Post by gunny1966 on Jun 7, 2016 18:06:04 GMT -5
In the previous years I used specifically Abu Garcia & enjoyed the dependability yet thru the years as I considered up-grading I found the Abu Garcia wasn't engineered as well as others. I searched around & even went to some of the Bass Pro shops lectures & such but to no avail I wasn't impressed with the quality. I've looked & researched hundreds of reels as well as poles line ect. ect. & I have determined I didn't want something I would have to replace anytime soon. I as well as others spend hundreds of dollars on fishing equipment only to have to buy more to be satisfied. Recently I have found what I consider to be the best set-up that suits the fish I'm targeting which is between 5 to 80 lbs. plus. The reason for the poll is to see if others are targeting the same & see if they as well are satisfied with their specific rig's.
REELS --> As for my selection of reels I chose the Shimano Tekota 600. It is a BEAST of a reel that seems to even out perform my Abu Garcia's especially in design, weight, casting. I don't usually promote much but these deserve mention especially over the Okuma & Penn design's over all. I also found a excellent place to purchase them very reasonable: stores.ebay.com/Great-Bay-Tackle
I've purchased a total of 6 reels with NO ISSUES & the customer service is excellent to say the least!
Poles --> In the past I always used cheap $30 to $60 poles, NO MORE! After breaking poles catching larger fish than I was targeting I learned a valuable lesson, stop buying junk crap that couldn't take the stress! My first selection of poles are 2 R1 War Rods which are no longer available which I might add is a MAJOR disappointment simply because they are ( were ) unbeatable. I still got them & would never even consider selling them! But since I got the 2 Shimano Tekota 600's & I rebuilt the 2 Abu Garcia 6500C3's & wanted to keep them mounted up I found another source to get quality poles: www.tanglingwithcatfish.com/
I have purchased a total of 8 poles from him & had NO ISSUES & once again the customers service is excellent!
Once I figure out all the pic sizes & the links ect. ect. I will post up pic's so you can see for yourself my specific rig's & yes I am 100% satisfied. The total cost was around $225.00 per pole BUT I assure you I have spent that on all the junk I had previously purchased which might I add has been thrown away. These are QUALITY for what I consider to be very reasonable!
Line --> I've used numerous types of line Spiderwire, Suffex, PowerPro just to name a few & for bait casters I have found that the two best which hold zero memory & perform well are #1 Cajun #2 Suffex. The line I hated the most is PowerPro simply because they say it doesn't retain memory ( not exactly true )!
I get my Cajun from: www.johnnyspond.com/cajun-braid-125-and-300yd-spools.html
I get my Suffex from: www.cabelas.com/catalog/search.cmd?form_state=searchForm&N=0&fsch=true&Ntk=AllProducts&Ntt=832+advanced+superline&x=10&y=6&WTz_l=Header%3BSearch-All+Products
I usually purchase most all my fishing hardware on-line to save depending on the supplier & shipping cost from here: www.bottomdwellerstackle.com/ depending on the availability.
Yes I have a boat but I usually fish from the bank, I catch more fish from the bank than I do in the boat anyway! You don't need a boat to catch fish, you need what catches the fish!
BAIT --> As for my bait I use only the BEST bait I have EVER found! I have tried shrimp, worms, garlic plastic worms, chick livers, shad / shad sides all of which hasn't even come close to the BEST! Now some of you might argue this but I assure you once you try it you'll be thinking after a couple of seasons "Ole GUNNY" was right! It makes no difference if your fishing a river, lake, pond or even a small stream, this stuff is the BEST & it doesn't even matter what state your fishing in, it works everywhere, so much so I drive to Iowa to get it & I purchase it in 5 gallon buckets! www.facebook.com/SonnysCatfishBait/ or catalog.catfishconnection.com/itemdetail.php?itemnumber=SONB180 The Blood Formula works well for all types of Catfish & I personally guarantee it is THE BEST bait on the market hands down!
Rigging it up --> The best set-up in my opinion is slip bobbers, that way you can control the depth as well as you can cast great distances. Most make the mistake of putting tons of bait on the hook which is simply ridiculous. I use a #6 Gamagatsu Octopus hook with 2 Team Catfish Furry Things, a one foot leader & that's all it takes to catch both small & large fish depending on their appetite! Now for fishing the river I will use tube to help keep the bait however if your fishing the lake I use the Furry Things!
I hope this helps & as I said I will post pics of the stuff when I figure out all the sizes 7 particulars!
:-) Good Luck & Best Wishes :-)
GUNNY1966
