The Quest for a custom Penn Jigmaster

by Matt Lynch
So everyone of us needs a hobby, right? Well if you are reading this you are probably already thinking fishing is my hobby. Truth be told fishing encompasses a much wider degree of micro-hobbies set within a primary category. If you catfish you know this better than most in freshwater. Before we can go fishing, we have to go fishing for bait. The art of procuring bait is in itself a small hobby within the envelope of fishing. If you are like me and so many others, fishing gear becomes a hobby all its own. Sometimes for simply its intended use, and sometimes it is for the sake of collection such as antique gear. Fishing equipment fascinates me both in terms of the mechanical complexities that allow it to work, and the employment of these items. For awhile Charles and I have discussed building a custom Penn Jigmaster. Anyone that knows me will attest I am a huge Penn fan and have been since purchasing my first one at age 13.  a Lowly Penn 209M would become my first piece of serious catfish gear and its legacy would reinforce the idea of how great these reels truly are. Being blessed to be on a program with Pure Fishing, I elected to purchase a brand new production Jigmaster 500 rather than an older used one for my first build. The reel arrived and was just as smooth and solid as any other Penn I've handled. I was elated at the thought of the transformation about to take place on it. I cannot take any credit as my own for my knowledge of building the reel though as I first sought out advice from the masters of this craft. Andy Smith, of supertunereels.com, was a tremendous help and guide as I sourced parts I needed. His website has loads of awesome writeups and articles on custom built reels and he is just a great guy to talk to. He steered me to Alan Tani's website alantani.com. I can't describe the wealth of information to be found among the numerous members of his board along with links to most any parts you would ever desire. My parts list consisted of a Tiburon frame as my first part. Next at the advice of Andy and so many others I managed to acquire an excellent specimen of a Newell spool which has been out of production for some time from BerinsonTackle.com. The Newell allows for additional line capacity and enhanced casting ability. I visited ProChallenger where I sourced a 304 Stainless Steel bridge with double dogs and springs, 420 heat treated Stainless Steel eccentric and yoke, 416 graded Stainless Steel gear sleeve, and a 45mm EVA foam knob. I decided to hold off on SS gears for a little while as I cannot decide if I want to stick to my 4:1 ratio or upgrade to 5:1. At some point in the future I do plan to upgrade however. I was referred to Bryan Young who supplies a 5+1 drag kit for the 4:1 gear set. This drag set allows the limits of the Jigmaster to be pushed beyond what most would consider sane. With his kit, it can allow drags to exceed 20lbs with some people seeing 25lbs of drag. This alone puts the Jigmaster into a new class with its more modern counterparts. Be advised though that it is not recommended to do this unless you have upgraded additional parts such as I have. You can see Alan Tani's website for more information on Bryans drag kits and he is a great person to deal with and helped me in choosing the correct drag grease. I used Alan Tani's board again to locate a source for a replacement handle. Member "Three Se7ens" offers many different handle options including titanium, which I elected for my reel. I picked up an anodized drag star from eBay although several interesting and custom options are also available on Alan's board. We now we have a parts list and some guidance! I have serviced reels before but never done anything like this so I apologize in advance for any improper nomenclature and you will notice I had to improvise in some cases.


SO IT BEGINS: To begin disassembly of your Penn Jigmaster on the right sideplate is a thumb-screw. It is so idiot proof, it even instructs you on how to turn it. 

After you have loosened the thumb-screw you will twist the sideplate releasing it leaving you with this assembly. This sideplate houses your bridge, ring/pinion gear, eccentric, yoke, handle, sleeve, etc. Gently place it to the side.

Next the spool will simply slide out of the frame. This feature also demonstrates how quick and easy spool changes can be made if you fish different lines on your Jigmaster.

Stand up the frame and look down at your left sideplate. Here is what contains the bait clicker assembly. You will notice there are 6 screws. I ended up mostly using a Brownells Magnatip screwdriver and a set of bits intended for a Marlin 1895 lever action rifle(remember I said improvised?)

Notice the two removed from the reel foot are shorter than the other four screws. It may not matter but I assumed this to be important-ish when storing them to the side. After removing them you have now removed the reel foot and its frame bars leaving you with the left sideplate. Next locate your Tiburon frame and remember where you placed the screws.

Line up your screw holes on the sideplate with the holes in the Tiburon frame and replace the screws you previously removed.

We now have this assembly completed and are back to 3 major parts. For this side, it is as simple as that, you are done!

Here I fit the Newell Spool into the frame and left sideplate. No clearance issues and a hand rotation told me the clicker worked fantastically. You can set this assembly to the side for now.

Now things will get abit more complicated. I placed the right sideplate down on plastic to keep from getting great everywhere. Using a small screwdriver, locate the small screw pictured. It locks the rotation of your handle's screw and will need to be removed. The supplied handle comes with a new one but be careful not to lose it for future use if needed.

Using the supplied Penn wrench, remove the screw that holds the handle in place.

Now remove the handle from the sleeve and then back off the drag star for removal. You will see the exposed brass sleeve which is a very failure prone part in heavy use. This is a priority part to replace with Stainless Steel on any build.

You will find 4 more screws located in the sideplate. These hold the bridge in place. When removing these screws you want to place your hand on the backside holding the bridge in place. After doing this place it down as you see pictured.  After doing so, you can lift the sideplate up away from the bridge, exposing the remaining internal parts.

Once the bridge is out you can remove the pinion gear along with the ring gear and notice how the factory drag washers are laid out. You will notice the factory weaker bridge in comparison to the beastly Stainless Steel ProChallenger bridge. Also take notice of the double dogs on the SS bridge as opposed to the single weaker dog setup of the factory bridge to its left. My advice especially if you reuse the factory drag set is to place them out in the order removed as pictured. This factory drag can produce around 12lbs of drag.

Now the ProChallenger sleeve is supplied with a new pin, but just for demonstration purposes I will show you removal of the pin allowing the sleeve to be slide off the factory bridge's shaft. Note the state of the art holding fixture for this task.

The pin is quite small so I improvised with a Chad Shad musky lure hook to aid in removal. Gently tapping the bend in the treble moved the pin as you can see as it protrudes from the bottom of the sleeve now.

Here I have now slid the new SS sleeve onto the SS bridge and replaced the pin. You will notice once again the single dog versus the double dogs on the new bridge. You also now have an extra pin if you followed my above photo for future use. Ensure the new sleeve rotates freely and that the dogs catch the sleeve's teeth.

Remove your new drag kit from the bag. Bryan provides a sheet calling out how to set the stack up. First this small disc goes on before the ring gear.

Install the ring gear and follow the instructions to begin inserting the discs and washers. They will need a light coating of Cal's drag grease before assembly.

After greasing your stack will look like this setting inside of the ring gear.

Underneath the right sideplate with the bridge removed you will notice the factory Penn joke and eccentric. The yoke holds your pinion gear. Removing these I worked the lever back and forth until the eccentric key was in position to remove it.

Factory yoke and eccentric are removed

Next place the new SS yoke over the two screws ensuring it is correctly oriented to hold the pinion gear. Then work the new eccentric from the ProChallenger kit into place. You will again have to ensure alignment with two of the screws that we previously loosened on the exterior of the sideplate. I applied a light coating of Yamalube to the surfaces during this assembly.

You will reinsert your pinion gear after greasing it, and carefully slide the bridge back into place. Take your time while doing this and make sure they line up. After doing so you will need to tighten those four screws back up located on the exterior of the right hand sideplate.

We have now made it past the most complex portion of this build. Now we need to remove the ring pictures from the frame/foot pieces. This is the same process as removing them from the left sideplate. Be careful with the hardware and don't lose them.

Align it on your Tiburon frame and replace the screws securing it to the new frame.

I again applied a light coating of Yamalube around the spool shaft, and ring. You will also notice the notches that allow the right hand sideplate to twist and lock into position.

You can now place the sideplate back on by twisting it into place then tightening the thumb-screw back down. Beautiful right?

To install the shaft for the knob on the new Titanium handle I had to slightly open up the hole with a 3/16th drill bit. Do so carefully as to not remove too much material. 

After opening the hole I used a small wrench and torx to tighten it securely into the new handle.

Notice I have already installed the new aluminum drag star on the sleeve and have the 45mm knob disassembled and ready to install on the shaft.

Slide the knob on and install the small phillips head screw snugging it up tight but ensuring it still spins freely.

Place the large washer on top of the knob assembly next then finally the large slotted cap.

With our handle assembled you will notice the tight fit of the new handle on the SS gear sleeve. Almost done.

Pretty straight-forward. Replace the handle screw using your Penn wrench. Then use a 3/32 allen wrench to tighten the new keeper screw.  This is the final step and now we have a complete and functional reel ready to put the absolute smackdown on some cats.


So there we have it. A gorgeous custom Penn Jigmaster that will last indefinately. Easy to maintain, tough as nails, and can be handed down to my son some day. Once I decide on gear ratio, I will crack it open again to install the new SS gear set later. I warn you though, this will indeed become a hobby inside your already extensive fishing hobby. I've already secured a couple 501 Jigmaster Narrows since completing this first build and will be doing similar builds on them. I have invested around $270-300 in this Jigmaster which is alot for a catfish reel by many standards. However I have no question of whether it can fish alongside $500 reels and hold its on. It is a large investment but remember these reels usually have a service life longer than that of our own. If you have any questions feel free to reach me or any of the great guys I mentioned who guided me on this build.
www.alantani.com
www.supertunereels.com
www.prochallenger.com
www.berinsontackle.com
wwww.pennfishing.com

2016 Product of the Year Awards by Chuck

2016 was full of gear tests around here. It seemed every trip I was testing at least one new piece of gear. I personally tested 11 different rods, 3 different brands of braid, and 5 different reels. By far the most gear I've ever tested in one year. All that gear makes it difficult to write this article. However, I had to make the tough choices and get this done. So here are the products that barely squeaked by the competition to rise to the top.
I'm going to start off with the most dominant winner of the year.
Reel of the Year - Okuma Makaira MK-8ll
[caption id="attachment_1457" align="aligncenter" width="960"] Okuma Makaira MK-8ll[/caption]
Just like it did my last Product of the Year Awards the big Mak crushes their competition with it's brutal power and magnificent tank like build quality. The best reels I've ever used of any kind, for any kind of fishing. A clearly superior product in every way.

Rod of the Year - MudbuM Railsplitter
[caption id="attachment_1424" align="aligncenter" width="960"] MudbuM Railsplitter[/caption]
The Railsplitter made it's rise to the top with it's world class quality blank and components. A custom quality rod for half the price. After 20 years of testing catfish rods, the Railsplitter is at the top of the list when we are talking rods specifically built for catfishing. The only thing it gives up to the winner from my last winner, the Okuma EVx Musky is a little bit of power and control over fish. This could be easily remedied with a slightly heavier blank. Something that just may be on the way from the MudbuM boys. Some of the competition made a fine showing, and could very well have made this list if not tested against the Railsplitter.


Lines of the Year
No clear winner this year in the line category. I tested 3 that all performed perfectly without any issues. None of them matched the overall performance of my preferred Cortland Master Braid which has unfortunately been discontinued. So, I'm going to call it a tie. I fully expect to have a new favorite line for 2017, as I have my eye on one especially promising line.
Diamond Braid
[caption id="attachment_1416" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Diamond Braid[/caption]
I like the orange color here on the Diamond Braid. But like all braids except the Cortland that I've used, there was minor fading and bleeding. Other than that issue, no problems at all. A more than solid choice.

Nano X Braid and USA Braid
[caption id="attachment_1467" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Nano X Braid                                                                USA Braid[/caption]
Seen together here, the Nano X on the left and USA Braid on the right. Just as with the Diamond Braid above, the only issues here were some slight fading and bleeding. It wasn't nearly as severe as other braids I've seen, but not as good as the Cortland in retaining their color. The Diamond above has a smoother feel than either of these lines. Both solid and dependable lines.

Hook of the Year - Owner K Hooks
[caption id="attachment_929" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Owner K[/caption]
Despite some tough competition, the Owner K still rises to the top again. A clearly superior hook in every way.

Budget Product of the Year - Warrior Cat Rods Medium Heavy 
[caption id="attachment_1468" align="aligncenter" width="960"] Warrior Cat MH[/caption]
World Class customer service, stunning performance, extremely high value for the money are just a few things going for Warrior Cat Rods. The MH rods are top shelf in every way. All of this helps Warrior Cat Rods to rise to the top of this category. Two of our contributors are now using these rods almost exclusively, and for good reason.

Congrats to all the winners!
2017 should see some serious competition as several products that are soon to be released will be battling it out for the best of the year award. Stay tuned, it should be an interesting year.
Chuck.

Catfish rod reviews 2016

[caption id="attachment_1425" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] MudbuM Railsplitter[/caption]

2016 was a banner year for catfish rods around The Quest. So many new rods to try and not enough fishing time to give them all a full review. So this article will combine all of the new rods we used in 2016 into mini reviews of all of them.
Warrior Cat XH
The best flathead rod I've ever used, period.
It's really hard to quantify exactly what makes the blank of this rod so special. Yes, the bend is perfect. Yes, it loves throwing heavy weight. Yes, it has a sensitive tip. But this is one of those times when the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts. This rod just feels RIGHT. Everything about it. It inspires confidence. When this rod is in play I have no worries, no doubts, no concern at all. I KNOW it can handle anything. There are some other great catfish rods reviewed here, and even some not reviewed here, but this is the ONE. This is it for me. I'm 100% content. No need to look any further for something I wish was just a little different. Exactly what I've been looking for for 20 years.
Read more here.
Chuck

Th

MudbuM Railspliter rod review
The Railsplitter is certainly on it's way to being my personal favorite catfish rod of all time. From butt to tip it's packed with top notch components worthy of a custom catfish rod costing $300 or more. The tapered butt cap lets the rod slide right out of rod holders without catching. Then the x-flock grips provide a secure grip under any conditions. The Alps aluminum reel seat holds the reel like a vise. A nice size hook keeper above the top grip keeps hooks from flying around while running balls out to the next hole. The white blank is highly visible in any conditions except total darkness. The stainless guides without inserts are placed perfectly keeping the line well away from the blank even under extreme duress. It cast wonderfully, handles any amount of drag any sane catfish nut can handle. All in all first class in every way, and my pick for
Product of the Year in the rod category.
Chuck.


Warrior Cat Bumping Rod review
One of the best new companies to appear on the catfish scene in recent memory is Warrior Cat Tackle. Customer service is priority #1 at Warrior Cat. John Adams is the man at the helm providing this world class customer service. Along with that, Warrior Cat is providing some of the best catfish rods available. Every detail is meticulously considered to provide the best combination of performance and value. A true class act. Now on to the Bumping Rod review.
I got my hands on the first build of the new Gen 3 Warrior Cat Bumping Rod to try out right at the end of flathead season in 2016, and it saw limited use before old man winter blew in and sent the flatheads into hibernation. What time I did get with this rod was very enjoyable. This thing is the lightest catfish rod I have ever used! And not by a little. Tipping the at under 8 ounces it feels like a feather in your hand with perfect balance to go along with it's feather light weight. My version of the rod has eva grips, but a wonderful composite cork is available. The Forecast exposed blank reel seat is a top notch seat that will keep your reel secure during long days of bumping. The Alps XN guides are the best guides available in ring guides. The new Gen 3 blank is a marvel as well. Constructed of the highest grade Japanese Toray Carbon Fiber, it is a thing of beauty. Best of all, This rod is assembled in the good 'ol USA! Rated for 2-8 oz and 30-100# line it is ready to take on any situation you are likely to use a bumping rod in.
Bumping rods are different than standard catfish rods. This type of rod is designed to provide the ultimate in sensitivity and balance, while remaining ultra light in weight. So don't expect a floppy tip common among todays catfish rods. This is a medium fast rod, bordering on extra fast. You are going to get much bend in this beast, it's all ass. I didn't get much time on the water with it in 2016, but I assure you that will be rectified in 2017. Combined with your favorite lowpro bait caster (Okuma Komodo SS my choice) this will be a force to be reckoned with. I have little doubt this rod will be in the running for rod of the year in 2017. Exceptional product from an exceptional company. Well done!
Chuck.


Warrior Cat Rods MH review
Another in the growing line of rods from Warrior Cat Tackle. This was the first rod offered by the company, and has been around long enough to have some true giants under it's belt. I believe I heard this rod pulled in an 80 ish# blue in 2016. This 7' 6" Mh is made from an e-glass blank that looks a lot different than your standard catfish rod. It's smaller in diameter, but packs some serious guts in the ass end. I'm not saying this rod would be my first choice for pulling giant flatheads out of a maze of logs and stumps, but I am saying it's certainly capable of landing any catfish.
The silver finish on the blank is striking, it certainly sets this rod apart from the pack. The stainless guides without inserts are spaced close together to offer good protection for your line from touching the blank. The aluminum reel seat is VERY nice, almost knocking on the door of the premium Alps seat. The grade A cork grips are as nice as you will find on any catfish rod, and as good as rods costing many times the modest price of this rod.
A top notch performer, especially if you like circle hooks. The tip section is just right to let a fish swim off and bury the hook in the corner of it's mouth. The back end is pretty stout for a MH rated rod, with a nice moderate fast action. All in all a top choice for the circle hook crowd, and a versatile rod that is likely to perform well should conditions dictate extreme measures. If a heavier rod is your cup of tea, Warrior Cat has a Heavy and Extra Heavy in the works that should be available in time for the 2017 Catfish Conference. There's also a Lady Warrior MH in pink, and the Larry Muse Signature Edition roller rod that is available in Medium and Medium Heavy. I will be trying the MH roller rod, as well as the XH Warrior Cat in 2017, stay tuned for updates.
Chuck.

Berkley Pro Select E-Cat Review
Back in the days when finding a rod designed specifically for catfishing was like pulling hens teeth, the Berkley E-Cat was one of the few, and in my mind, the best available. These rods have a special place in my heart. It's the bend, the action of these rods. It's simply perfect. The original E-Cat 3 is still to this day my favorite catfish rod. Like the MH Warrior Cat above, not my first choice for giant flatheads in a jungle of a log jam, but not my last choice either. It IS my first choice when I want to enjoy the experience of fishing and catching fish. The taper of these rods is perfect. The walls of the e-glass blanks just right to provide just the right action for casting and fighting fish. After trying hundreds of rods over the last 20 years, the action of a rod in the E-Cat series can't be beat. The new Pro Select series of E-Cat rods carry on the tradition of the originals, while improving on them in a few ways.
First the actions are the same. Perfect bends. But, the reel seats are a definite improvement. The graphite seat appears to be a patterned after the Fuji palm seat. One of the best on the market. The guides are stainless frames with aluminum oxide inserts. They appear to be decent in quality. The cork grips are nice. The finish on the rods is just like the original. Beautiful root beer colored wraps with gold accents. I tried several different models of the new Pro Select E-Cat rods, and was extremely pleased with the performance of all of them. After years without having access to new E-Cat rods I couldn't be happier to see them back on the market. If you are looking for an inexpensive rod that is extremely versatile and will perform well under any conditions, you owe it to yourself to check out the Pro Select E-Cat series from Berkley.
Chuck.


Warrior Cat Tackle MH review
Competition is getting stiffer these days among manufacturers to keep catfishermen outfitted with the best rods available. Warrior Cat Tackles' first offering to the table has proven to be a very worthy contender featuring everything a catman needs and nothing he don't, such as excuses. The 7'6" medium heavy model boats an E-glass blank that was given a good deal of thought in the engineering stages. This means not only can the rod be beaten around, dropped, stepped on, and abused without compromising its strength, but the taper of the blank allows it to pack serious muscle. A subtle and soft tip will hit a homerun with guys running circle hooks, but don't let that soft tip fool you. Once it loads down the blank, it hits its sweet spot where you know it's time to handle business. The Warrior Cats can easily tackle fish upwards of 50lbs, and I have personally witnessed 70lb+ fish be horsed into my boat on one of these rods. For this power, they still allow for a fun fight with smaller cats. The really amazing quality is one you don't have to see, but instead feel. Pick up the Warrior Cat MH and you will be blown away by its light weight. This is a rod that you could throw lures on all day comfortably in terms of its mass. It features 10+tip Chrome Stainless Steel line guides which are underwrapped and double footed for an indefinite service life. A strong aluminum double rear locking nut reel seat with washer located between lock nuts makes securing your reel easy. Grade A cork finishes off an ample 16"handle along with large hook keeper to complete the package. The rod is rated for 20-40lb line and a lure rating of 1-6oz but we rarely fish them this lightly. This rod punches well above its weight and holds its own.
Matt Lynch.

Bottom Dwellers Catfight Review
Bottom Dwellers Tackle may well be the best single location to get your fix for all your catfishing needs, and they even have their own offering of rods. These rods have had a strong following for awhile. Bottom Dwellers Cat Fight model CFC-M761-HC offers features geared toward hardcore cat guys. They boast a very robust blank through handle design of graphite composite which provides good lifting power and a tip that lends itself well to fishing circle hooks. It has a distinct camo finish with black and gold wraps which I'm sure would get a big thumbs up from Larry the Cable Guy. This model can handle large brutes yet still remains light enough to have fun with smaller fish. It has a tip section which glows in the dark to help detect night bites. The foregrip on these rods are a very impressive 8" long of thick cork. Similar size cork makes up the 14" butt of the rod. I have noticed the cork doesn't stay in good condition long on these rods. It is finished off with a large buttcap which is my biggest critique of this rod. Of almost every Cat Fight I have fished with, the buttcap seems prone to fall off. This can be remedied so long as it doesn't get lost but we have had a couple instances of them dropping off and plunging into a watery grave. The Cat Fight uses attractively finished gunsmoke line guides/tip which are well reinforced and a rear locking reel seat composed of graphite and stainless with a single lock. Another critique of this model I have personally dealt with is the reel seat locking nut backing off. I found myself tightening them up once or twice a trip which is why I always recommend using a reel seat clamp for your reel. The one piece Cat Fight is rated for 15-40lb line and a lure rating of 2-5oz. It can throw well within its rating and then some thanks to its backbone.
Matt Lynch.

Bottom Dwellers Knock Out Review
For anglers who need abit more stick than the original Cat Fight models offer, Bottom Dwellers Tackle has the Knock Out. This is the big boy in their lineup featuring the same blank through handle design as the Cat Fight. It is constructed of a graphite composite. The blank is noticeably less limber than the smaller Cat Fight and don't lend itself quite as well for circle hooks as other models. The rod would be better suited to flathead where its faster tip and tremendous backbone would help drive a live bait hook home. The Knock Out features an all aluminum rear locking reel seat with double nuts finished in gunsmoke. The finish on the blank is an attractive glossy urban digital camo and carries over the glow tip section. Topping off the blank are 9+tip stainless steel line guides. It also boasts the same large diameter 8" foregrip and 14" butt section. The Knock Out, CFR-KO-791XHC, measures 7'9" and carries a rating of 20-60lb line and 2-20 oz lure rating. If you are going for giants and want pure lifting power this rod is a great option, however this power comes with the drawback of the Knock Out being a heavy stick to wield. Luckily in general, weight is a non-issue for catfishing since often the rod remains in a holder. Again, similar to the other Cat Fight model I experienced the same common issue of the large rubber butt cap falling off and attempting to target underwater structure during its descent. Also the cork used on these rods seem to deteriorate quicker than I'm use to seeing. No issues with chipping/chunking thankfully, but don't expect it to look beautiful long if you use your gear hard and are on the water a lot. If you are looking for a big flathead rod or something for lifting huge blues this rod is definitely worth checking into.
Matt Lynch.

Berkley Mudcat Review
If you are on a budget and seeking smaller catfish, the new Berkley Mudcat may be up your alley. The Mudcat is a new model on the market and comes in both casting and spinning models. It uses a strong fiberglass blank along with 6 stainless steel guide frames finished with aluminum oxide inserts. I would like to have saw solid stainless guides used in place of inserts but we can't always have everything. Here's what Berkley did to make an awesome grip though. They give us an awesome X-flock handle. I'm a huge fan of the X-flock and it provides durability and helps traction on wet or slimy hands. I preferred the model # BCMUD601MH. During preproduction field testing we pushed this rod well over the limit on my boat. This model is a one piece 6' blank rated for 12-30lb line and a lure rating of 1-4oz. It didn't take long to end up with 8oz of weight and a double hook rig with half of a large skipjack hanging in the rod holder and when a 47lb blue cat slammed the bait the little Mudcat didn't let us down. With a bend the whole length of the blank it helds it own eventually managing to lift the behemoth off the bottom in heavy current and into the net. During a long season of field testing, I never had reason to question the quality of the Mudcat and for a budget rod I think this model will offer a long service life and although geared to smaller catfish, it can still tangle with larger specimens.
Matt Lynch.

Denali Bottom Feeder Review
As a preferred bank fisherman being able to cast large baits in tight areas comes into play a lot. The Denali Bottom Feeder gets the job done for me. If it's a big or small bait under a pound with 6 Oz or less of weight. The 7.5 MH does an impeccable job. Anything bigger requires the 8ft Heavy. But when it comes to reeling them in. Both have handled fish up to 45lbs. With ease and power.
Scott Ross.

I think the Bottom Feeder rods look badass. I like the all black with chrome accents. I also like the split grips, something most people I've talked to about them hate. They are inexpensive and seem to be solid. I haven't caught any fish on my MH so I can't comment on the fish fighting ability. They cast great though and seem to handle a good amount of drag on a pull test. The looks department is the area this rod shines the brightest to me. I like the looks better than almost any other rod I own. Although that doesn't help catch fish.
Chuck.

Berkley TEC Cat Hunter Review
I tested both spinning and casting models of the TEC CAT Hunter. They are very sharp rods that are rated for lighter use than you will normally see he at The Quest. They are also extremely light in weight. Stainless guides with zirconium insures, a wonderful aluminum reel seat, and composite cork grips round out the package on this 2 piece series of rods. Berkley calls the blank a Complex Matrix Construction, whatever that means. It feels like graphite or carbon to me. These rods are really stout for their rating without much flex, but I wouldn't want to use 8 oz and a big live bait with them. They should be great for bumping or any lighter type work that doesn't require heavy weight. The 2 piece blank construction would be nice for those with vehicle space limitations. A light, solid, attractive package for those doing lighter duty work.
Chuck.

Rippin Lips SuperCat
These rods are similar to the Denali Rods except they are S-glass instead of the E-glass the Bottom Feeders use. They are white with red guide wraps as opposed to all black on the Denali offerings. Seem to be about the same in action, I think the Denali rods look much better. An inexpensive rod that seems well enough made and offers good value.
Chuck.

MudbuM Railsplitter Rod Initial Review

CAUTION!!! Be prepared to spend a bunch of time on the sale forums if you pick up a Railsplitter Rod from MudbuM. Yes, they are that good. You will be selling all your other rods trying to get some extra cash for more Railsplitters.

A white composite of Linear S-Glass/40 ton Toray, the 8' blank is damn near perfect for everything except XXXtra heavy duty use. Although I don't normally care for white rods, the white finish on the Railsplitter rods is striking. Very well done.



The reel seat, simply the best. The same Alps aluminum reel seats I use on all my custom catfish rods are found here on the Railsplitter.



Grip material, again, the best available. X-flock on the 12" fore and 12" rear grip, awesome!



Guides (10 + 1) are your standard stainless steel without inserts that all the catfish guys and gals love, except me. But, these guides are pretty much trouble free.



Even the butt cap is way better than any other catfish rod I have seen. Tapered to be smaller at the bottom it slides right out of the Driftmasters without hanging up like every other catfish rod on the market.

I put the Railsplitter through some serious testing before even using them. I checked the bend with 32 ozs, very nice. Then I sent a lob cast across the yard without much effort. I'm not recommending casting 2 pounds on a rod rated to 10 ozs, but it didn't complain. I think I will keep my casting weight under a pound total with these. I then put the Railsplitter in one of the Driftmaster rod holders with the drag on my Shimano Tekota 500 tightened down to max (about 18#). I then pulled straight down until the drag slipped. Very impressive. This rod will have no problem handling 20# of drag. Pulled that hard it has a nice moderate bend to about 4' down the blank where it gets into some serious backbone.

I'm going to introduce a new term to my rod reviews right here in the Railsplitter rod review. That is "Shutoff". The term backbone gets thrown around everywhere talking about rods. Even rods I consider to have very little backbone are said to have GREAT backbone. Well, if you think about an actual backbone, they are meant to bend. But a rod the "Shuts off" stops bending at some point. This Railsplitter rod shuts off at around 50% of it's length. This is the perfect amount of shutoff for me. The top through the midsection gives a nice controlled bend with some nice power in the midsection. The tip is pretty fast to bend allowing for easy casting. The bottom end is stout! It has tons of lift.
32 ounces hanging.

Pulling 18 pounds of drag.


I can't say I've tried every catfish rod on the market, but I've tried MANY. Some of them are too soft, some of them are too stiff. I say this Railsplitter rod from MudbuM is just right.


There isn't a true catfish rod on the market I can recommend more highly. The $159.99 price puts this rod at the top end of catfish rods price wise. But with components I would use on my custom built catfish rods that cost much,  much more, the Railsplitter Rod from MudbuM is a real bargain.
You can pick them up here.
https://mudbumusa.com/supply-shack/mudbum-railsplitter-rods/
Chuck

SeaArk RX180JT Tunnel Jet long term review

After putting some time on the SeaArk RX180JT model I want to share my thoughts. I did an initial video review highlighting some of the boats features and initial impressions. Now I want to provide you with a long term followup from my perspective. Overall the boat didn’t really meet my expectations in the longrun unfortunately.

So lets talk about the construction of the boat. The RX180 features a .100 hull which for the average boater is sufficient. I would prefer to see a .125 hull on jet models given the shallow water applications but then you have to sacrifice in performance or up the horsepower rating to compensate. The welding and basic construction of the boat is good. SeaArk boats are very durable. The ride of the hull as one would expect with a tunnel hull jet boat isn’t the best. Anything over a slight chop and the boat will beat you to death compared to a hull with a V. I removed the rear seat/storage box to free up more floor space and realized that wasn’t the best idea as the flooring is unsupported back in that area as it doesn’t really extend up under the rear deck. This alone was a disappointment. Starting at the bow if you do alot of casting you will notice the gigantic trolling motor mount. It takes up alot of space and was very irritating until I finally cut over half of it off and redrilled it. The boat has a forward storage locker that can work for a couple life jackets, rope, etc but will not allow storage of anchors, which is badly needed in the boat. There is a second storage locker behind the front seat pedestal on the front deck. With its seal around the lid and design, I assumed this to be dry storage or at least close to it. I was dead wrong. Do not put anything in this compartment you don’t want wet. Infact if you want to keep anything on the boat dry you will need a dry bag or dry box. A light rain and this compartment will be soaked quickly. Leaving the boat uncovered in weather for a week at a time even my plano boxes inside the compartment had moisture inside them. The console sits about midway in the cockpit. It is a fiberglass console and offers a livewell infront molded into it with cushion for seating. I learned to hate this console for several reasons. The single largest is my bias toward tiller boats. The boat was too good of a deal to pass up and I told myself I could adapt to the center console. I was wrong and I’ll explain the characteristics of this shortly, as I’m focusing on the construction now. The console is a terribly awkward one in terms of height for me. I am six foot tall, and the console is at such a height that it is too tall to drive sitting and uncomfortable to drive while standing. It does feature a nice grab rail but the height of it can be annoying when casting off the rear deck or fishing from the cockpit. With a 60” bottom there is room to get around the console but you have to pay attention when doing so if you have gear in the boat. The console has a shelf under the console which I assumed was storage and I, like most, tossed my keys, wallet, carry gun, etc there when fishing. I learned the hard way that this was a horrible idea. It turns out that there is nothing in the back(toward the livewell) part of the shelf to keep your gear ON the shelf. While returning back from fishing on a very cold winter evening I reached for my keys to the truck to find them missing. As it turns out they had slid to the back and then fell down between the livewell and part of the console along with several other needed items. To retreive the keys required a prolonged struggle with a screwdriver and removing numerous screws that attach the console. Finally I was able to get them to the corner where I had a small gap and pry the panel enough to get them out. After this incident I contacted SeaArk via email explaining the issue thoroughly to which I never received a reply. This would be a deep irritation during nice weather but happening on an extremely cold winter day when help and extra keys are over an hour away is a massive design flaw that could be easily corrected. The next thing I disliked about the console was the fact it rattled terribly. At idle speed when engine trolling it was very bad. Anything you place on the console from drinks to phones will almost immediately vibrate and fall off while being very audible. When running down the water it shakes uncontrollably even after double checking all the hardware attaching it to the floor of the boat. It literally shook so hard in any slight chop on the water that it would cause the master power rocker switch to shut off killing the electronics and anything else you may have turned on. I've rode in quite a few flat bottom boats and skiffs and this is the worst I have probably witnessed. So moving beyond the console, the boat comes with a rear seat bench/storage option. This was useful for storing lifejackets, drift sock, etc but isnt deep enough to store many items and you have to be careful shutting the lid or else the seat bases could smash or break something, as they protrude through the bottom. Also once again anything in there *will* get wet and stay that way. For rear deck storage, there is none. Absolutely nothing, and this feels like alot of wasted space. The rear battery area has enough room for two batteries as it is. I had to cut a section of the lid to allow for my 24V setup. This is an 18ft boat and I doubt many people will only use 12V. Again this should have been done better. I did manage to cram in a 9 gallon fuel tank which is undersized unless you fish close to the launch, my starting battery, and 2 bank charger. If you needed a second 12V battery to run extra electronics or similar you don’t have that option or space. The flip up lid was a nice touch though, allowing extra floor space for standing and casting. The tunnel design on the boat functioned very well and the boat could run around 30-32mph with two people powered by Yamaha’s awesome F90/65 Jet Drive. The hull also wasn’t very load sensitive as many jets are. It seemed almost anywhere a load was placed in the boat, once on plane, it would still move at a good pace with hardly any noticable change. The only thing effected was time to plane. Once on plane the boat could run roughly 8” of water with ease and for those familiar with jet handling, handled and cornered nicely. For all the design issues it did perform very well on plane.




For flooring, the boat has diamond plate cockpit flooring made from .125 aluminum and the interior has the Gatorhide coating. This coating is similar to many truck bedliners and does a good job of protecting the floor. However it is sprayed in a tan color and the boats color is sprayed overtop. The paint chips off very easily and was difficult to touch up with the factory paint and make it look good. Once dirty it is also extremely difficult to clean, even with dawn dish detergent and a good scrub brush. The paint my boat came sprayed in was a bone white. I found the finish to be rather dull and was difficult to clean. After setting outside in the weather uncovered as the boat was on the water quite abit I found alot of mildew stains around the transom that I was unable to clean with a good scrub pad and several types of soap and cleaner. Also any stains from skipjack blood/guts, if not washed off quickly seem to be permanent.


Now looking more specifically at this boat as a jet boat one intends to run skinny water with, there are also concerns at rest or drifting. As you can see in the picture the boat squats extremely bad in the stern. If keeping this boat longterm floatation pods would be an absolute must. But alone even they wouldn’t likely be enough to level the boat out. The next step would be distributing weight better, but by design the boat doesn’t really allow many options. I would have much preferred the console against the front deck. There is no room up front to relocate the trolling batteries either and an inquiry with the factory said adding additional storage up front to allow for this would void the warranty. There is the option to place them under the console  and reroute the wiring but it would eliminate any foot room under there one might have and would be a tight fit by the time you add a charger. There is an option of a bow mounted fuel tank that doubles as a deck extension but then you lose cockpit space,especially with the length of the console/livewell. Although a factory option from SeaArk, I would imagine installing float pods yourself would also void the warranty, so basically you have a boat that runs great and super shallow on plane but drafts so much at rest you have to be careful where you come off plane and get back on plane. Many shallow shoals I could have easily drifted over in my old Lowe jet would have resulted in getting stuck on the bottom in the SeaArk. I engine troll and found the slow steering ratio made this nearly impossible with the big motor. Jets rely on the thrust for steering given the lack of skeg to serve as a rudder, however I found engine trolling to be amazing with my tiller jet drive. Especially with the extremely slow speeds I could maintain using the reverse gate the tiller shined. However with the console I found it almost impossible to do so effectively, especially with any wind.
I know this may sound harsh, and some of it probably should. If you are looking at a boat strictly to catfish and striper fish from this is still a good boat. I fish for many species using a wide variety of tactics and it just falls short for me. If the boat had a forward console, pods, and some better options for balancing the weight out this rig would move up quite a few notches in my book. I have no doubt these boats will last their owners a long time and take a beating but no boat is perfect. No boat can do it all. In the end it is up to you to decide if one of these boats will match your needs. This is simply from my perspective from spending a good deal of time in this model of boat and hopefully can give those considering one some things to consider before making a purchase.