Fishing for the big, ugly monsters.

[DrownedDesertRat]

I've decided that my goal for this upcoming liquid water fishing season is to go for the big, ugly monsters... Cats and Carp. What gear would you suggest I use for shore/fishing peer fishing? What rating/length of rod? What strength and type of line? What size/brand of hooks? What reel?
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[byrumjr]

[size 2][font "Arial"][size 2]I don’t know of a better goal to have, than being out on the water trying to catch that one big fish. With out know more about where you are fishing. I would go with a good stiff rod, about 6 foot with the medium heavy rating . Now for the line some brands work better than other, but all will do the job . I would used at least 20 lb. test . The reel is what you like. A spinning reel or a conventional reel will work. As to the size of the reel the bigger the reel the faster you can bring the fish in. As for the hook try a 4/0, it does not take a big hook to catch big fish. Just make sure that the hook does not bend if so it could straighten out and lose the fish.[/size][/font][/size]
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[DrownedDesertRat]

Thanks! I'll be doin' all my fishin' here in the land with well over 10,000 lakes (although many of them barely qualify as lakes). I fish mainly the Mississippi River just north of Mpls. 20 lb test line is what I was figurin'. But should it be low-vis? How about line sensitivity and give/stretch? Abrasion resistant?
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[JapanRon]

Hi there DrownedDesertRat,

Musta been a flash flood huh? Some guys take this catfish fishing just as serious as the most serious trout fishing purist you ever met. Using Google.com as your search engine I would search for websites directed specifically for catfishing. There are a bunch. I just pull up a few.
Good search keywords would be catfishing, tackle, bait, how to, etc.

Some guys here will be able to help too I'm sure.

tsurikichi
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[lonehunter]

i'm with you on this ! most the guys from my old area (detroit) use ocean rods and reels . i've had carp destroy many a reel , usually one per fish .
i am pretty good the nugent way . i met him once doing this . talk about energy , and his comitment to getting kids interested in the outdoors , while we were talking with him he spotted a kid and his dad , and stopped talking right in the middle of his sentence , walked over to the kid and introduced himself and spent a good half hour with the young lad , giving him pointers and then his bow ! that kid will be hooked for life .

i am going to try the european way of fishing for them this year as an experiment , noodle roding ! and fly fishing !
it should be interesting .
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