should i go to cabelas, academy, bass pro shops , or any other stores

Shop them all. You never know whats on sale or clearance.
You can save enough money sometimes to pay for apart of your gear.
Of all you mentioned I have done the best at academy..though not much of anything has happened there in ways of good sales etc all spring so far.

You might take a look at the team catfish rods. They seem to look pretty darn good for catfishing. They are high on my list for my next catfishing rod that is for sure.

I recommend the Ugly Stik catfish rods. Good rods and they cost $30 a piece. Team Catfish rods are $100 a piece. I have seen one and they are not 3 times better than the ugly stiks,just cost 3 times as much. Just another gimmick to catch a fisherman,not a fish. I am not bashing team catfish,just pointing a few things out. If you go to cabelas,you can buy most of the exact same stuff for less money. Grippers come to mind.

You turning people away from one company calling it a Gimmick, then say you are not bashing them. Make up your mind?

Keep in mind with whatever you get. You get what you pay for. Team catfish rods may be 3 times more but you will probably go through 5 Ugly Sticks before 1 Team catfish rod. Keep it in mind when shopping. Good luck to ya.

I LOVE ALL MY UGLY STICKS but if i could afford team catfish i would have a whole boat full i think it is all about the cash now days. team catfish beat the hell out of there poles repeatedly with the biggest damn fish i have ever seen i on the other hand dont have the skill level to push a pole to its limit on a daily basis.

SO UGLY STICKS AND FAT CHICKS ARE ALL I NEED LMAO!!!!

I love Academy for mid-priced rods and reels. However, you need to know what you are looking for because they do not have a lot of employees with knowledge(maybe because they employee a lot of young kids, which is a good thing). A really serious catfisherman(strickly opinion) will purchase the best equipment he or she can afford. With all other things being equal( fishing knowledge) a person will catch and land more fish with the better equipment. In the past, I have hooked some really good fish only to lose them due to equipment failure. If fishing is your thing, then I see no problem in investing several hundred dollars in really good equipment. People that golf, bowl, or do any other activity generally spend a lot more on equipment(okay, not including boats).A team catfish rod is a wonderful rod that will give you many years of great service. When you hook that 50 plus pound blue or yellowcat, you want something that is not gonna snap apart at the reel seat. I don't get a chance for a really big catfish often, but when I do, I want it to be my fault if I lose it, not because I didn't want to pay those extra bucks for great equipment.

Southwestern parts service for your reels. Bought 2 abu 6500 C3's for $50.00 a piece. Hope this helps

As a team catfish dealer,you have to support their products. I am not a dealer and offered an opinion. I would also like to point out one more thing. Look on their site. Go to promotional team section. Look at these guys sites. Quite a few of them have pictures with no team catfish rods in site. But I do see quite a few ugly stiks. Ugly stik tigers too.

I also/too agree with the ugly stik rods.There are literally thousands sold and great warranties when ever needed.
Ive been hunting and fishing all my life.
And as most know you don't have to have the most popular or most expensive.
My most expensive rig I owned and used for drifting a tiger rod(saltwater)with a 6500 abu.
The trick is discovering or researching which rods and reels will hold up for you. Who stands behind their products. How is the availability.
We all have our favorites....but many is the "record fish
caught on the $30 special or "big buck" taken with the $300 dollar budget store deer rifle.
The trick is to figure out how much use/abuse/wearing down do you plan on doing.

That's a good deal on the 6500 C-3's abu's for $50.00 are they stamped Made in Sweeden on them too? I have 2 6500 C-3's and 2 6500 C-4's I would like to get some more for that price!!!

ALL IN ALL TEAM CATFISH POLES CAN WALK THE WALK AND TALK THE TALK
THE CHUCK NORRIS OF CAT POLES

Abu 6500 $10.00 Tournement Choice Rod from Academy, maybe not a perfect combo but it works fine, it is all about how much you want to pay, and I would rather pay good money for an Abu and go cheaper on the rod, I bought 3 rods and 650 yds of line last week for $31.00 at Academy. I am not knocking Team Catfish Rods, because they are hands down better than the ones I use, and so is an Ugly Stick, but you can get by with cheaper equipment if you need to.

You ugly stickers need to go to cabellas and look at their whuppin sticks same as ugly but a whole lot less money same warranty (used to be life time warranty) I really belive same rod color only difference I can see Ive been using um about 10 yrs no complaints

I have bought several 6500 series reel from SW from $40-$50 and they are well worth the price. I have also used the Cabela's Whuppin Sticks for years and had only one problem. The cork on one handle began to flake, took it to the store, even though I had ordered it on line and they promptly replaced it with a new rod. No questions asked.

Good luck in your search.

Jim