I have a friend who wants a 6'6" - 7' casting rod for fishing for flathead catfish here in NC. He uses 30lb. mono, and generally throws a 3 ounce weight with cut bait. I was thinking a fairly robust swimbait blank for 1-3 oz. lures, but all of those I have found are generally 7'6"+. Not a lot of casting involved, so super light weight isn't much of an issue. I don't have much experience with this type of fishing, so looking for suggestions.

Here is an interesting read on Cat fish and cat fish rods and the reasons for various choices.

[www.catfishedge.com]

But, in general, I would go with an all glass rod or a composite rod that is mainly of glass construction.

Best wishes

A number of serious catfish fishermen really like the RodGeeks X-Comp blanks. For what you are looking for, try either the XC732 or XC733. They are 7’3”” but can easily be cut to 7’ by taking 3” off the butt. [rodgeeks.com]
Norm

i have a few of the rodgeeks XC's i built mine for saltwater but don't see why they wouldn't work for your friend.

i have both the 731 and 732

i would probably lean more towards the 731 or 732, to me there is a significant difference in power between the 2. the 732 is alot more powerful. I also find the 731 to be more moderate and have a soft tip, so i would probably cut off the tip of the 731 and off the butt of the 732

I have a tranx 200 on the 731 and tranx 400 on the 732

my gut would be to try the 732

Sounds like your friend may target flatheads in heavy cover using 30lb line. I am thinking the XC 733 trimmed from the butt would work best if that is the case. I have mine at full length it cast 3 oz and bait easily and will underhand lob up to 6oz and bait off a boat or pier with no issue. I really need to get a big catfish on to really put it to the test but I am confident that it has the backbone. If you or friend is in the triad area he can borrow mine to check it out.

IMHO, the best value blank is the Batson RCLB. The rclb70ml is what I use for a general purpose 30# saltwater trolling outfit. I'd think the rclb70l would be enough for cats....unless he is tight to cover and fish are over 30# range.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

Within this series of CRB Rod blanks are some of the best blanks available for catfishing. Here is a link - [www.mudhole.com] - Thank You

Bob McKamey
Mud Hole Custom Tackle
bobm@mudhole.com

Russell gave a good option with the RainShadow RCBL70ML, the RCLB70L would work quite fine too. Check the specs at: [www.rainshadowrodblanks.com]

If you wan to go a little more price conscious then do the Rainshadow E-Glass SWB70L or ML (they’ll hold up just fine) - [www.rainshadowrodblanks.com]

James Taylor
Batson Enterprises
BatsonEnterprises.com | RainShadowRodBlanks.com | ALPSForeCast.com | Build2Fish.com

Thank y'all for the input! I'm going with the rodgeeks XC733, because of the color options. He wants his rod Dallas Cowboys colors, which somewhat offends me personally, but I guess I'll make him what he wants. I'll have him check out the blank to see if the length is OK, before I decide whether to cut any length off. I'm also going to try embedding a small submersible LED in the butt. If anyone has any experience with that, I'd love to hear any feedback!

Sorry a Dallas Cowboy rod will not catch Carolina Cats.

Had to have some fun. Are you wanting the rod to glow with LED inside? I don’t think the XC blanks are translucent enough to let light through. I haven’t tried the threads that glow in the dark but that would be a nice to have near the tip.

I'm planning to try it. Don't know if the blank will glow adequately with the light or not, but there ain't but one way to find out, I reckon! I'm not going to hold my breath, but thought it might be a cool little "extra" if it works. I'll let y'all know.