Will 3lb test curve be okay for catfish?

[joegpp]

I go to a water where there is catfish up to 80lbs I think, maybe even 90lbs, but there is also loads of carp too, I caught a 20-30lbs catfish about a week ago on 2.75 and they did okay

 

I just want a couple new rods that won't snap if I get a decent sized catfish but at the same time I wan't to have a little bend in the rod if I get carp too

 

I was looking at the fox warrior s 3lb

 

[Ryank]

I have 2 3lb TC rods and a 3.25 if never caught a cat of that size but I'd have confidence in my 3.25 to handle a 60-80 with out being to worried About it breaking. But all depends how aggressive you need to be depending on the water, snags etc. If you took your time and didn't need to force it to turn and could let it run and tire out in open water I think 3lb would manage perfectly fine. But for a snaggy water or one with plenty of features for the beast to dive towards I'd probably want something a touch on the beefy side to not be afraid to try pull it away from snags/features if needed.  

 

Just my 2 cents. But again I have never tested my rods on Anything over the 40 mark. 

Edited May 27, 2018 by Ryank

[dayvid]

Totally agree with Ryank.

[B.C.]

There are Cats present on a water I fish up to possibly 60ish (One particular fish has never been landed, but hooked and lost a few times on carp gear)…. for me it's about balancing your tackle if you are deliberately targeting these Cat's. The fights they give are epic.... Cat's to mid 30's can be tamed and landed fairly easily on standard carp gear 3lb tc and 14lb line on a lake with little weed or snags...… The bigger specimens will give you some problems, in fact they will own you on carp gear and it will be pot luck as to whether they find a snag or weed bed before they are tired enough to land...… I would look at the average size of the cats and not the biggest.... An 80lb cat will give you problems whatever gear you use. But if the average size is 40 plus then I'd be looking at using at least a 3.25 tc or even 3.5 tc, that way you can up your line bs to 18lb or above and still have a balanced set up for casting and enough grunt to have some control over the fight.

If there are just occasional cats, then the 3.25 tc will be ok, quite common nowadays for carp fishing, but be prepared to up your mainline and every now and then be telling a story of *the one that got away" lol.

Trust me, the big cats are brutal, I'm sure they don't know they are hooked sometimes and just hug the bottom moving slowly, possibly still feeding... Once they decide to run, they really go ,so investing in some stage stands or pod anchors would be sensible too.

 

[smufter]

We have one Cat in our lake that goes "about 90". A guy locked into it the other week, had it on for 4 hours before finally getting snapped up. He was using carp gear (it picked up his bright yellow pop up!!) and didn't stand a chance of stopping it. Apparently it holed up under the bank and wouldn't shift. When it did eventually decide to get going again it snapped him up with ease.

I personally detest Catfish. One of the ugliest fish to grace our waters and I wouldn't go out of my way to deliberately fish for them. But if I did target that old girl in our lake, I'd be investing in a "proper" Cat rod and some heavy duty (40lb) line. Some might see that as "overkill" but if I hooked into that fish, any thoughts of "finesse" would go out the window. You've got to be as brutal with them as they are with you.

 

[chillfactor]

After catching a 40 lb + & an upper 30 cat last year on my carp gear , I'm of the thinking that I needed every bit of power my 3.25 torrix could muster to slow there powerful runs down still couldn't stop them so had to play them through a big lillie bed . If I hadn't of been fishing a snag line & tubing probably would of been a different outcome than both ending up in the net . 

My last outing on the lake had me hook up a cat fish while fishing zigs . It was trailing a leader a load of line & a bunch of branches, & had smashed up a fellow member the night before . Managed to land it somehow ...also an upper 30 .

If I was to target them especially bigger ones ,  i would step up . otherwise I reckon over time your leave a lot of trailing cat fish . 

[Ginger9991]

On 28/05/2018 at 08:36, chillfactor said:

After catching a 40 lb + & an upper 30 cat last year on my carp gear , I'm of the thinking that I needed every bit of power my 3.25 torrix could muster to slow there powerful runs down still couldn't stop them so had to play them through a big lillie bed . If I hadn't of been fishing a snag line & tubing probably would of been a different outcome than both ending up in the net . 

My last outing on the lake had me hook up a cat fish while fishing zigs . It was trailing a leader a load of line & a bunch of branches, & had smashed up a fellow member the night before . Managed to land it somehow ...also an upper 30 .

If I was to target them especially bigger ones ,  i would step up . otherwise I reckon over time your leave a lot of trailing cat fish . 

Cats love a Zig believe it or not.

[chillfactor]

Yes have heard that.... this one hadn't gone for the zig just swam through & the branches had caught my line . Wasn't my fish the zig was hooked to the branches it was trailing .

[yonny]

On 29/05/2018 at 11:37, Ginger9991 said:

Cats love a Zig believe it or not.

I know the chap that landed that 100 lb cat from Bluebell Swan on a zig (10 lb hook link). Mental.

[chillfactor]

1 hour ago, yonny said:

I know the chap that landed that 100 lb cat from Bluebell Swan on a zig (10 lb hook link). Mental.

😲😲😲

[yonny]

36 minutes ago, chillfactor said:

😲😲😲

That's what I thought lol

[muftyboy]

I hooked into a massive cat while surface fishing a few years back.

My 8lb hooklink didn't stand a chance .

Must off took 60 yards in a couple of seconds.

I tried to stop it but it just flattened my rod .