Johnny Broussard’s fishing gear is not finesse tackle. Both goujon and blue catfish grow large, and much of Broussard’s fishing is next to the dense wood of submerged tree stumps and snags that are the lairs of these big fish.
For rods, Broussard sticks to Shakespeare Sturdy Stik Big Water casting rods.
His reels are either Abu Garcia 7000s or 209 Penn reels. Both are level wind reels, but in combination with the stiff rods they are not ideal tools for repetitive all-day casting or for casting long distances.
Neither is necessary for Broussard, who anchors only short casting distances upstream from the snags he targets.
“If I hook that 50-pounder, I want a heavy rod and reel,” Broussard laughed. “I need enough meat to pull the fish out of the tree.”
He spools his reels with 40-pound-test monofilament.
No swivels or special equipment is used for the terminal rig. He simply ties a 1- to 2-ounce sinker on the end of the line.
About 1 ½ feet above the sinker he ties a 6-inch-long loop in the line with an overhand knot.
An 8/0 stainless steel Eagle Claw J-hook is added to the loop. Broussard has found that circle hooks don’t work well because of the size of the baits that he uses.
His rig is simple and inexpensive but deadly effective, allowing him to horse big fish out of the woody maze in which they live.
When he does hang up and has to break off, he loses no hardware other than his hook.