I recently purchased this rod from Bass Pro Shops online catalog. It is a BPS labeled item. I needed a heavy rod for flathead fishing and does this baby deliver! I found it under the saltwater fishing section. It's an Offshore Angler Power Plus Trophy Class 7' boat rod, 30-50 pound test line rating, item # 1041. Extremely well made with 7 oversized line guides, and a 24" EVA foam handle with a gimbal end on the handle butt, but it comes with a nice snap on cover for the rod end so it's comfortable to use without the gimbal biting into you.  It is priced at $24.95! I think this rod is as nice or better than other rods costing up to 4 times as much. I added my Penn Peer 209 reel and BPS Offshore Angler braided Dacron  80 pound test line to complete my flathead rig. I highly recommend this rod for anyone who wants a heavy rod for large flathead cat fishing. Here kitty kitty kitty!!!!!

I've been wondering about that. In general, just because it's 'categorized' or 'sold as' a saltwater item doesn't mean it will not work in freshwater, right? However, I would expect that saltwater items, in many cases, would be more expensive because of different corrosion characteristics, etc.

You are correct about salt/fresh water use. Salt water gear is perfectly fine for fresh water use and made for harsher conditions .

Another Really great, durable rod is the Uglystik Catfish Rod. 7 foot, 7 year warrenty, 30$. Can hold 20-40lb Line, Great for catfishing in my area considering the biggest ones around here only get about 40-50 lbs. I have it paired w/ the Catmaxx reel from bass pro shops, and boy is it a beast. This is a cheap set up, about 80$ total,, and you will get at least 5-10 years with proper care.

There's just as many cheap saltwater rods as there are freshwater rods. Only that when you get to really nice saltwater rods, they do tend to price higher than nice freshwater rods. I personally like to use surf rods for my big freshwater fish bankfishing.

we use 7' or 8' rods so we can use the same rods for drifting and achored fishing. the longer rods let you cast farther. i use eagle claw cat rods and my partner uses berkley and a few custom rods from a shop that is not outrageous on the price.

i use a surge elite rod with a cabelas reel but gonna get an abu garcia 7000c the rod is 80 bucks and the reel is around 30