Ben S. wrote:
Hi folks

I'm getting ready to upsize my tackle to handle some fair sized catfish,
and anything else that may come along. They'd be channel cats here in
Vermont, I think 25 lbs. is considered average to large for this area.
Area is Lake Champlain.

My first idea is to get a 7' Ugly Stik and some kinda reel which can
handle 20 lb. mono. I don't want to deal with super lines yet, maybe in
the future.

Any reel recommendations? Something under 100 would be best, the lower
the better though I want it to last. Walmart has an Abu Garcia
Ambassador 6000 for around 60, seems like 15 lb is the recommended line.
Is this a good reel and is 15 lb good enough for what I want to catch?

Any other recommendations? I know baitcaster vs. spinner is pretty much
a religion unto itself, though I'd like to try my hand at using a
baitcaster. Something with a baitrunner would be excellent.

Thanks!
-ben
I like Ambassadeur reels - they have always held up well for me. I don't
use the 6000 because I mostly bass fish but it should do the job for
you. I have about 30 Ambassadeur reels, including an old 5000 given to
me on my 21st birthday - in 1971! It still works fine.

Ronnie

http://fishing.about.com