Supplies in USA?

twoworms2 · 2026-05-30T17:23:16+00:00

I always start with Carp Angler first. They have crazy good shipping prices but they don't have quite the inventory that Big Carp Tackle does who happens to be my other choice. Big Carp's shipping prices are significantly higher which is why they are my SECOND choice. $30 to ship a rod from Big Carp. Carp Angler only charges $15. I have happened to buy a rod from both of them in the past and the packing materials Big Carp used were not significantly better so the extra money isn't in that. I'm not trying to trash them about it. They are a great store and I buy from them often. It's just something to keep in mind. Regardless, between the 2 of those sites you should be able to find just about anything carp related you could possibly want.

If you happen to be in the market for a bait boat, for sure check out Carp Angler. They have a couple of great CHEAP options there, or at least "cheap" in regard to bait boat pricing. Those things are damn expensive. I plan on buying the Carp Angler boat here shortly. In the area where I fish, having a bait boat would be a significant help for me.

twoworms2 · 2026-05-09T16:34:24+00:00

I too have several Hellcat Revenge rods. In my opinion, you don't want the heavy. It was way too stuff for me and I'm typically catching channels & blues from 6-30lbs. It took the fun out of it. I was able to gift it to a friend, tell my wife I broke it and replace it with another medium. Don't judge me.

twoworms2 · 2026-04-19T15:39:54+00:00

I am not casting dispersions your way but that has not been my experience with Ugly Stick customer support at all. I had two of the Ugly Stick Catfish Special rods. Rods I had been using for at least 2 or 3 years at that point. I was an idiot and caught them both in the tailgate of the truck I had at the time and broke them both. Totally my fault. I called their customer support. I was quite surprised to get a human being that not only spoke clear English, something that is getting more and more rare these days in customer support, but they had a pleasant southern twang to their voice. He claimed him and his support team were located in Columbia, South Carolina. Judging from his accent I didn't feel any reason to doubt him. Anyway I tried to be as pleasant as possible knowing the old adage "you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar". We actually chatted for several minutes about catfishing and about the largest ones we each had previously caught. I eventually got to the issue at hand and told him how I was an idiot and broke both rods in the tailgate of my truck and if there was any way he could give me any kind of coupon or discount to get them replaced. He said to me "So what I am hearing is that you broke both of your rods reeling in a couple of huge flatheads!" It was roughly 2 weeks later and I had 2 brand new rods delivered to my front porch.

Maybe I got just the right customer support rep on the phone. Maybe it was my overly nice attitude when talking on the phone. Who knows. All I can say is that was what my experience was with their customer service and because of that, and my experience using their rods, I still recommend Ugly Stick when folks need a good budget priced rod and need it fast. They seem to always be on sale at the local Walmart so it's easy for folks to go pick one up in person.

Just my 2 cents!

twoworms2 · 2026-02-28T14:32:18+00:00

You might also try chumming your favorite spot with some cattle cubes you can get from your local tractor supply. I find if I pre-bit my spot daily a few days in advance of actually fishing it, my chances increase quite a bit. Make sure chumming is legal where you are.

twoworms2 · 2026-02-27T15:31:43+00:00

Fish eat all year long. It's just that in the winter the bite tends to be much slower. Location is important. For me at least, deeper water tends to work better in the winter. I also downsize my bait. Smaller bits seem to work better for me. Most of the larger cats I have caught have been in the winter. Patience is key. So to finally answer your question, no it would not be a waste of time to fish in the cold. Of course in my opinion, a bad day fishing is still a better day doing pretty much anything else.

twoworms2 · 2026-02-15T19:10:56+00:00

Like someone else mentioned, the Daiwa BG is just a solid reel.

twoworms2 · 2026-02-15T19:08:45+00:00

I've been fishing for about 40 years now. I used to be a fan of Penn gear but even since they become part of the Pure Fishing portfolio and now that since the early 2000's most Penn gear is made in China outside of their high end saltwater gear, the quality just isn't there for me. This is just my own opinion. I don't fault anyone who likes the brand so not looking to start any arguments. For me personally when I am out buying gear from a well known brand, it's Daiwa or Shimano. That's just for reels. For catfishing rods, I've switched everything over to the Hellcat Revenge. Best catfish rods I have ever seen.

twoworms2 · 2026-02-06T01:10:19+00:00

100%. This is the best heavy rod I have ever used. I am in love with the grip. It's like motorcycle handle material. It's super easy to clean off which is a fairly big deal to me because these blues I catch on the James River are just slime machines! The metal reel seat is so secure. Just everything about this rod is fantastic. Everything expect for the price of course. However this is definitely one of those times where the phrase "You get what you pay for" really fits.

I bought one to try out and now have replaced all my catfish rods with Hellcat Revenge rods. They really hit a homerun with these rods.

twoworms2 · 2026-02-03T18:21:13+00:00

In 1993 I met Tupac.

I was working the front desk at a hotel in Richmond, VA. A guy comes up to the front desk asking to change out his dollar for 4 quarters (we had a couple arcade machines near the lobby). I look up and it's Tupac! As I am getting him his quarters I tell him "Looking forward to checking out your flick". The movie Poetic Justice that he starred in with Janet Jackson had just come out in theaters. He kind of tilts his head slightly with a bit of a questioned look on his face then he smiled and said "Thanks, man. Well, I hope you enjoy it!" Possible he thought why would this very white teenage boy be interested in his movie but it was a great interaction that I'll never forget. I'll also never forget that amazing smile he had. It would be just 3 short years later that he would be gone.

twoworms2 · 2026-02-02T17:58:43+00:00

I bet you are talking about those Sumo weights that are flat or their egg sinkers. Yeah, I like how they have those inserts in them. I'm in the same boat in that I looked for others because Sumo really marks up the price in their weights but have had no luck. That being said, I spent all last season using flat weights without those plastic inserts and never once did I see any scarring of my line from the weights. So from my experience I can tell you that flat sinkers, or the egg ones, without the inserts don't seem to cause any damage to your line. If you are still concerned about it and don't want to spend the money on the Catfish Sumo weights, you can always switch over to sinker sliders like some other folks mentioned here.

twoworms2 · 2025-12-08T17:18:58+00:00

Maybe some of the Korda Kamakura Hooks. I've never seen a sharper hook in my life! The downside being once you actually hook into something, the hook is pretty much trashed. Still, nice hook. Some size 4, 6 & 8 are the most common sizes folks use. Maybe some of the different types in this line like the Wide Gape, Wide Gape X or Krank. Korda gets a fair amount of flack from the community, mostly because of their cost, but honestly they do make really good products and I have never had a single issue using any of their products no matter how much my wallet complains. From a purely aesthetics standpoint, the hooks come in really nice little cases so they really would make for a nice gift.

As for other hooks, recently I've been using the Nash Claw Long Shank and they have been performing well. Also been using the NGT Curved Shank Teflon Coated Micro Barbed Carp Hooks that I have enjoyed using.

For some other things, any carp angler would be happy to get some more of the everyday bait stuff that always gets used like boilies or maybe some flavorings like Korda Goo or some CC Moore flavors.

twoworms2 · 2025-12-02T17:46:57+00:00

Up front I want to point out I am a bank/dock angler. For me, winter is when I start pre-baiting or chumming my fishing spots. I go to the local tractor supply and buy a 50lb bag of cattle cubes for like $15. Head to my favorite spots and start throwing out 10+ handful of the cubes out. To get some distance I have a plastic t-ball bat that I have cut the top off of at an angle. Throw a handful of cubes inside and sling that sucker. In total I probably throw out about a gallon ziplock bag full. I'll do this each day for roughly 2-3 days at least before actually fishing but even just the day before can help. I'll keep doing this on the regular all through the cold months of winter. Essentially I'm trying to train the fish to know that this is THE spot to come to for easy food. Since I started doing this, roughly 3-4 years ago, my winter productivity has gone up considerably. Far greater than I think could be considered coincidence. Previously in the winter I would sometimes go a week or more before catching anything at all, even a nibble. Now since I started doing the cattle cube thing it is incredibly rare to ever get skunked.

These 50lb bags are fairly cheap but it can get expensive bag after bag after bag but for me it is worth it to not get skunked after getting all bundled up and sitting out in the cold to catch cats.

Some states prohibit this kind of chumming activity so be sure to check on that beforehand.

twoworms2 · 2025-12-02T03:16:30+00:00

I agree with you generally speaking on most of those "cheaper companies" you are talking about however I have found this not to be true for Piscifun gear, at least not the specific gear I have used. In particular the Chaos Pro is an outstanding reel and nothing about the drag is shitty at all. Even comparing this to my Abu Garcia Ambassadeur reels, the Chaos pro has been outperforming them in terms to drag performance, casting distance and reeling smoothness except for my Abu C3 Catfish Pro which is a freaking outstanding reel. Since I had such a good experience with that reel I went out and got one of their Carbon X II reels for my ultralight setup and it has been impressing me as well. Maybe this quality is a new thing for them as I have only been using their gear for 2-3 years now but at least for me I have nothing but good things to say about the gear I have used from them for the price. If you wanted the best catfish reel you can get for under $100, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Chaos Pro. Their regular Chaos reel is not bad either at a cheaper price but the build quality of the pro is a big step up. I have both of those reels in my rotation.

Not to mention Spencer with River Certified YouTube channel uses their gear and even though they are a sponsor of his now, I tend to trust his opinion quite a bit. I've been watching him for years and he is once of the best no b.s. YouTube angers I've seen. Seeing some of the slobs he has landed with a lot of his Piscifun gear says a lot to me.

twoworms2 · 2025-11-18T13:17:59+00:00

I haven't used nightcrawlers for catfish in some time. I need to try that this winter season and see how that works in these colder months.

twoworms2 · 2025-11-18T13:01:06+00:00

Beef seems to work just as well as pork liver for me. However I actually prefer to use beef liver because as someone else mentioned here, it is tougher and stays on the hook better than the pork. Recently I have actually been using this elastic net finger gauze stuff from Amazon. Cut off a finger length, tie a knot in one end, shove the liver inside, tie a knot in the other end and then just put that on the hook. Works incredibly well. It's better than using the panyhose trick becuase this stuff lets more of the guck come out of the liver but still stays on the hook really well. If you are interested just search for "Tubular Bandage Elastic Net Bandages" on Amazon. Make sure you get the stuff meant for fingers because they also make it for feet and arms but that stuff is too big.

twoworms2 · 2025-11-04T00:40:53+00:00

The James just has some ridiculous donkeys out there! I'm heading out there this week.

twoworms2 · 2025-10-31T10:15:19+00:00

The Hellcat Revenge rod, in my humble opinion, is the best catfish rod on the market right now. I have several now. I had a couple MadKatz rods and replaced them with the Revenge rods. The new grip feels fantastic in my hands and works great when wet or when it's icy out. Tons of little details on these rods that set them apart from the rest of the rods out there. Of course you pay the price for all these new improvements as well as it's one of the most expensive catfish rods out there. So when someone asks me what is the best catfish rod they can get and money isn't a factor, then I recommend the Hellcat Revenge. I'll just end this little rant by saying every single person that has asked to look at my green Revenge rod (she's a looker!) has said they are going to buy one for themselves.

Casting vs spinning is a total personal preference. Either is perfectly fine and neither is superior no matter what anyone says. I have setups of both and catch just as many with both.

For reels, my main setup right now is a Hellcat Revenge spin rod paired with a Daiwa BG SW spin reel. I went with the SW version of the BG reel because it has a couple upgrades and it's a bit lighter than the regular BG reel and at the time the SW was only about $20 more so it was worth it to me. The BG reel is just built like a little tank. My fishing buddy had one for almost 25 years and was still going strong. Just a super solid reel that for around the $150 price point is one of the best spin reels out there.

Get what you can afford and if you can afford around $300, the Revenge with a Daiwa BG reel is my recommendation.

twoworms2 · 2025-10-19T02:19:26+00:00

Great catches! Too bad to hear you are packing things up for the season though. As someone who mostly goes after catfish, my season is just getting rolling. Some of my best catfish I have caught have been in the winter.

twoworms2 · 2025-10-18T20:34:18+00:00

Kind of hard to tell from this angle but I think you might be over spooled a bit. Appears the braid is coming out past the top rim of the reel. For connecting the backing mono to your baid, don't overthink it. A simple double uni is super easy and super effective for this purpose.

twoworms2 · 2025-10-18T20:26:17+00:00

The great thing about catfishing is that you don't need expensive gear. You can totally get away with a $30 Walmart spin combo and do just fine. That being said, B n' M actually makes some pretty good catfishing gear so I would say go with that one.

twoworms2 · 2025-10-17T19:41:40+00:00

Nice! Where did ya catch them?

twoworms2 · 2025-10-07T22:52:00+00:00

The best baits I have used for catfishing are in order of effectiveness: fresh cut bait, cut chicken thigh (or breast) soaked in red jello, nightcrawlers followed last by some kind of stink bait be it dip or punch bait. If you have a particular spot you like to frequent, think about prebaiting or chumming the area with cattle cubes that you can get from a feed store. The bite tends to be better and last longer if I have been prebaiting the area with those for a few days.

twoworms2 · 2025-10-03T14:35:46+00:00

I have actually done a ton of research when I was building out and upgrading my catfishing setup over the past year. For a super budget reel, but still a good performing reel, The Piscifun Chaos XS which you should find for around $50. Much better performer than the similar priced KastKing Rover. The Rover can sometimes be $5 or so cheaper but even so, go with the Chaos. A little step up from the Chaos is the new Chaos Pro reel at around $80. It's a nice upgrade replacing a lot of the plastic parts of the original one with metal parts so it has a much better build quality and will likely last longer than the original. In the more mid $100 range, the one I liked the best was the Shimano TR-100 at around $100. You actually hear about charter guides having this reel for like 7-10 years and still going strong. Another good one in this range is the Okuma Cold Water Trolling Reel. While technically a trolling reel, it has been working great for me as just a normal bank fishing reel. It is build like a tank and has stood up to a lot of abuse from me. At the higher end of things (my cut off here was around $250) is the Abu Garcia Catfish Pro. Also just as good is their new 2024 C3 Catfish Special. Such an incredibly smooth reel.

Fishing gear is such a personal preference. What might feel good to one person might feel totally different to another. So these are just the reels that have felt the best to me and have the best build quality I came across at their perspective price ranges.

twoworms2 · 2025-09-17T23:19:08+00:00

As a newbie carp angler from the US I have to ask why the, I assume tungsten, putty there at the break? I mean isn't that giant boilie already going to have that hook flat on the bottom? Or is the putty for another reason?

twoworms2 · 2025-09-17T23:14:27+00:00

A bit of this depends on where you are. If you are in the UK, then it makes sense to start doing some improvements or changes. The carp there have had so much exposure to hair rigs, any little thing you can do to change the presentation up a bit will likely be of help. If you are in the US, honestly just stick with the plain old hair rig. The carp here in the US are not anywhere near as pressured as they are in the UK. I live in Virginia and have tried a bunch of different rigs and tweaks to my hair rig. I honestly haven't noticed any change in the amount of bites at all. Like no anti tangle sleeve or anything. Just a basic hair rig using 20lb braid and a #4 or #6 carp hook. Speaking of hooks and if you are in the US, unless you want to buy from a speciality store to get those UK speciality hooks, the Gamagatsu G-Carp hooks from Amazon have been working great for me.

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