Building a Cat Rod

To make a long story short I ended up with a new (circa 1996) St. Croix SCI 7′ glass Med Heavy blank. I called St. Croix and they said the blank was originally designed as a catfish rod. Since I have never fished specifically for cats before and would like to make my self a new rod (I have built walleye and bass rods but nothing this heavy, line rating 12-30lb), I would like to ask you cat guys what you look for in a rod and what special features I should put on the rod? I’m setting it up as a baitcaster. What length handle and fore grip do you prefer? Would #8 single foot guides be enough or should I put a double foot guide on it? Also any other ideas you have for this rod would be appreciated. Thanks Mark.

I prefer double footed guides for cat rods. My favorite cat rods have about 13″ in rear cork and 6″ in foregrip.

Many of the serious guys building surf casting rods are even using single foots. As well as muskie fishing builders. Check out Rodbuilding.org for all the info on building a cat rod or any other for that matter – very helpful folks and a few searches should supply you with more info than you need to make your decisions on components. You can also contact me directly if you have further questions… I build many more eye rods than heavier stuff, but I research constantly and can offer you lots of advise… Chuckles

RW is dead on. A longer grip is very important, same with the fore grip. Larger diameter is also much more comfortable fighting big fish.

Double foot, heavy duty guides are pretty standard on heavy casting cat rods. I know Pac Bay and Fugi both make some very good light weight guides that hold strength, and wont get eaten by heavy super line. Dont skimp on the guides.

Its still nice to keep the weight down as much as reasonable for sensitivity purposes… but keep in mind cat rods go through lots of abuse on the average and its best to have a little too much, than not quite enough and end up with a smashed guide in the middle of the night.

Another thing I would pay close attention to is the reel seat. Make sure that it is sized appropriately for the reel you plan on using. I have a few that don’t quite hold a 6500 reel as tight as I’d like, and I’ve had to resort to using tape to shim them a bit tighter.

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about 13″ in rear cork and 6″ in foregrip.

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I have one rod that has less than 13 inches of butt…and that’s my lest favorite rod.

St Croixs’ hook keepers are too small for the size hooks I use and they mount them on the side. For some reason this is a magnet for my Power Pro. I’ll had all my hook keepers replace with larger ones mounted on top.

I seem to have trouble with ceramic inserts. I’m not sure if they get bounced out or it’s the Power Pro, but the first guide is the one that’s falling out. You rod builders might know what the problem is…but I lean toward the all metal guides because of this.

I’m a cork guy. Love the feel of cork over that neoprene stuff. Looks better too…IMO.

Yes, reel seats. I have a rod that the reel wiggles in and thanks for the tip Ryan!

I never gave much thought to the reel seat. I have two that would fit the rod one with exposed blank one with out. The one with out the exposed seat seems much beefier but I don’t have a reel to test on either. Is it the length or the width of the seat that gives problems with the 6500? Also how many guides on a 7′? I know that 7 plus the tip for 8 total is standard but a lot of the Bass rods I have built are 8 or 9 plus the tip, would 10 total be a better number or is that too much? Thanks for the input. Mark

I just ran out to check mine. The 6500 wiggles from side to side. My FAVORITE boat rods are St Croix 7 foot blanks with fiberglass reenforced butt sections. These have 7 plus the tip.

Because sensitivity really isn’t an issue, the touching of the blank isn’t really required. However one of the reasons I like the Croix blank rods is that they are graphite and I can easily tell what the bottom is made of by bumping my 3 or 4 oz weight on the bottom…otherwise, it’s just a fun rod to catch a 20+ pound fish on.

Thanks Brian – I think that sounds about like the blank I have. I bought a bunch of Elite and Avids while on vacation at Park Falls. This one I must have picked up by mistake and was in the mix when I got home. I only paid $14.00 for the blank and when all is said and done I should only have about $40.00 in the whole works. I thought for that price I could have some fun at the river for a small investment. Thanks Again Mark

The exposed blank seat is a very good idea.. I am strongly considering them when I make some cat rods in the future. Sensitivity does have its place, even in catfishing. I like to feel when a flathead is crunching on my bait. The exposed blank will not hinder the performance in any way.

The number of guides… can you really have too many? Enough to ensure the line is never going to scrape the blank at any rod angle is neccessary. But if you are using heavier weight guides, you wont want too many extra. The more guides you have, the more sensitivve the rod is also, and it will keep the blank from twisting under heavy load.

I guess I would think it out carefully for efficiency and balance. The high quality metal guides are nice.. but weigh a little more.

The 6500 reel seat is not an oversized seat.. many cat rods are built oversized and that is why there is play. I dont think you are going to have the loose seat issue because your croix blank is much smaller in diameter than many of the glass rods out there that require a larger reel seat.. larger reel seats(larger rods) are generally made to take a larger reel… Theres a big Difference of a butt diameter of .625 vs 1.10. The smaller one isi usually a musky rod, the larger is a surfcaster or stand up boat rod(they take big reels).

ok, i’ll shut up now