I bought a pair of Whisker Seeker FMJ catfish rods in the spring of 2022, thinking they might come in handy pier fishing or trolling with big baits at some point. I hadn't really had a chance to put them to the test until today, when I was fishing at Springmaid Pier in Myrtle Beach. The water temperatures have been really hot lately (mid-80s!) which has turned the daytime bite off for a lot of species. The only fish I saw come over the rails today with any consistency were silver scabbardfish, which look like shiny ribbons with gnarly teeth!
I have my 7'6" Whisker Seeker FMJ rods paired with 8000 series Penn Fierce III Live Liner Spinning Reels, which are spooled with 30 lb hi-vis Trilene Big Game monofilament. I tied a double uni-knot to about a 10' section of 80 lb monofilament and then 18" section of wire leader with a 3x treble hook.
We used a fresh croaker head for bait and it didn't take long for a 4' blacktip shark to find it.
At first, the shark kind of sat there and was mostly dead weight. Eventually though, it realized that it was hooked and made a few good runs. The FMJ blank is constructed of S glass, which allows the rod to bend quite a bit, but still have enough backbone to tire out a 50+ lb shark in about 10 minutes.
While I was eventually able to get the shark to the pier, landing it was another story. Unfortunately, you're prohibited to land sharks in Horry County, SC and it can result in a $500 fine if you do. However, the shark that I hooked managed to wrap itself around a piling and broke off close to the wire leader within a few minutes and the saltwater should cause the hook to rust out within a few days.
Overall, I was pleased with how the Whisker Seeker rod and the rest of my gear held up, even if I couldn't land the shark. I guess local officials don't want to all of the beachgoers to know that there are actually lots of sharks in the same waters that they swim in...