Most anglers who begin targeting catfish go out to their local bait and tackle shop and but the first fishing rod they can find that says “catfish” somewhere on the rod.

Rather than wasting money on buying the wrong gear, you can use my experience as a guide. As a professional catfish guide I rely on having the right gear to put fish in the boat and do so as efficiently as possible. The Ultimate Guide To Catfish Rods covers exactly what you need to know about choosing the right catfish rods.

Cost effective (as much as I would like to be able to buy $250 fishing rods, I can’t/won’t).

Holds up well and takes repeated long term abuse (I don’t “baby” my catfishing gear).

Is light enough to “finesse fish” and catch 1–5 pound catfish.

Performs under the stress and abuse that it’ll take from trophy blues and flatheads.

Here’s what I’m looking for when choosing catfish rods:

The end goal is to have a set of catfish rods that’s ideal for every catfishing technique and species.

Much of this was due to changes in fishing style and really getting a firm understanding of what a fishing rod can and cannot do, along with how to leverage every single aspect of the fishing rod. Some of this was due to poor research on my part, some was due to manufacturer defects or deficiencies.

I’ve wasted more money on catfish rods that weren’t a good “fit” than any other area of catfish gear so I created this guide, the Ultimate Guide To Catfish Rods. Catfish rods are a segment of catfishing gear that I wasted a lot of money on over the years.

Flathead catfish fishing planet setup