Catfish fishing is a contact sport, even when your line isn’t in the water. The best catfish rods stand up to abuse. Will it keep casting after being dropped on rocks or the deck of the boat?

A couple of catch-a-cat bait pockets stuffed with bait, a sliding sinker rig, and a big hook. That's what we're working with fishing for channel cats. The sliding sinker rig lets the catfish take ...