bwell

I would just stick with worms or chicken liver... Rig your pole kinda like a C-rig and have at it. Just make sure your sinker can move up and down your line and your spool open. If the catfish feels tension then most of the time it wont take the bait all the way...

Really depends for me... For frogs I use braid no matter what. I love braid for soft plastics because it is very sensitive to bites, but I wont use it if the wind is blowing hard because the braided line goes everywhere and is hard to detect a bite. For hard baits I tend to use mono/floro...

Can you use this knot with braided line?

I dont know if you are going to get any cheaper than that man, I would start looking for used if I were you...

None so far, and hope to keep it that way.

What reel did you get? Don't be afraid to put all the brakes on to learn, it only gets easier as you build your confidence up...

It has to be really light for me to use my spinning gear... I much rather prefer a baitcaster...

I have used them with some pretty good success... Getting a good hookset on them is the tough part but as far as movement, castability and durability I would say they are pretty good...

I probably have 7 Ugly stik rods, I have these for my family to use because I know they are very hard to break. I have yet to have one snap in half, hell I have even had one have a car door shut on one with nothing happening to the rod. I also have one for my cranking rod which works great, and one for my catfishing setup which is an awesome rod for big fish. All in all the Ugly Stik isn't a bad rod for certain situations but I would stay away from the reels.

Make sure with your setup that your sinker will move up and down the line so the catfish wont feel resistance, keep your spool open so they can take the bait a little ways for a good hookset, and hold on! 8-) Channels I use worms/liver Flathead/blues I use bluegill or carp.

The dual braking will allow enable you to experiment with both. I find I use the mostly centrifugal, but it is nice to have the magnetic when the wind is blowing. Very true, on windier days I will us my Pro Qualifier or STX, and leave my centrifugal for when I can casting with the wind.

what does that change make the bait do, never actually heard of doing that and cannot seem to picture what it would do? I think its used to displace more water when moving the bait, but I'm not 100% sure on that.

Well said... Most of my backlashes happen at the beginning of the cast so centrifugal breaks work best for me, but it all depends on the persons casting style I guess. But with a DBS reel you get the best of both worlds!

Piece of cake man, I was a wrestler also and people just don't understand how we know how to cut weight...

The STX is a solid reel and will last you years.

Im real happy with my Revo STX...

I should have read that closer, but yes you would be fine...

I would not put that low of braid on a baitcaster, it will cause digging in the spool and you will have lots of break off ect... I always use 50-65# and have been really happy with that. The lowest I would go is 30# braid and when you spool it up on the reel make sure you have some resistance so you have a less chance of it digging in the spool...

Dual braking lets your adjust your reel a lot easier. With the Pro Qualifier you can have two centrifugal brakes on and forget about it, and then just use your mag brakes for the lighter/heavier baits you use. If you have a centrifugal braking system you have to take the cover off the reel and tinker with that till you can cast it comfortable. A reel that has mag braking system you turn the dial on the side to compensate for the lighter/heavier brakes. I don't like the mag brakes as much as I do the centrifugal, I just think the centrifugal do a much better job. I have a cheap Revo silver max that has just mag brakes, a couple Citicas that have centrifugal, and Pro Qualifier and Revo STX that have DBS. PQ and STX are much easier to adjust for certain situations and are much easier for a beginner to learn on IMHO...

I think Citica would be a good choice along with the Pro Qualifier for the DBS for throwing lighter baits. I have both reels and I just think its easier to adjust the mag break to compensate the weight instead of messing with the C brakes...

Very true, I got my Citica D for 67 bucks and the two Citica E's for 150, I couldnt resist lol. I was just going to get a Curado but couldnt pass up the deal.

Nah, you're not the only one. I picked up a Citica and a Curado at the same time last year. The Curado was/is fantastic, but the Citica was a dud. It cast fairly well, but the drag wouldn't fully back off and the gearing was noticeably rougher than the Curado. I made a few casts in the yard, put it back in the box, and sold it on a local forum. I have no interest in ever owning another one. If I needed/wanted another reel in that price range I'd be looking at the Pro Qualifier, Revo S, Pflueger Asaro, or maybe an Okuma Cayenne. you must have gotten a dud, I have a Citica D and love it. I have two more Citica E's on the way. I think it is just as smooth as my Revo STX.

I don't find it to important, the way I fish I use my index finger to hold the line up just a tad while working the bait. So it doesn't really matter if I can feel it through the rod because I have always used my finger to feel the bite. It hasn't made me loose any fish and since I have been fishing this way my whole life it is comfortable to me. I think it would more important for me to buy an expensive spinning rod because I cant fish that way with a spinning outfit.

I do yes...

Thats very true, the lines you mentioned are a lot cheaper but not nearly as easy to pick out... I dont think I have ever had to cut my braided line out from a backlash... Just my 2 cents....