I want to build a new catfish rod this year and Tom's live bait article got me thinking about blank and design ideas. Now, the fish I catch are mostly in the 3-6 lb. range and most of the bait I use is not really alive but sometimes it is. I use shiners and crayfish sometimes, either free lined or with light weight, but usually use cut fish or livers or shrimp. I like to use 10-12 lb. mono. This rod will double for "chumming" for schoolie stripers where pretty much the same technique is used.

Question: Is the Seeker CLB702B too much rod or just right. I'm thinking it might be just right but I also don't want to overlook other better catfish blanks for the typical size fish I will be catching. I either hold the rod or lean it in a "y" stick on the bank.

It would be a nice choice, but you won't get many 6lb fish to really tax it. Oh they'll put a bend in it, but you'll have plenty of power in reserve. 10 to 12 lb line is fine. You could go a bit heavier if you wanted, but maybe not past 14 or 15 for the best match.

Here's another idea - many of the bass "crankin" blanks with glass tips actually make very good light live bait blanks. Seeker has a series like this and I think many other companies do as well.


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Steve, I do few striper rods for folks now and then on the 702 and 704s, and as a catfisherman, I think they might be a hair overkill for the sandwich size cats. However... they are such a sweet blank that I am considering getting one for my own catfishing. Normally I fish for the smaller ones, but occasionally it is fun to go after the bigger ones. In the past couple of months I've been thinking that a 702 would be a great rig for all around cats, as well as the stuff that comes along when fishing for them like gar and carp. Most of the catfish guys around here simply will not invest in a higher end blank and normally just go with an inexpensive Eglass, which does the trick for a lot of the local methods (myself included) but for the occasional times when I'm live baiting and want a really nice, sensitive and powerful rod with a great tip, these are starting to look like they will fit the bill nicely . I would probably go for more of a lighter bass type rod as Tom mentioned for general purpose use, but I don't fish for bass, and would rather have something a bit more on the heavy side for cats, pike and musky trips, and still have enough fun feel for the littler fish. There are a lot of good blanks that would do this, but the more I mess around with them, the more partial I'm growing to these Seekers.

Thanks for the ideas and feedback guys.

how did it turn out..let me know im wanting to make one for catfishing as well...
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