Catfisherman, what is a good rod and reel combo for catfish? Not a surf rod and reel combo but more along the lines of a 7 foot rod with a reel to match. Thanks.

I fish the Missouri River and use 7'6" Big Cat medium heavy rod and Abu 7000 reels. I target large flathead and catch plenty of big blues.

…. What size you going for J?

… I run abu Garcia ambassadors on ugly sticks for frying size up to ten pounds or so

71/2 foot whisker seaker rod and a good penn reel

I like the 7000 for big fish too. Big flathead near a brush pile you need to be able to horse em around a bit. Same with spoonbill in a flood stage river. I use these.

https://www.jannsnetcraft.com/shop/rod-building/rod-blanks-fishing/netcraft-fiberglass-blanks?page=1

I make the handle from oak on my lathe. Use these reel seats. https://www.jannsnetcraft.com/280476

They are heavy but wont snap in half

Fishing the Arkansas. Not exactly targeting big fish but would like to have the set up to get them landed. This will be a bank fishing beer drinking rod and reel, so it needs to be stiff enough to muscle them out of the rocks/timber.

Never built a rod Danny. Much to it?

There is a learning curve. I dont build anything fancy just serviceable. Plenty of info available.

Penn or abu spinning reels with braided line on 7, 7.5 , and 8 ft ugly stick big cat rods. My son has the ugly stick rods but prefers a larger shimano baitcaster on his.

What kind/size line are you guys using?

You can't beat Ambassadeur bait casting reels. 5000, 6000 or 7000 series. The 6 and 7 thousand have a bait clicker on them which is useful.
The narrower 4500 series are great tough reels too but they won't hold very much 20 lb line. You can buy them new or used. EBay has a slew of them used.
I like a 7' graphite rod with a medium fast tip and a 2 oz rating. Berkely Lightning Rods are 50 bucks or so. This rod with a Abu 6000 is my main river catfish rig.

I like Stren Clear Blue Flourescent line so I can see it at night with a black light so the bugs leave me alone. I use various sizes from 8 to 17lb. but I'm only after channel cats up to maybe 15lbs.

What sorta black light are you using for that?

https://www.amazon.com/Consciot-Fla...t%2Bflas%2Caps%2C235&sr=8-7&th=1 Something like that Yote.

I like 30 to 50 lb braid on reel then a mono or flouro leader of about the same weight. 50 lb braid is about the same diameter as 20 lb mono. A reel will hold enough for a sure enough battle. Good tip on the blacklight ADC ive never heard of that. I mostly fish for them in the daytime though

And bugs don't come to the black light? Now I'm wondering if they make black light lanterns, lol.

They aren't attracted to them. Using these lights and a thermocell for mosquitoes keeps us bite-free and no swarming bugs all in your face. They do make spotlight type blacklights and light bar types for boats too.