What happened to Catfish Safari Rods?

[wooduck26]

I was looking to place an order and they seem to have disappeared! After some research, Im still confused, are they being made under a different name? Same rod distributed by someone else? Anyone know how to get a CFS rod?

[DTro]

He quit making those. If you are looking for a similar rod blank, from what I've read, the Safaris were just rebadged meathunter rods that can be found at RFSportsinc. FYI, I've heard of some folks having issues with the reel seats on both the Safari and Meathunter though.

From what I've read, the Tangling with Catfish (TWC) is also a good alternative.

Couple of guys floating around the area here that are making some VERY nice custom rods as well. A.W Wolfram and Rushing

[pureinsanity]

Those two guys do make some good rods! They are good eggs. You could post in the rod building forum and get some quotes for a rod you are looking for that someone in there could build that is similar.

[Brad B]

I have a rod from A.W Wolfram and it is a sweet rod. At some point in time I may have him build me another one to match the one I have. I have a casting rod from him and would like to get a matching spinning verison.

[Scott K]

I have seen a couple of Andy's fishing rods, they look nice. I have had Rob make my son one, and will soon be having him make myself one. I recommend either of theses guys. You sure cant beat the quality!

[wooduck26]

I just got off the phone with Steve at CatFish Safari, What a great guy! The rod I have (8ft CF80H) was the original rod he made, and in his opinion the best rod overall. He said "rfsportsinc" should be able to make me that exact rod......Great News! I will contact them tomorrow!

[pureinsanity]

Cool but that sounds spendy!

[hanson]

Every good cat rod that has ever hit the market doesn't stick around very long.

I need/want another one of the Catfish Safari "Channel" rods with the foam grips.

If anyone has one they wanna get rid of, or know where I can find one, please let me know!

[wooduck26]

  pureinsanity said:

Cool but that sounds spendy!

You get what you pay for!

I will be placing an order in the next month or so, if anyone wants to go in on it, let me know, it will save us money on shipping!

Hansen, Have you called RFsports to see if they can build you one? Im guessing they can...... Might be worth a phone call?

[pureinsanity]

  hanson said:

Every good cat rod that has ever hit the market doesn't stick around very long.

I need/want another one of the Catfish Safari "Channel" rods with the foam grips.

If anyone has one they wanna get rid of, or know where I can find one, please let me know!

Have Rob, Andy or myself build you one

[Gordie]

I like those rods but not the foam grips as they can get a bit slippery when wet and I'm talking from experience as my went into the drink a couple years ago oh well like hanson said if its a good cat rod it wont be long

[proguide]

  wooduck26 said:

I just got off the phone with Steve at CatFish Safari, What a great guy! The rod I have (8ft CF80H) was the original rod he made, and in his opinion the best rod overall. He said "rfsportsinc" should be able to make me that exact rod......Great News! I will contact them tomorrow!

If you think Steve is fun on the phone spend a day in the boat with him sometime. He is one of the best in terms of nice guy and knowing is stuff with catfishing. His rods were great and he told me the Team Catfish rods are pretty much the same blanks. Tangling with Catfish makes a great rod for the monsters but they are a bit stout for what I like to do up here.

[pureinsanity]

What did you end up doing woodduck?

[wooduck26]

  pureinsanity said:

What did you end up doing woodduck?

I got virtually the same rod from rfsports dot com they were the supplier of rods to Cafish Safari......I would highly recommend their Flathead Rod.

Any other questions feel free to email me!

-Dave

[bobbymalone]

I have had a CS channel cat rod for couple years now and love it. I was hesitant to buy one because I heard of reel seat problems, but I also heard they corrected that problem. My channel cat rod hasn't had any problems.

they were built on "sumo" blanks and the manufactuer has changed hands/names a couple times. Pretty sure they are now made a company called CUI products and are called "bigwater" blanks. They are available online if you're interesting in a DIY-er. I noticed the rods at RF sports seem to match the specs at CUI's HSOforum so I'm pretty confident they are the same thing.

if you really want a CS rod though, win the brand new one I donated to KOTC last week

[pureinsanity]

  bobbymalone said:

I

they were built on "sumo" blanks and the manufactuer has changed hands/names a couple times. Pretty sure they are now made a company called CUI products and are called "bigwater" blanks.

Yup, I found the blanks online. A couple places still have sell them and advertise them as "sumo" blanks. They are cheap blanks but all E glass blanks are pretty cheap. I believe the MH blanks are the same, as well as Team Catfish. The team catfish blanks just claim to have a slightly faster tip.