Ohhhh Boy!!!!!!

[Deitz Dittrich]

My spring order has started to arrive...

in the mail today came my new Catfish/stergeon reel... A Shimano Calcutta TE300...

Ohh my gawd I am in love.. Deitz is going to learn to fish some bottom feaders this year!!! The bass head is going to the dark side!!!!

Ok..light me up, I am ready.. I got the head gear on!!!

see you all at cool cats this weekend!

[DARK30]

I predict a new avatar

[Guest]

I wont be at the cool cats.. I'll be sitting in Missouri fishing for Blues..

Need me to train that Calcutta in right for you?

[Deitz Dittrich]

now dont get me wrong boys... I will not be giving up the striped ones... However, I have to admit I am pretty excited to be learning something new to do with fishing. I hope Dennis and the rest of me dont get to sick of me asking stupid questions as I go into my new endeavor.

Thatguy----Nobody touches the new baby!... NOBODY!!! At least not yet!

For sure have fun down south.. you will be missed! as I like to say.. "Set the hook once for me!"

[hanson]

Leave it up to the bass guy to get a Calcutta, eh?

(Oh wait a minute... what's that in my Avatar? )

I think that alone is going to handicap you as we all know the kitty cats prefer an Ambassadeur.

[Dennis Steele]

Quote:

---

Nobody touches the new baby!... NOBODY!!!

---

Thats what you say now, but you will be begging someone to reel in your 40lb cat after those whimpy bass arms are sore after 2 minutes!

There are deffinately some talented cat guys on this board. I know I have learned something from all of them.

[hanson]

Deitz-

What do you have for a gear ratio on the Calcutta?

[Guest]

I've learned something from everyone.. thats saying a lot from someone as hard headed and stubborn as me. There is always more to learn. I have gone through some transitions in the last few years targeting cats.. about the time you think you have it perfected.. something changes. I guess the only thing that will be in our favor in the long run is having the ability to change when change is needed? Some luck sure helps too!

I was checking out the Calcutta's a couple weeks ago at a retailer. It may have been the top end 300 I was looking at. Very nice reels.. and a nice price tags to go along with it($400). The only thing I didnt care for on the reel is the gears dont automaticly engage when you start to reel.. after a couple backlashes on hooksets.. I am sure I would remember.

[fiskyknut]

A circle hook reel.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Chris- 5.0-1.. about 25" of line per handle turn... That is for the Calcutta TE.. and yes theyare a tad pricey at $340...

Here kitty, kitty, kitty!!!!!

[Random guy]

Now the cat guys have a musky guy and a bass guy joining the ranks. It just may upset the balance of catting.

[Guest]

Deitz.. thats a good deal at $340.. I looked at them at Thorn Bros when I was looking for a rod blank and they were $380 there.. or $400 after taxes... thats where the $400 figure came from.

The reel should last forever with heavy use.. With that taken into consideration, its a good purchase. I have broken the $100 barrier many times buying a reel.. but breaking the $300 mark is a jump this river rat cant make!

[Deitz Dittrich]

That Guy- I must admit, i am on the Shimano Prostaff, so I didn't pay the $340...which is retail... If you saw it for $380 somewhere I would be weary of buying something from that store.. as I am pretty sure that is quite a bit over Shimanos suggested retail price. But yes, taxes would add a pretty penny to the price for sure... I hope the reel does last a lifetime! and I cant wait till the rod gets here, and REALLY cant wait to feel that first thump when I set the hook on one of them kitties!!!!

[Ralph Wiggum]

What are you putting it on Dietz? I can't imagine sticking a $340 reel on a $20 cat rod

[Deitz Dittrich]

RW- To be honest I forgett what I ordered. I think I am putting it on an 7.5 foot Shimano Teramar Heavy Action Inshore Flats rod... rated 15-30lb, 1-3 oz... hows that sound... the Teramar is a very nice rod a TC4 rod..... Fuji alconite guides.. fugi seat.

[hanson]

Just wait til you get that baby in the mud on the banks of the Red.

[Guest]

You'll know if the rod fits the bill after hooking into a couple big fish. It's hard to say until then. I am sure it will be a worthy combination capable of landing some fish. I dont know any serious cat guys that only have 1 rod that they use... It's just like any kind of fishing, different rods for different situations.

Find yourself a good hole that produces some big fish and I guarantee you will have more than one rod soon!

Do you plan to fish mono with that rig, or superline?

[Deitz Dittrich]

TG-not sure.. I am open to suggestions...

the one rod deal... I totally understand... I wanted to give catfishing a try this year.. to find if I liked it.. didn't want to dump a whole bunch of rods to find out it wasn't my cup of tea... "I am a bit ADD as fishhead(dennis) will tell you"... not very good as sitting waiting for bites for a very long peroid of time.

If I find that I enjoyit I will add more rods and combos next year.

Mono/braid.. dont know...? I am a coplete rookie when it comes to catting.. I have never fished for them intensionally.. I have caught a few fishing for bass.. but never have tried for them. I am goingto canada with dennis this spring to the red.. it is there where I will get my "kittie Cherry" popped.

[Ralph Wiggum]

That's quite the way to get your "kittie cherry" popped

I prefer braids just for the fact that you get more strength. If you want something in 50+ pound test, mono will get pretty unmanagable. Some guys will fish with 20-30 lb mono, which, truthfully, would probably be fine most of the time, but I don't want to lose a big boy because I skimped a little on line. You'll get a little more shock absorbsion with the mono, but a I feel like the rods I have add enough shock absorbsion.

Those are my thoughts. There are guys that have a heck of a lot more experience that will chime in, too, I presume.

[Guest]

I dont know the right answer to give you Deitz on the line to use. I am a very experienced catman, and I still find myself going through transitions in how I fish. I was a die hard mono guy for many years.. I have had very good experiences with high quality mono(Berkely Big Game & Big Cat). I also found that my strike percentage was reduced when I got above #20 mono, and the larger diameter line doesnt cast as well, has more current drag.. it seemed to me more trouble than it was worth, and the end results were I caught less fish.

I eventually tried a super line and I hated it(Fire line).. it ate up my rod eyes with a quickness, it snapped like nothing if it came in contact with a sharp object under load... and it casted as well as coated steel leader material would if spooled on for line... Needless to say I sang the mono tune for quite a while longer.

I eventually came onto a couple more fishing holes and had issues with sharp/rough debris(rock, concrete, rebar, etc). The mono worked fine in 30# test or heavier, but the snags would chew it up and I would have to respool constantly.

I changed over to power pro on a couple rigs and gave it a try with good results in the 65# line, but only marginal results with the 50# line. I eventually upped one reel to 80# power pro and had excellent results.. It cast great, it lays on the reel nice without burying in the spool under load, its very abbrasion resistant.. or the fight isnt over as soon as the line bumps something.

There are pro's and con's to both.. but my rigs are split between power pro and mono, and the power pro is used the most for flatheads. The bite ratio seems to be the same between 80# power pro, and #20 mono. I have more confidence in clear mono, but the green is much easier to see at night.. it helps see bites, and net/unhook fish.

I dont know what to recommend to start with.. these are the lines I use for catfishing after tons of trial and plenty of error.

[Random guy]

That guy, I spooled up one of my new cat rigs with a 30lb big cat solar for my night fishing rod. Trouble is it sat on the reel for a week then I went to tie on the leader etc and the spool exploded into a birds nest in my dining room as soon as it had some slack. Does this stuff settle down after some usage or is it always going to be a pain. I have never been a fan of mono but thought I would give it a try for cats. Everything else is spooled with superbraids. Get rid of it or give it a try?( Then strip and respool in the dark instead of fishing)

[ratherbefishn]

I will second the 80 lb power pro on the flat rods!! I love the stuff. Most flathead grounds you cant be too safe on line weight IMO And if you ever run out of anchor rope theres no need to worry

[Dennis Steele]

I hate mono with a passion. Problem is, in some situations it is the best.

Some to the situations is in sharp rocky areas. While superlines have good abrasion resistance they get cut easily on sharp objects.

Mono excels when using circle hooks. I have tried rods with the slowest actions spooled up with superlines, but you just don't get the right "slow load" that is needed for circles to be effective.

For some reason, mono works really well on large fish in high current. It does not cut that current well, but even half the lb test mono seems less likely to break than a super line of twice the lb test.

What I think happens is in high current your rod is bent over and maxed out on a big cat. When that big cat takes a quick turn he snaps that superline. Ther is nothing left to give and the line breaks. Mono has additional stretch, so it helps cushion the effect.

Still...give me 65 or 80lb PP in most situations.

[Random guy]

I'm also figuring the braids are a much better casting scenerio then the heavy monos.

[Guest]

JP .. you are using a 6500 for a reel arent you?

If it is a 6500, the spool diameter should be large enough in diameter for the 30 lb test to work properly. Too small of a spool can cause that.. but its not the issue here.

Did you have anyone putting resistence on the line when you were spooling the reel? Heavy mono you really want a lot of resistence to pre-stretch the line when you are reeling it on. Have someone hold the spool and have them press the spool against their leg for extra resistence.. the more resistence the better, and it should eliminate the problem.

Heavy mono can be pretty stiff when its new.. but its ususally not stiff enough to unload itself on a baitcasting spool. You had to have the bushing set light... but it still shouldnt do that. That line will work better once its wet a few times, and gets stretched out by a fish.. but your going to want to get it under control by that time. If you have another empty reel there, I would recommend anchoring the empty reel on your rod, take the reel with the line on it and run the line through the eyes and onto the empty reel.. have someone hold the reel with the loose line(mount it on a rod and it will be easier on them) and have them thumb that reel with heavy tension so it lays very tight on the reel thats getting spooled... I dont recommend using the drag, it could get too hot and damage the drag. Have the person thumbing it wear some heavy gloves.. its going to get hot.

If this doesnt take care of your problem, it could be possible that you got a bad spool of line? Another thing I guess you could do is to tie the end of the line off to a stationary object now.. take a long walk and let the line out... then just crank the drag down and reel the line back in with very heavy tension.. this should pre stretch the line.