Saturday, September 13, 2014

Fishing with my Mico- Light Spinning Rod to Land Catfish!!



For those of you who haven’t try fishing a microlight spinning rod then you are missing out on some fantastic ultra-light action. I have been using these type of rods for years, when I use them to land crappie and bluegill some ten years ago. Of course, that was before I started using the fly rod, which all you know has taken precedence over all my other reels and rods.

I have to admit there are times though that I stray away from the fly rod, and this past week was one of those times. I decided to use my microlight spinning rods to go after some of the channel and blue catfish on Smith my home lake. Fishing the rock walls during the late summer and into the fall can be an excellent time to land some quality catfish. The catfish on Smith tend to feed early and late in the evening, so my trip this past week was a daylight outing fishing nothing but the rock walls tight-lining at depths of 20 to 30 feet down.
Find a rock wall like the one in the above image and most of the time you find catfish, especially if the wall has an overhanging muscadine vine near it, the catfish devour those when they are in season.
A healthy channel cat using my 7 ½ ft. microlight.
My 7 ½ ft. microlight spinning rod paired with the Pflueger President XT spinning reel which spools 4 to 6 lb. test line. Today I was using my 6 lb. test extra spool which came with the reel. The balance on this combo parallels the balance I go for on my fly rod combos, super light, and sensitive.
Gulp catfish chunks split into and served up on a size 12 true turn hook; I know most everyone fishes for catfish using heavier equipment, but I prefer the challenge and fight that this fish will give one using an inferior combo and in this case the microlight works to perfection for me. In fact, it is the closest I can get to my fly rod on trips like today.
Every once in awhile a spot will nail the gulp chunk which is another challenge for the microlight that it passes. I ended the morning with 5 catfish all basically the same size as my post image and the one spot. The spot got its freedom, but the catfish were not so lucky. My wife and I seldom eat fried meals, but we make an exception when it comes to fresh catfish fillets.

15 comments:

  1. You've put a bee in my bonnet Bill. I drug out my several spinning rods and reels and actually put my ultra-light rig in the car next to the fly rod. Thanks!

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  2. When you said Micro Light Spinning Rod my first thought was the old
    4 1/2 foot brush rod with a Mitchell 308 on it. I found it difficult, if not impossible, to land 3 pound Rainbows or 5 pound Shad on this rod. Yours seems to do the job, though.

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  3. Bill, as you know based on our conversations, I am "All In" on fishing with Micro Light Spinning Rods. I have a birthday just around the corner and will be adding one of the longer spinning rod and reel combos to my gear. For the type of fishing I am able to do on a consistent basis, this is ideal.

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  4. Although I'm a fly-fisher only, I can imagine how much fun it is to play the likes of a catfish on very light spinning equipment, as long as the fish is pulled in before complete exhaustion. Does the muscadine vine (which I'm not familiar with) produce berries that fall in for the cats?

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  5. I love using my ultralight rod. It's seen a lot of crappie, including some 14-inchers, but it's also seen its fair share of nice bass. Glad to see others enjoying the fun gear :)

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  6. Looks like that rod has some backbone.

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  7. Howard
    You never know on those slow days what the ultra light will land. Thanks for the comment

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  8. Mark
    I think you would like the 7 1/2 ft. version when fishing for some of those trout at the different lakes you fish for out there. It is close to the 7 1/2 ft. fly rod. Thanks for the comment

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  9. Mel
    You will not regret the purchase, I feel you will be hook on long rod spinning gear. Thanks for the comment

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  10. Walt
    The muscudine vine produces a small round juicy berry that is extremely sweet. It falls in the water at a dead ripe stage with a super sweet smell that drive the catfish batty. Find one and most of the time you find catfish. Google muscudine---thanks for the comment

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  11. Argo
    I use my micro light for crappie as well in the spring and yes it is a blast landing crappie using the longer spinning rod. Thanks for the comment

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  12. Alan
    Just enough to land some nice eating catfish. Thanks for the comment

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  13. I'm sure this is a blast. i have to get a micro light like that.

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  14. Juan
    Using the micro light is similar to the fly rod, light and sanative. Thanks for the comment

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  15. Really informative post, thanks for sharing. Your choice of fishing rod reel combos and line will depend on the fishing technique that you choose. It is very common for most fishermen that vary their fishing techniques to carry several different fishing rod combos that are already set up with specific lures or live bait rigs.fishing spinning combos


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