Rod Specs
Length: 7’6”
Line: 10-40.lb Test
Lure: 1-6oz
Power: Med-Light
Action: Moderate
If you are a serious angler who is a beginner or seasoned veteran drifting or trolling for catfish, then the Big Cat Fever Medium/Light Trolling Rod is for you.
Now, you might ask, how does the Big Cat Fever M/L Trolling Rod help an angler drifting or trolling for catfish out on the water? The answer is in the action of the rod. This new rod model comes with a moderate action blank that offers a very soft top but with plenty of backbone for getting those bigger fish in the boat.
“Trolling With Planner Boards”
Having a super soft tip is critical to your success when using techniques such as trolling with planer boards that require the use of release clips. The soft tip section on the BCF trolling rods is dialed in specifically for this technique by not enabling the release clips on planner boards to release prematurely. Think about it, when you are pulling your boards on rougher water, the boards are going up and down the wake putting pressure on the line in the release clip and going to the rod. If you are using too stiff of a rod this will cause the line to pull out of the release clip on your planner boards causing you to reel your setup back in and reset. Also, to stiff of a rod tip when using planner boards in rough water will also make your boards jerk and skip up across the top of the water resulting in your board releasing prematurely as well. This is why having the correct action rod for this technique is important for keeping your boards pulling correctly and baits in the strike zone.
“Back Bouncing Baits”
Determine where you are located this technique can be called a variety of things. This technique involves casting multiple baits behind the boat using the aid of a trolling motor to pull and bounce baits back behind the boat along the bottom. Having the correct rod for this technique is very important to not only getting hung up less but also bait presentation. The design of the Big Cat Fever Medium Light Trolling Rod will help you get hung up less by the action of the rod actually working to pull your baits over structure instead of setting your hook on the structure. What we mean by “setting the hook on structure” is, if you have a rod that is too stiff, many times when your hook comes in contact with a piece of cover on the bottom the incorrect rod will hit the backbone far too quickly, resulting in digging the hook tip into the cover before you have an opportunity to release pressure to work the snag out.
“Down Line Drifting”
Down lining is one of the most popular and oldest ways to target catfish and cover water. The Big Cat Fever M/L Trolling rod is perfect for this style of fishing due to the super soft tip section of this rod model. When dropping baits straight down and reeling them back up keeping them suspended just above the bottom many times in colder months or when a front comes though this can cause the bite to be super light. The soft tip section of this rod model really shines during this time allowing the fish plenty of time to grab the bait and swallow the hook before feeling the backbone of the rod. Those extra few seconds of allowing a finicky fish to eat the bait is critical to your success when using this technique. This can be the difference in the rod burring over the side of the boat with a fish on and your rod popping back up due to the fish releasing the bait feeling the tension too soon.
Regardless of how often you use any of these trolling and drifting techniques for targeting catfish, the Big Cat Fever Medium-Light Trolling Rod is the perfect rod model to help you be more successful on the water.