Catfish reel under $150

Looking to do some catfishing. What's the best catfish reel for your money?

Swedish made Abu in 5000-5500 works excellent for me, at one time I used 6000-6500 but that was mainly for the line out or clicker function. I now have the line out alarm or clickers put on the 5000-5500 models and they require a lot less line to fill. I have caught blues up to 65# and never had one to take over about 20 yards of line. Use 20# mono in winter and 80# braid in spring. I keep 40 reels strung up all time so less line to fill or change is another factor for me.

If you’re interested in used rod and reels. I might be willing to sell you a set. They have all the features listed above with just mono on them. You might want to replace the line as they’ve been in the garage for a couple years. Here is a catfish my dad caught a couple years ago. But we’ve pulled in others about same size with ease. I will look at lunch to see models and get pictures for you.

Bass Pro Shop Catmaxx reels are around $70. Good reel for the price. I've seen Steve Douglas pull in some heavy fish using them.

In that price range I would go with an abu c3 model in either a 5500 or 6500. I also like the power handle. It’s really nice in the winter when you are wearing gloves. I prefer the 6500 because I drift fish and let out a lot of line

I just picked up an ⁣Okuma XP-202La Classic Pro XP for $60. So far so good!!