I just completed the set up of the ultimate heavy duty catfish spinning rig. I have a lot of really good fishing rods from various companies and custom builders. While looking at potential rods for this build I ran across SEEKER rods in Orange, California. I took a liking to the Super Seeker series of rods and settled on the 7' 3X5. It was not offered in a spinning configuration but I managed to get it put together. I was surprised when the rod arrived. It has Fuji MNSIC heavy duty titanium plated double foot guides, Pac Bay aluminum reel seat and oversized high density grips. I had a bluegill decal added onto it for grins as it is now officially the "Bluegill Special". This rod far exceeds every expectation I had and honestly is in a class of it's own. I have full on custom rods that cost 3× as much and are nowhere near as nice or well balanced. I paired it with a new Penn Spinfisher V10500 and Power Pro 200# braid. This should easily handle anything I ever latch into.
It definitely surprised me. I will be adding more Seekers to my collection. They are custom quality at a fraction of the cost. The 3X5 will be like carrying a bazooka to a turkey shoot but their will be no worry of having a cat too big to handle. These rods handle 1,000#+ fish on a daily basis so "Old Whiskers" won't be snapping the rod, line or hooks on this rig. I have had flawless luck with every Penn Spinfisher I have had so hopefully the new one won't be the weak link.
I have a custom spin build that is overdue for delivery from NC. It was built using a 7'6" Calstar Grafighter 5X Unlimited class blank and a one piece aluminum butt. My plan is to pair it with the Shimano Stella 30000SW reel. I do find myself wondering how the custom will compare to the Seeker. The Stella may wind up on another Seeker instead.
I have a buddy who uses calstar seeker and lamglass Rod's exclusive and used his poles many times on his boat .
...There kick Azz rods and this dude Only goes fishing for the biggest striper and salmon he can find. I'd love to get a few made just for the Kitty's and striper up here
This will be the second rod this gentleman has built for me. He used a 7' St. Croix XXH Tuna class Saltwater blank on the first rod. His work on it was fantastic and that rod has performed perfectly. The Calstar rod is being decorated with FD designs to go along with my other passion.
I have just received my custom Calstar from NC. It is massive to say the least. It was built using a unlimited class 7' Calstar Grafighter 3XH rail rod blank. I have paired it up with another Penn SSV10500. I will try to get some picks of it up on here soon.
It did come out well. It has an overall length of 8'10" with the aluminum butt. I think it will cast fairly well with the added length. I plan to play around with it tomorrow and get some pics to post. May hit a local flood dam to see if I can turn a few blues with the new rigs.
I had hoped to get some down time today to get pics of the new rig. Unfortunately the fall firewood season took priority. I doubt there are very many ways to justify rigs this heavy for catfish other than simply to carry a big stick. I wanted rigs that are very capable of handling saltwater fishing as well as any cat I run across. With 100#+ cats becoming more common it is nice to know you have a rig that can handle that and more. You can never plan to catch a record breaker but knowing your equipment won't be a weak link will be a plus if you wake up with the lucky horse shoe.
I also used to fish a lot of pay lake tournaments where the average winning fish ranged 30-50# and the only goal was to land the fish and get them weighed as fast as possible. That bankrolled a lot of gear and started my massive spinning rig collection. I got bored with the ponds and started fishing the lower James after reading a ton of articles on huge blues being caught there regularly. My only issue now is getting time to go and finding a boat to get at the big cats down there.
Biggest thing I have ever hauled out of these waters was a little over 40 pounds. I keep hearing stories of whoppers, but I have not personally tied into one of them...yet.
Last time I checked, we all buy gear to make us happy, not someone else. Do I need a 2-3 or more rigs for every species of fish swimming in our waters? Nope...but I have convinced my wife that I do...:laugh:
My biggest cat so far was 59# on the lower James. I caught it in May several years ago. The same weekend a buddy that was fishing with us got a 63#. I had something snap 80# power pro down there simply because I underestimated its size and stopped the spool while it was running. I was told that it may have been a sturgeon due to the way it ran. Either way it had a Ugly Stik Tiger Rod screaming for relief.
Every time I have been confronted about my fishing equipment or guns by the opposite sex I simply change the topic to purses and shoes. I won't say that makes the debate any better but it stumps them momentarily. :laugh:
My wife has her hobbies and we tend to be pretty fair about "sharing" the resources....
I did catch a little heat the other day. I bought a new rod when I was supposed to be under a buying freeze since we just bought a new house and are fixing it up and making a few renovations...of course I had to point out what a great deal I got on it...it almost worked anyway....
Every lesson learned has a price and builds wisdom.
Its hard to find people around here that will give up hunting days to fish. I drive about 5hrs to fish the lower James and have had decent luck on canoe and from shore. I plan to check out Kerr Reservoir/Buggs Island soon since it holds the world record blue and produces a ton of 100#+ blues. I hope to find some good flathead fishing within a decent drive of here.
Yeah I thought it turned out pretty good. I have been researching custom rod building and plan to start building my own. I hope to pick up a master building kit in the next few weeks and give it a whirl. The decorative wraps seem to be the hardest aspect to master.
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