Cat fish reel and rod.

[heating guy]

I got a cabelas gift card and thinking of getting atleast a catfishing reel and maybe if cheap enough a rod too. Anybody ever try the large penn reels they are largest the staore has? and are the king cat rods any good?

[mainbutter]

A rod with a lot of lifting power is all you need, and can be had on the cheap. I'm sure the king cats are fine rods.

I'm a fan of just about any reel with "Penn" on it, but you won't find many Minnesotans using them and there are many options out there that work wonderfully. Get something with a big handle and a low gear ratio, you won't be retrieving any fast lures, so giving yourself some torque will help in case you're lucky enough to stick a big fish. You do not need to spend big bucks on a catfish reel either.

[TruthWalleyes]

I wanted a spinning reel to go with a 9' penn captiva rod that i love catfishing with this spring to replace the shakespere that was on it; so i picked up a shimano sedona 4000 (From gander), put 80# power pro on it, and went up to the rainy river. Pulled in a 53" sturgeon with it, and since, many many catfish including a 30" channel. This reel holds up, like all spinning reels, the rod should do the work. They're not winches like a baitcaster.

I love that combo. Rod is a 1-3oz. Light tip, plenty of backbone.

Good reel for cats IMO.

If you want baitcaster, then look to the poster above's advice on rod. DOn't need anything too expensive for a baitcaster reel.

[heating guy]

I'm looking at the penn levelwind its ratio is 3:01 is that low?

[nsnutter]

I have two king kat rods - the 7'6" spinning with an okuma avenger abf65 and the 9' casting with a penn 209m levelwind. Both are good flathead combos IMO.

[nsnutter]

Good for the price btw. I have better rods and reels but neither of those I mentioned have let me down ... Also cabelas has the king kat/salt striker combo which is a great combo being that the salt striker is a rebadged okuma epixor bait feeder reel.

[aanderud]

The king cat combo is a good one for the money. Salt striker reels are reasonable if you're looking for spinning reels. Otherwise if you're interested in a baitcaster, then an abu garcia 6500 or 7000 will fit the bill, as will a pen 320 or 209 or something similar.