Best Catfish Fishing Rods of 2025

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For those who love to fish, having the right equipment is essential, especially when it comes to catfish fishing. Catfish fishing rods are designed specifically to handle the size and strength of catfish, making them the perfect choice for any angler looking to reel in these elusive fish. Made from high-quality materials, these rods offer superior strength and durability, ensuring that they can handle the toughest conditions. Whether you're a seasoned pro or just starting out, catfish fishing rods are a must-have for any serious angler looking to up their game.
At a Glance: Our Top Picks
Top 10 Catfish Fishing Rods
Black Cat Perfect Passion Catfish Rod 2.80 m
The Black Cat Perfect Passion Rod offers exceptional performance for catfish anglers. Developed by experts, it combines durability and innovation, ensuring you benefit from decades of experience. With high-quality IM6 carbon fibre construction, this rod provides excellent stability and balance, making it perfect for endurance fishing. The non-slip handle guarantees a secure grip during those long battles with large fish, enhancing your comfort. No matter your fishing method—whether from shore or boat—this rod caters to every technique, ensuring you find the right fit for your needs.
PENN Legion Cat Silver Spin Fishing Rod
The PENN Legion Fishing Rod is designed for serious anglers who need reliability and strength. Its powerful carbon blanks provide a robust backbone, ensuring you can tackle larger fish with confidence. The high-quality seaguide rings enhance durability, so you can fish in various conditions without worry. With an EVA handle, you benefit from easy cleaning and a comfortable grip, allowing for extended fishing sessions without discomfort. Plus, a case is included for convenient storage and transport.
Black Cat Perfect Passion Catfish Rod 2.70m
The Black Cat Passion Rod is expertly developed for modern catfish fishing, ensuring durability and reliability. With an exceptional price-to-performance ratio, this rod features high-quality IM6 carbon fibre for a smooth fishing experience. The non-slip handle provides a secure grip, making it comfortable during long fights with large catfish. Additionally, the series offers various models to suit different fishing techniques, whether you're on the shore, a boat, or fishing from a belly boat.
PENN Legion Cat Silver Fishing Rod
The PENN Cat Silver Rod is designed for serious anglers. Its extremely powerful carbon blanks provide a strong backbone, ensuring you can handle larger fish with ease. The EVA handle offers excellent grip and is easy to clean, making your fishing experience more comfortable and enjoyable. Plus, with the included case, you can protect your rod during transport and storage, adding to your convenience. This rod is perfect for sea fishing and targeting catfish.
J-BARZILLAI Raptor 6ft Offshore Fishing Rod
The Raptor Offshore Fishing Rod is designed for exceptional durability and strength, making it perfect for both freshwater and saltwater fishing. Its advanced materials, including high-carbon fibre, enhance sensitivity, allowing you to detect even the subtlest bites. The lightweight design ensures easy handling, perfect for use in tight spaces like boat cabins. With its stylish appearance and corrosion-resistant coating, you can enjoy a reliable and enjoyable fishing experience while targeting bass, catfish, or trout.
Sougayilang 2-Piece Composite Trolling Rod
The Sougayilang Trolling Rod is designed for avid anglers seeking a robust fishing experience. Its two-section structure comes in four vibrant colours, allowing you to choose one that suits your style. Constructed from composite graphite and glass blanks, this rod offers exceptional strength and durability, making it ideal for saltwater trolling. The comfortable lengthened EVA handles help reduce fatigue during long fishing sessions, ensuring you can fish for hours without discomfort. Additionally, the sturdy graphite reel seat provides a secure fit, preventing loosening even in rough waters.
Catfish Pro 7'6 Heavy Action Fishing Rod
The Catfish Pro Casting Rod is a robust 7'6" heavy action fishing rod designed for serious anglers. Its optimized S-Glass, E-Glass, and Carbon Graphite blank provides exceptional strength and sensitivity, allowing you to feel even the slightest nibble. The super grip premium handle ensures a firm and comfortable hold, making long fishing sessions more enjoyable. Additionally, the glow-in-the-dark tip is perfect for night fishing, helping you keep track of your line in low light conditions.
Daiwa Exceler CF 3.30m Catfish Rod
The Daiwa Exceler Catfish Rod is designed for serious anglers who seek reliability and performance. With a length of 3.30 metres and a casting weight of 200-600 grams, it allows you to tackle heavy weights effortlessly. The semi-parabolic composite blanks ensure that you can break riplines and cast over long distances with ease. This rod's slightly softer backbone enhances the thrill of reeling in medium and smaller fish, making every catch enjoyable. Additionally, its durable components are built to withstand extreme stress, ensuring longevity during your fishing adventures.
Madcat 2.40 m Catfish Fishing Rod
The Madcat Cat Fishing Rod is designed for serious anglers targeting large catfish. With a length of 2.40 m and a transport length of 127 cm, it offers excellent portability without compromising on performance. Weighing 568 g, this rod is lightweight yet robust, making it easy for you to handle during long fishing sessions. Its 150 – 300 g casting weight allows you to use heavy bait effortlessly, ensuring you can attract those big catches. The double wound ring bindings enhance durability, making it perfect for challenging conditions.
HANDING M1 Ultralight Fishing Rods
The HANDING M1 Rods are designed for serious anglers, featuring exceptional durability thanks to their 9-layer, 24Ton carbon fibre blank, which allows you to tackle tough fishing environments confidently. You will appreciate the smooth casting enabled by the Fuji O+A guides, ensuring your throws are precise and efficient. The carbon fibre handle offers a lightweight feel, enhancing sensitivity so you won’t miss any subtle bites. Additionally, the customised carbon reel seat provides stability and control, making your fishing experience more enjoyable and effective.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What weight rod should I use for catfish?
An 8-foot casting model handles 12 to 30 pound test and matches medium duty channel and blue cat situations. The medium-heavy action 7-foot spinning rod is a fine all-purpose catfish rod.
2. What makes a catfish rod?
Rods such as the Rippin Lips rods mentioned earlier have a little less rod bend and a little quicker backbone. The tip has enough give to turn a circle hook, and a fast enough tip to the backbone that you can get enough set on a catfish.
3. What line do you use for catfish?
Catfish aren't line-shy, so you can use light or heavy fishing line as situations dictate. High-strength, small-diameter monofilaments testing 15 to 25 pounds are good inexpensive choices for all-round use, but when hunting the big boys, you may have to upgrade to 30-, 40-, even 80-pound-test.
During our catfish fishing rod research, we found 84 catfish fishing rod products and shortlisted 10 quality products. We collected and analyzed 4,717 customer reviews through our big data system to write the catfish fishing rods list. We found that most customers choose catfish fishing rods with an average price of £56.58.
The catfish fishing rods are available for purchase. We have researched hundreds of brands and picked the top brands of catfish fishing rods, including Black Cat, Penn, J-BARZILLAI, Sougayilang, Catfish Pro. The seller of top 1 product has received honest feedback from 2,950 consumers with an average rating of 3.7.

Luke is a runner, a climber, hiker, hunter, and a lot more. Luke Dobson is Celtic-born and has lived most of his life in Scotland. However, his sporting endeavours have taken him to several countries around Europe. He serves as a tour guide for countless companies and owns a couple of gyms and recreational centres in Scotland. Luke Dobson is proficient in 7 different languages. He maintains many sport article columns where he shares his wealth of experience in the sport industry.