King Kat Rods

[crazyice]

Just wondering what some of you guys think of this series of rod, is it strong enough to handle some of the big flats? I just bought an 8' medium heavy and I am pairing it up with an Okuma Epixor Baitfeeder 50 spooled with 65lb Power Pro. I think that it should handle most fish, just wondering what some of your guys' thoughts are on this type of setup.

[aanderud]

I'm sure it will work fine. I have a $20 or $30 walmart special "ugly stick catfish" rod, the white one with the uber-weak backbone (weak relative to my ugly stick tiger) and it has caught some decent sized cats already this year (one approx 43 lbs). You know, the rod basically has to just 'not break' to be effective. A stronger backbone than my white ugly stick would be nice for the huge fish, but I know that it isn't going to bust, and that's the main thing.

The reel you're using is more important, I think. You have a good one. It has a good drag and has been known to pull in many 40+ lb fish by people on this HSOforum without much problem. I think you're all set.

[harvey lee]

I have a 7' King kat that I have caught Sturgeon going up to 53"'s and flatheds in the 30's. I also have other rods including a Moyer and the King Kat will do a fine job for you. One doent need to break the bank for a cat rod.

If you have a decent rod, a good reel with a good drag and braided line, you should do just fine.

[rushing]

I have caught flats up to 43lbs on the King Kat Pros. Great circle hook rods.

[jtk15]

I have the same set-up-just not together, the rod with a salt striker-with a clicker, and then the same reel on a Fenwick rod.....I prefer the Kind Kat over the more expensive Fenwick rod actually, but I do like the salt striker over the Okuma.....louder, and just a better built reel.....If anyone needs clicker reels, salt strikers are always in the bargin cave at Cabelas. The are generally willing to take another $5-$10 off if you ask too.

I dont remember what I paid...rod was cheap, $2o maybe and the salt striker reel was $40ish....really reasonable though.

jk

65# PP and your set.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Are you talking about the Salt Striker spinning reel or baitcasting reel? Because the spinning reels are Okumas with Cabelas painted on them.

[mplspug]

I assure you he is not talking about the clicker on a Salt Striker baitcaster. I watch the rod tip a lot with that sucker!

[dps]

You can land anything that swims on that rod... I have one of the exact same set-ups here that we have got countless flats and sturgeon on...

They tend to make funny noises when under heavy load, it might be just the glue at the guides(either that or this rod will explode eventually).

They land fish, but personaly I think they are way too stiff and they really beat you up bad when landing several large fish in a day... we never use ours anymore, we let friends use it when they dont have equipment and let them suffer That exact rod put a 63.5" sturgeon in my boat last year.. but not until after I had to catch the angler from going over the side of the boat because of fatigue.

Im not getting into a quality of equipment debate... I have been chasing big fish for a very long time and it DOES make a difference when using well balanced higher quality equipment... but fishing for big fish, falling back on a pool cue is always an option if you want to save a buck, but if you want to be confident and comfortable with your equipment, dont be afraid to follow sound advice from people who use better equipment and take into consideration their suggestions for preffered equipment, and from there make an effort to inspect or use the equipment before buying and find a rod that fits your preferences.

There is a big difference if your only going to target large fish 5 times a summer, and to another person who might be chasing these fish 5 days a week. I guarantee if you fish sturgeon and are catching numbers of large fish on a daily basis... your going to be ready to throw that king kat in the water by the end of the week, and be in need of a physical therapist by the end of the season.

[crazyice]

Well I was actually hoping to use it pretty much just for flathead fishing and planning on building a nice sturgeon rod as I build most of my rods. I just figured that I couldn't build myself one for anywhere near that cheap ($20) and if it does happen to not work out atleast I wasn't out $200 or something like that.

[Mr Special]

I have the KingKat 8'MH with SaltStriker"same as the Epixor" reels combo spooled with 65PP hiViz and it has landed multiple big flats this yr. Biggest has been #43, seems to work great so far, would recommend them to anyone. For $65 ya can't beat it.

I also have the KingKat 7'MH SaltStriker combo and it has landed some very nice fish.

Next season I'm gonna spool them with 80PP hiviz, i went with 65pp only cause they didn't have the 80pp instock.

[DTro]

$65?

How about $40

[Mr Special]

Best $40 I've ever spent.

Thanks again bro