UNFATHOMABLE PERFORMANCE FROM PENN FISHING

[caption id="attachment_1197" align="alignnone" width="1137"] Some Battle Cat Rods and Fathom ready for combat[/caption][caption id="attachment_1198" align="alignnone" width="1137"] FTH12 Penn Fathom cranking down on a big blue cat on the TN River[/caption][caption id="attachment_1199" align="alignnone" width="1137"] Another big flathead that got the beatdown by the Penn Fathom in the hands of UT Catfishing Clubs commander-in-chief, Marc Cooper[/caption][caption id="attachment_1200" align="alignnone" width="1137"] Palms so well![/caption][caption id="attachment_1201" align="alignnone" width="1137"] 25lbs of drag make sure those runners don't run very long[/caption][caption id="attachment_1202" align="alignnone" width="1280"] At one point, this musky actually thought it had a chance against the Fathom.[/caption]
By Matt Lynch
At the young age of thirteen, I threw down my first hard earned money on the counter at a local tackle store. Grinning ear to ear, I was finally buying my first "serious" catfish reel. Having had my fill of lesser equipment wavering in the presence of Tennessee's behemoth catfish I elected to purchase a Penn 209M Levelwind. I didn't know much about reels yet, but I did know that anytime I looked at pictures of the old hardcore cat guys that knew what it took to muscle up those volkswagon sized flatheads from the snags they called home, they usually had a big Penn reel. Same for all the pictures and shows with saltwater guys needing the best of the best. They turn to Penn, so surely it had to be the answer to my own delima.
Fast forward to today and I've had alot of catfish reels over the years. Although the Penn was a brute, I was often enchanted with some of the other more, shall we say...refined reels. Reels I won't name in this article as they are still great reels but I've noticed something. They've all been either rebuilt/upgraded or they are in a state of disrepair just waiting for their time to finally give up the ghost and go off in the mail for an overhaul. That old Penn I first bought sixteen years ago that I only oiled for the first time last year though? Why it's still doing just fine with little more than some cosmetic wear to its stalwart surface even after all these years with zero maintenance and squaring off against so many monster flatheads. Sure, it's abit behind the times with its slower gear ratio, but my son will be using this reel long after I'm gone. Infact recently I acquired a few old antique wall hanger rod and reel combos from a good friend. When loading them up in my 4Runner I noticed one was infact...an old Penn. Jokingly I told him this one just needs some new line probably, but little did I know, it was no joke. After removing an ancient birdsnest of heavy dacron, I engaged the spool and it began to rotate freely. Just as smoothly infact as my own original. How many decades of abuse it had witnessed is beyond my knowledge but it was a mixture of colors from green, gray, brown, with plenty of crud hiding its original color. Two hours worth of detail stripping and scraping out crusty old grease and polishing with a mixture of chemicals, it was now about as nice as it was going to get. So I threw some Big Game 40lb on it and put it in the stable with the other old warhorses.
Now the reason for all this backstory is a good one, because although the same old 209M is still in production, Penn has a new range of offerings on the table. Meet the Penn Fathom series. The Fathom series is available in both lever and star drag, 2 speed, levelwind, and non levelwind. Although I'll be adding more to the inventory, I opted for the small Fathom FTH12 initially. I was looking for a reel to outfit with 80-100lb braid for both catfish and muskie and I wanted a non-levelwind. Now to many muskie guys this is quite an oddity, as Penn typically isn't even thought of in the muskie community, and I know only one other muskie guy personally who prefers non-levelwind. Because of this part of the requirement, I needed a reel I could palm, as that's how I muskie fish. the FHT12 fits snugly in the palm of your hand and is a beauty to fish with all day long. With its 6.0:1 gear ratio it also makes easy work of any muskie lure you need to crank in or other large baits. It also boasts the HT-100 drag system with a 25lb drag, heavier drag being available on the larger models, and the first muskie that squared off against it found out the hard way.
Now for its secondary duty, catfish, it shines equally with a very audible baitclicker that is also recessed so that it don't become accidentally engaged. It has Penn's Live Spindle design so rest assured if you need to launch an 8oz sinker and half a skipjack over the horizon it won't be a problem on the Fathom. At 15.5oz with all metal frame and sideplates it won't wear out prematurely either and should be more than capable of lasting a lifetime or two. Line capacity for catfishing is usually abit more critical than for muskie since a big blue in open water current may rob your spool of more than half its capacity during a brawl. The capacity for the FTH12 is 360/10 300/12 230/15 for mono and 525/15 420/20 320/30 for braided line and the spool is marked with lines to have a visual reference for how much line you have out. It also features a very large but comfortable power handle with a rubberized grip surface. Nicely knurled surfaces on both the spool tension cap and the lever ensure your fingers won't be slipping.
After spending abit more time with this setup, the one and only thing that was abit of a letdown, was when flipping the reel over and looking at the foot I noticed a small sticker saying "Made in China". Initially this felt like a slap in the face after always knowing Penn as the all American reel company but I guess everyone has their price when outsourcing becomes an option. Even with this on my mind before my first use on the water, it never let me down and never betrayed its strong roots from the same place my other unfailing Penns came from. It takes little effort to get use to engaging the spool manually after the cast which it doesn't do for you unlike some other reels but if you're familiar with these style of reels it's common and more importantly it's simple. And because it is simple, it is one less thing that can go wrong. There isn't alot more I can say about it at the present other than more praise of how well it functions and how solid it feels. I've had reels that I questioned when a big fish was on them before but this isn't the same. It feels as solid as a boat trailer winch clamped onto your reel seat. So far it's taken several sizable muskie, striper, and some true monster catfish on the Tennessee River without breaking a sweat. It leaves nothing short of great impressions on the other hands that get to fight a fish on it. If you're looking for a bulletproof conventional baitcasting reel that will outlast you then the Penn Fathom series may be the reel for you. You can check them out on Penns website and read more about the many models they offer. http://www.pennfishing.com/PENN-Fathom/PENN-Reels-Conventional-Reels-PENN-Fathom,default,sc.html

Barbel, an Introduction

A lot of you may be reading the title of this article and wondering what on God’s green earth is a barbel? I doubt it is a term that many of you have come across before. Basically it is a catfish, but not just any catfish but the biggest catfish found in our South African waters. Its official name is the African Sharp tooth Catfish, although that name tends to fire up the imagination and bring forth all sorts of imagined toothy catfish the Barbel doesn’t actually have any teeth, but rather 2 sand paper like pads on the bottom and top jaw, much like your catfish species have. Although the scars on my thumbs will attest that big specimen’s will rip into your flesh if you give them half a chance, but a risk well worth taking.
[caption id="attachment_1171" align="alignnone" width="640"] Rob Hellig with a good barbel.[/caption]
If I were to describe these fantastic catfish to someone, I would call it a cross between your flathead catfish and the European Wels catfish. A long fish, almost snake like but with a sizable heavy head that will eat anything living or dead put in front of it. Like most catfish it is a super predator, highly sensitive lateral lines to detect vibration, big whiskers to taste the water and the skin is made of taste receptors second to none. Basically a barbel is a swimming a tongue, adept at finding food in all of its domain. It can be found in almost all patches of water in our country and can see out cold winters and scorching African summers. Being an African fish it has evolved a very unique adaptation in the catfish world to survive the harsh conditions it lives in, imagine you are a catfish swimming around in a shallow pond in the middle of an African summer, rain hasn’t fallen for months and your pond is getting smaller and smaller the oxygen levels are dropping and the water covering your back is almost gone. Disaster right? Wrong, these amazing fish have evolved to beat the African weather, they have a lung, that’s right they can breathe air!!! These fish breath in oxygen much the same way we do, this is due to the fact the Barbel’s swim bladder is basically about as useful as our spleen, the fish use their lung to regulate where they sit in the water column and can be seen coming up to take a big gulp of air before returning to the depths. This allows the fish to either wait till night fall and wriggle to a new deeper pond or to bury itself in mud until the rains come and continue to breath. Amazing adaptation to what can be harsh living conditions.
[caption id="attachment_1173" align="alignnone" width="588"] Peter From Highveld Charters with a beautiful Vaal Dam sharptooth catfish[/caption]
Actually fishing for these fish can be as easy as scratching your nose or as difficult as answering that dreaded question from your wife, Do I look fat in these jeans? As with all catfish the smaller ones are not that challenging to fish for and rather dumb when it comes down to it, but as these fish grow so does their intelligence. These fish have to contend with hungry locals, fish eagles, crocodiles and other barbel to reach a good size. Seeing as these fish can reach past 170lbs getting that big with everything trying to eat you, you learn a thing or 2 about staying alive. Although skulls of fish over 170lbs have been found and I’m sure we will eventually find or catch a 200 pounder, a really good size for this fish is around 40 to 60 lbs with the IGFA all tackle record being a mere 100lbs. One of the reasons we have battled to get our big fish out has been fishing techniques and tackle, cant bring a 150lb fish out on tackle meant for a 20lb carp, and also the popularity of the species among anglers, often considered a trash fish and not as valuable as a bass or carp there was little or no info on how to catch them for many years. Guys still laugh at me from time to time when I tell them I’m fishing for catfish, but that just leaves more catfish for me. This is slowly starting to change with more and more anglers going out to get stuck into one of these majestic fish. I’m sure in the not so distant future we will see our bigger specimens coming out more regularly.
Fishing techniques for these fish does not differ too much from what you guys will be accustomed to. We bank fish for them, fly fish for them and have developed our own method of lure fishing called klopping (That is a science in itself) and of course targeting them off the boat. The majority of the fishing is bait fishing, bait here ranges from everything to anything with us literally using whatever we can find. Personal favourites of mine are carp, bass( I know this may seem strange to folks, but we have thousands of them here) tilapia, platties (Ill explain these in a minute) Day old chickens (Dead of course) and doves. These baits can look graphic and a bit blood thirsty, but they drive Mr Whiskers wild and will get you the fish you seek. Our fish baits like carp and tilapia are prepared much in the same manner as what you guys will use. One difference I have noticed is that we seem to use bigger ground baits when bank fishing, it is not uncommon for guys to use a 3kg or 6/7lb fish as bait whole or cut in half and I know guys who use even bigger baits than these the adage being big baits equal big fish and it does work really well. We do use birds as bait ( I will stress that all birds are long dead before they are used). Birds may seem really strange to use as bait, but we look at it like this, what is the fish eating naturally? I can tell you now if I take you to an overhanging tree in spring and cast a weightless day old chicken under the tree I’m going to go tight. The fish sit under the trees waiting for hatchlings to fall into the water, so why not use this to your advantage? One of our best baits and many guys go to bait is a platanner, or the African clawed frog. These frogs are found everywhere, although there is a rare sub species which we do not use, and readily available if you know how to trap them or know a guy who will sell them to you. These frogs are catfish candy and the fish just can’t leave them alone, fished alive or dead you are almost guaranteed a fish with them.
[caption id="attachment_1172" align="alignleft" width="449"] Barbel caught while drifting.[/caption]
Targeting these fish is where it really becomes interesting with guys having varied opinions on where and how to locate them. I’ve been fishing for these fishing as my main target for 8 years and I’m still no closer to giving a definitive answer to guys questions when it comes to that. But some simple rules apply, this is a predator, so what do predators eat? Find a food source and you will find fish, an area I know will always hold fish is a reed bank, and usually the reed bank is in shallow water with a small or steep drop off into some deeper water. This will always be a good spot as smaller prey, whether it be fish, snail, frogs, insects etc. will be hiding in these reeds and the fish wait below until they move into eat. It is a good place to start fishing. A big advantage to knowing if you are in the right spot is the fish using that lung it has, you can see and hear it come up for air blatantly giving away its position. So at least you know the fish are in the area, getting them to bite is another story. Although when fishing open water from the bank with little to no structure I fish baits at different depths to try locate the feeding fish. Ill fish one very shallow, one really deep and one in the middle. I do move them around based on my thoughts of where they are but this gives me a better idea of where the fish are moving around an I can position baits accordingly after a couple of runs. Drifting off boats is really becoming popular; although not a new technique it was just rarely used. We drift in water from 4ft deep to 30ft. These fish will often hold together in shallow water warming themselves in the sun, it’s an awesome sight to behold when a 30 pounder smashes a bait in 3 ft of water.
I hope this has shed at least a little light on the majesty that is the African Sharptooth Catfish and that you enjoyed reading a little about this fish. I hope to share more with you in the future.
Tight lines.
Rob Hellig (CatFish Africa).

Okuma Komodo 350 Low-Profile Reel Review

As anglers, like other skilled tradesmen and women, we have developed a diverse set of tools to serve a very specific purpose or function. Some of these implements can be extremely useful in one area, while lacking the necessary qualities or attributes in another. Bearing that in mind, a third group consists of multi-faceted machines that possess a very diverse array of useful qualities. After having an absolute blast in Chattanooga, Tennessee bottom-bouncing with rod in hand for brutish blue catfish this summer with two great new friends Richard Simms and Ty Konkle, it became apparent to me that my current arsenal at the time didn’t fit the bill for that specific form of catfish angling. Large and at times overly bulky reels simply weren’t ergonomic enough to be comfortably manipulated for a long period of time and thus my search began for a solution to suffice the need. I immediately began to talk to Charles Luck, our founder and mentor, about finding the right reel for the job and he almost seamlessly advised me to look into the Okuma Komodo 350 model number KDR-364 P, Okuma’s new low-profile reel.

Like the vast majority of Okuma reels, the Komodo is built to last with solid internals made up of stainless steel gearing and shafts, aluminum side plates and frame, along with a non-disengaging level wind system, and a solid power handle for cranking in large catfish. I will touch on these points independently as you move through this review.

To say this reel is simply just a bottom bouncing reel would be a gross understatement of its overall capabilities. Over the course of two months I personally have used this reel for musky, striper, and catfishing duties. Several nice blue catfish have been landed on this reel without any complications whatsoever, and it seems to be much easier for new people to catfishing in general to use effectively. As a leader in the Catfishing Club at the University of Tennessee, I regularly introduce new anglers to the sport of catfishing, therefore, multiple hands other than my own have come into contact with the Komodo. The vast majority of the users preferred the Komodo to my larger reels. It was much easier for them to manipulate and use, while also having 25 pounds of stopping force to put the brakes on any fish that it came into contact with.

If you are diligently searching for a well-oiled machine that can “do it all” the Komodo KDR-364 P is what you’re looking for.  Its casting ability is strikingly superior to my larger Abu Garcia 7000i reels. The non-disengaging level wind helps to lessen the amount of friction caused by braided line as it passes through the level wind, and less friction will lead to further casts.  Often times, the distance that you are able to cast from shore exponentially increases your odds of catching fish. With 4-6 ounces of weight and large gobs of skipjack herring most breaklines can be reached within a single long-bomb cast.

I was extremely surprised with how loud the bait clicker was. There have been multiple occasions on night shore fishing trips where the clicker awoke me from a deep slumber. It is pleasantly smooth to turn on and off, while also not being easy to inadvertently engage mid-battle with a fish. As for line capacity, braid is necessary for this reel. My reel is pooled with 65 lb. Suffix 832 braided line and conservatively holds 165 yards of that. Line capacity has never been a problem.

Throwing large swimbaits and jigs for flatheads has recently become a topic of intense debate and discussion. I believe that this reel would also be incredibly useful for that specific purpose as well. After all, throwing 10-12 inch musky jerkbaits and soft plastics is a breeze with the Komodo.

The high gear ratio of 6.4:1 and 31 inches per turn helps you to keep constant pressure on a catfish making a mad dash towards the boat. Slack + circle hook = possible heartbreak. We have had fish totally load a rod up in its holder and burn straight at the boat. Within a few cranks we could put tension back on the fish. I will include a link to Okuma’s website with all of the aforementioned specifications on it.
http://www.okumafishing.com/product/view/reels/baitcast-reels-low-profile/komodo-350

Tight lines and welcome to the Quest for Monster Catfish!

Initial review of Okuma EVX Musky Rod.

Alright folks thanks to Chuck Luck and the folks at Okuma for getting my rod to me so quickly. I got my Musky Evx H rod today and my initial impression is pretty positive. It is a graphite rod so it feels very light weight. It has a nice cork handle and graphite reel seat.. I like the feel of a cork handle and it provides a good grip even if it gets damp. The rod is 7‘4" and it has 9 eyes including  the tip, which is a good number of eyes with adequate spacing. The rod is rated at 30-80lbs line and a 2-10oz lure weight. It was designed for musky anglers to be able to continuously cast heavy lures with minimal arm fatigue.. This translates to a strong stiff light capable of casting large baits and battling large flatheads, blues and channels without much issue.  This combination is what made the St. Croix Catfish Classic rod such a sought after rod with mythic catfish fighting powers. I have handled many of the St.Croix rods and other than color I would say that initially this rod is very similar.  Don't let tge fact that it is designed for musky fishing turn you off   up until recently almost all large catfishing gear was designed for tackling large toothy musky.  Lots of cat guys I know use this part of the year at least here close to Pittsburgh to chase muskies so a rod like this could pull double duty in those cases.. like I said this is an initial assessment I am going  to put it through its paces and post some more reviews.. here are a few photos.

Review of Rippin Lips SuperCat Rods

Rippin Lips SuperCat Rods
By Brad Durick
The Rippin Lips SuperCat rods have been on the market for a couple years now yet many people don’t know much about them. The SuperCat comes in three casting models: Medium, Medium Heavy, and Heavy. The price range on them is $35.99-$49.99 for the rods only. They are made of select S-Glass Blanks so they are lighter and a bit stiffer than their E-Glass counterparts.  This allows for more sensitivity when trying to feel fish or detect hits.
I had the opportunity to test the medium and medium heavy bait cast models as well as the medium spinning model for about half of the 2014 season.  When my rods arrived I was into a very busy part of the guiding season and did something that I don’t normally do, I put two of the rods in with my guiding rods having not tested them myself (other than in the driveway when I was setting them up).
I am one that has a superstition about new rods having a bad omen until they catch a good fish and sometimes don’t like to introduce new rods into the mix for guests until they have caught fish. So in the heat of battle two new medium rods went into the mix and we were off. Casting the rods felt very good and the sensitivity of just reeling in sinkers and bait felt good but fighting a fish would tell the real story.
It did not take long to get a bite on one and see the action on the hook set in the holder. Ok test one PASSED. Then I watched my guest fight a trophy channel cat on the rod. As a bystander it had a good looking bend and fought the fish very well. The client said he liked the fight too. I watched for a few days before I finally had the opportunity to get into a fish myself. We were shooting a television show and that meant I got to play some fish. Over the course of two or three 12-18 pound fish I was really liking the action and feel. Toward the end of the shoot we had a thunderous hit from what I knew was a big fish and I told the crew I wanted to fight it to see how the rod handled it. Test two PASSED. I was very impressed with the action the bend and the fight that the medium had on this fish in pretty good current. The fish was 21 pounds and as far as I was concerned the SuperCat was a winner.
Later in the season I was also able to test the medium heavy in heavier current and fight many 18-25 pound channel cats on it. Again I was very happy with the action and the fight that the rod produced.
My personal opinion is if you are fishing for cats up to 25 pounds in a normal current or lake the medium is perfect for you. If you are needing a little more backbone, needing to run sinkers bigger than 5 ounces or are fishing catfish in that 15+-pound range the medium heavy will be the rod for you. The heavy version is for the flathead and big blue cat guys.
These rods are also available in the SuperCat Spinning Combo.

The New Old Rig by Scott Ross

When spending time on the water your mind can wonder. Spend enough time, and it just might wonder in the right direction. Every once in a while someone comes up with a design or breakthrough that makes you go "why didn't I think of that?"
I use a rig that consists of the basics. It's a pole, line, and a HOOK. That's all!!! No sliders, no bobbers, no sinkers, no nothing.

Why does it work so well? Well, to begin, It's easy to setup. All you gotta do is tie on a hook. What makes it so special? Lots of things. When you hook on a chunk of cut bait, The bait can fall at it's own natural speed as if a bird dropped it. Every little bounce of the water pressure makes the bait move as natural as any other chunk of dead fish in the water. If your throwing live bait, without a sinker weighing it down it can stay alive and healthy a lot longer. And a live bait is gonna swim to wherever a live bait is gonna hide. A large fish knows where to look for food.  However if you are in tight areas that can be a downfall.

This rig does work well in slower current as well. The lighter weight allows the bait to follow the natural current seam and fall wherever a chunk of food would land on any given day. The fish in these areas know where this is at and will sit there and wait.
Any body that fishes a lot or even a little knows that snags happen. If you never get a snag, It probably means your not fishing the right habitat. The slower movements of this rig prevents as many snag hookups.  But if you do get stuck, and break the line. Your cost is at it's bare minimum.
Wind can be the worst enemy for this setup. Windy days can blow your line and pull your bait around where you don't want it. If your trying to drift, the wind can blow your boat fast enough to pull your bait off the bottom and cause it to spin and damage your line.
Fast current can also prevent the effectiveness of the bait. It can prevent it from falling and settling in a current seem.
To make this rig more efficient you need to keep the rest of your gear at peak performance. If you can't cast it, Your gonna have trouble fishing it. Also a decent line, preferably braid, that can sink with the bait can help keep it down better and let if fall naturally. Not to mention how much better the braid will allow you to cast.
Give it a shot. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Okuma Makaira MK-10IISEa Preview, by Chuck

Most people I know have a few things they spend way more money on than is required to get the job done. I have buddies that spend thousands of dollars on new rims and tires for their trucks, when the one's that came on it are all that is needed. Some guys put thousands of dollars in the stereo systems in their rides, pumping out thousands of watts of power and vibrating their trunk with massive subwoofers, when the system that came in their vehicle played music just fine. Still others spend thousands on top of the line guns from Kimber, Sig, or Wilson Combat, when an old Smith or Colt would get the job done.
For me, it's monster catfish gear. Could I get by with an old Abu, Penn, or Shimano? Sure I could, but I want more. I want rods and reels that perform far above what is required to get the job done for monster catfish. I feel pushing gear to it's limits will eventually cause a failure of some sort. Stripped gears, broken anti-reverse systems, level wind failure, etc. To go along with this, I feel like I should have some top of the line gear to compare other gear to.



That's where the Okuma Makaira MK10IISEa comes in. At a retail price of $479.99 each, the Mak's are way beyond what is normally spent on a catfish reel. You could get 2 or 3 new Abu's, Penn's, or Shimano's. Or outfit your whole boat with used reels for that price. You could probably get 10 Abu 6500's, or Penn 209's for that.
But like I said earlier, monster catfish tackle is my thing. By the same token a guy could outfit a whole gun cabinet with Colt's or Smith's for what a Wilson Combat costs. You pay your money and you make your choices.
I chose the Mak's because I believe they are the best fishing reels ever manufactured. For 2015 the SEa models are available in the Limited Edition black. When I found out about this, I could wait no longer. I had to make it happen, and so I did.



I'm sure you have heard the old saying that an old Penn reel could winch a barge off the bottom of the river. Well, with one of these Mak's, you would have a lot better chance of getting that done. I have no doubt at all you could winch any catfish in North America off the bottom, assuming the rest of your gear was up to the task. With 34lb. of available drag, (although I will never need or use that much), and a gear ratio of 2.1:1 in low gear, (4.7:1 in high), these reels really are made to winch.
At 26.1 oz they are a serious chunk of forged and machined 6160-T6 aluminum. The Mak 10-2's are only a few oz's heavier than the Abu 7000 is at 21.5 oz's. The big difference between these and other reels though is just how solid they feel. Like picking up a solid block of aluminum.
The Mak's are designed to handle extended runs of hundreds of yards by fish much more powerful than any catfish in North America. The Dual Force Drag system is made up of a carbon fiber drag washer sandwiched between 2 thick stainless steel plates that help dissipate heat. This reel operates by pulling the drag pressure to the handle side of the reel. This applies the force of the drag to the strongest part of the reel. The custom designed thrust bearing alleviates side load at high drag pressures. Most reels on the market become harder to turn and lose freespool as the drag pressure is increased, not the Mak.



4 ABEC-5 stainless bearings keep things spinning smoothly. The silent double dog anti - reverse system is as good as it gets for the type of system. Bullet proof for sure. The ratcheting drag lever makes adjusting drag pressure a precise affair. This can also add in casting the heavy baits and sinkers sometimes used for monster catfish. Add a couple clicks on the drag lever to cut down on the freespool. Once you know how many clicks to put on for the weight you are casting any worry of backlash should disappear. You may not be able to cast that 2lb. chunk of skipjack or 2 lb. live carp with an 18 oz sinker very far, but you should be able to do it without backlashing half a spool of line, or burning all the skin off your thumb.
I especially like the clicker sound of the Mak's. There will be no doubt when line is going out on this reel. The clicker button is also nice sized and easy to get to. It's operation is a little stiffer than most catfish reels, although over time it will most likely loosen up a bit. Although the bottom is stiff, the clicker puts just the right amount of pressure on the spool. If more is needed it's as simple as adding a few clicks of drag pressure to cope with heavy river current or a huge live bait. On a star drag reel this would mean tightening the spool control and loosening it to cast again. Making the lever drag much more versatile.
These reels are so smooth with 18 lb. of drag set fighting a 41 lb. flathead I couldn't tell when it was pulling drag in the dark. I turned the clicker back on to help with this. I know, it sounds unbelievable that a 41 lb. flathead could pull 18 lb. of drag. But it, and every other 30+ lb. flathead I caught in the river this year did just that. It's amazing how smooth line goes out against a greased carbon fiber drag washer. The grease allows for a smooth start up of the drag slipping. As opposed to a non greased washer that will cause the drag pressure to soar way above the pressure set while slipping. This will keep most catfish from pulling drag because they can't overcome the initial higher drag pressure.



There are many more features of the Mak's that could be discussed, but I have highlighted the features most important for a catfish reel. Bullet proof in every way, super smooth, with a loud clicker, smooth drag over 30 lb., and built like a brick (although not all that heavy). Sure, they are really expensive. But the next time you think about what you spend your money on, consider if you need a different kind of expensive toy, or a couple of the best reels ever made, the Okuma Makaira. For me, I will keep my car stereo stock, as well as my wheels and tires, and just look at pics of the new Wilson Combat pistols. I prefer to spend my money on Mak's.



This is just a preview of the Okuma Makaira reels. I will have more about them in late spring - early summer next year, as I got them very late in the season this year. Stay tuned for more.
Chuck.