Two things in this post. First is what the title says. My brother is active duty military and all we do is bank fish while he's home and talk about if we only had a boat ... He'll be back in December for his birthday and Christmas. Gonna get him a boat (I say him, in reality I'll be the one using it until he gets out in 5 more years). Nonetheless , I want to get some setups that will hold up to some big blues, that I can keep on the boat specifically for lake fishing. Give me some ideas on setups that work well for you guys. Second part of the post.... As you can tell, I've never really had a boat to go out on the lake and fish for big cats. When I get this boat, do you guys think I could talk someone into comin along and givin me some guidance on finding and landing some big fish . I'll supply tackle, equipment, boat, drinks, and any special requests . Hell, I'll even pick ya up from home and we can go to a lake of your choice lol! I know what you're gonna say. "Go with a guide and learn". My rebuttal, if I spend 30 grand on a boat, I'm gonna wanna be out on it a lot and not paying someone else more money to go out on theirs. I hope that doesn't come off as rude, its just my opinion. Any advice or input is accepted and appreciated. Thanks in advance guys! P.s. If I do get a boat, I'm looking at getting some kind of pontoon fishing barge more than likely, and probably around September when I'm on vacation next.

Hard to beat a Swedish made Abu 5000/6000 series reels like the c3. Match it to a medium pro angler rod and your set for anything.

Ebay has lots of good used abu reels but also have some junk so be picky. The white ugly stick rods will work and the tournament choices, all budget stuff, gets you catching fish for less than $100 a rig.

Now if you are wanting stuff you don't have to worry about for years and that takes abuse, get a set up like Tom suggested. That set up will be around $150.

Same with the boat, you don't need a $35,000 brand new boat to catch fish, but you get what you pay for like everything else. Lots of great cat rigs out there for under $10,000.

Thanks for the info guys. Once I get the boat, and get the hang of things, I'll probably offer some spots on trips to various lakes. Keep an eye out for the posts !

the whooping stick is from cables is not a bad rod either i have 3 but i will take my progress over the whooping stick it sells for 20$ with a life time granite from cables and the penn fierce is not a bad real either for my customers when i take them out i use the pro angler with either the Penn or the Aube c3 like tom suggested

My recommendation for budget conscious.

For rods, I am a fan of eglass construction for Catfishing. They are just more durable for night fishing when I abuse my rods in darkness. I love graphite, but I have broken so many tips I just stopped using them for catfish.

So, here are some good eglass rods.

Shimano Fiberglass Rod from Academy. 7 foot fiberglass. It wins the award for the budget conscious angler for under $15 and has the right action for loading up a blue on a circle hook. Cabelas has great sales on the Whuppin sticks, and they work good. During a sale, you can get them for $20. I like ugly sticks too, but they are a bit more.

Reels

Casting reels have the advantage of a clicker. I like the drag systems on spinning reels better. I own both. They both have advantages in certain situations.

For $80 you can't beat the Abu. They have a great clicker, they have a small profile, they cast like a bullet. But if that is more than you want to spend, there are other options.

For the budget conscious angler, I go with The Shakespeare Tidewater for baitcasting and the Shimano Sienna for spinning. The Tidewater has a really nice clicker and does a good job out of a rod holder for still fishing or drifting. I don't recommend it if you are trying to cast a country mile, but for a lot of my fishing, it does the trick. You can get heavy test line on that reel and it holds a ton of line. It is bulkier than the Abu, but for under $40 it is a good buy with a great clicker and a really big handle. Good out of a boat. If I am fishing from shore, I leave it home.

If you like spin casting, the Shimano Sienna is a great buy. They don't increase in price as the size of the reel goes up. You can get a 4000 size reel for around $30. I put 30 pound braid on it and I can cast it a country mile. I could go heavier, but I lose casting distance. I tip it with heavy mono for the leader. These reels also do well for me in the salt.

I am also a fan of Salt Strikers from Cabelas. A bit more money, but I like the heck out of them.

If you use those products, you can get into a decent set up for between $50 and a $100. For catfishing, I will skimp on the pole before the reel.There are a lot of inexpensive rods out there that can handle a 50 pound blue no problem. The reel is another story. That is why I don't like a lot of the catfish combos. The poles are fine, but the reels just haven't held up for me.

Doesn't take much to get into catfishing on the cheap. Shoot I've caught so many cats I can't remember on an old 5500C and a Lamaglass rod. Also I have Zebco 33's and an 808 that I've used and they still are going strong.
It's not so much what the rod and reel you use but invest in some premium fishing line and good hooks.
That is the difference between catching and not catching, and of course using the right bait.

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ever herd of a Zebco 89...excellent catfish reel...bought mine when i was n the 4th grade, still on the same rod...i'm now 65...do the math...just don't make'm like that nemore

if you still need some rods and depending where you are shoot me a pm, I have two ugly sticks that I bought a month ago I will let go for a good price.

Walter