When you choose a catfish rod, there are a couple of things that must be considered to get the right one
Ultimate portability : You can often find a decent fishing pole for less than the cost of even a basic rod and reel combo
Right now, they're probably staging and pre-spawn mode, and then when water hits about 50-ish, I believe, 50, 55, don't quote me on that, but they'll come up and start bedding, and then you can really start to target, well, sight fish, at least, for both trout and bass, which is fun
At the top of the list are bridge pilings and deep-water stump field situations where bass are moderately active and suspended off the bottom
Beware, not all fly lines are created equal, and a good fly line is not only pricey, its worth every penny
A spinning reel is a perfect reel for a wide range of applications and would be my first choice, but there are times that its not always the best