How to Make This Awesome Catfish Rig: SANTEE COOPER RIG 

Thank you! I greatly appreciate the positive feedback.

You’re welcome. I agree the Palomar is a great knot. Use it in most cases.

Thanks!

Awesome stuff. Welcome to the addiction 😂 If you’re just starting out and not sure if you want to sink a ton of money into expensive big fish gear, starting with a lower end big spinning reel combo, like a Shakespeare spinning combo, isn’t a bad way to go. If those combos come with preloaded line, I’d swap it out with my preferred lines. However, if you want to spend a little more money, here is what I use… Ugly stik is my favorite line of rods. They’re rugged and durable without the price tag. There are higher end rods out there, but I’ve used ugly stiks most of my life. They’ve never failed me. I use a few reels but here are two of my favs. One reel I’ve had for more than 20 years and is still going strong is my Penn general purpose baitcaster. It’s not terribly expensive compared to other reels (last I checked $70-$80) but for the money, she’s a solid reel I’ve caught really big cats with. My second reel is pricier, but it is my absolute favorite big fish reel. It’s an Abu Garcia Ambassadeur C ($170-$180). It’s a beast and smooth as silk reeling in line. All of my reels with mono or fluoro have Trilene line on them. The Abu Garcia has 65lb fluoro (for those fights with behemoths). My other baitcasters have 30-40 mono. I also really like PowerPro braided line from 30-50lbs (caught a 4ft bull shark with that stuff on the Penn baitcaster last year). Sorry for the lengthy response, but I hope it was helpful!

Typically this rig is best with cut bait. When I’m using live bluegill, a slip sinker rig works best in my experience.

You absolutely can do that. When I made this video, my intent was to show you can use a variety of knots. Also, a snell knot is my favorite when tying circle hooks for cats.

It depends on where you’re fishing and your rig setup. For my big catfish rods, I don’t use less than 3oz weights. If I’m fishing in rough current, I’ll use 6oz weights to hold the bait on the bottom.

I make mine about 2-3 feet.

@@ShowMetheHawgs even when bank fishing ? Sorry new to catfishing trying to learn all I can.