Catfishing Specialty Rods

This magnificent rod is the cat fisherman's dream. It is designed to cast large live bait to and bring in large flathead. The design requirements were tough. They were set by Ron Kaluger a propionate sportsman who fishes the Ohio River. He asked me to design a 2 piece 10-foot rod that would cast a 12 ounce live bait 100 yards, have a tip that was sensitive enough to feel the light bite of a flathead and be able to pull in a 90-pound fish through the strong current of the Ohio River.

For this task, I knew that the rod selection would be a Graphite USA blank. They make the toughest rods I know of with their dual helix construction. You can run over them with a car and not crush them. This rod is set up for spin fishing but I can also make it for casting reels. For casting applications, I use the Roberts Wrap set up. Some people identify it as the Spiral Wrap. This configuration starts with the line on the top of the rod just like any casting rod but I place the guides on the rod to move the line around the rod 180 degrees. It puts the line on the bottom of the blank so when pressure is applied to a fish, as it is being reeled in; there is absolutely no torque on the rod. You can put the handle in your gut and hold the rod under the foregrip with an open palm and the reel will stay in place at the top of the rod. It is just the rod for a hard fight with a big flathead.

The specifications of the rod include the G-USA 2 piece 10-foot heavyweight blank, Fuji graphite reel seat, Forecast Blue Zirconium guides with TiCh finish, custom Tennessee sensor handle, Burl cork handle and foregrip with colored accent rings, Fuji New Concept guide placement. The total weight of the rod is 15 ounces.