat so that I'm always prepared when the light starts flashing its low battery warning.
This may be my most dry entry, past or future, but it's the result of a lot of studying and experimenting on my part. I'm hoping that I'll save somebody a lot of leg work. The less time that you spend on the web and in the stores, the more time that you can spend in the dark knocking on a flathead's door.
catfishconnection.com
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