Home Forums Fishing Freshwater Help needed: Best Fishing Rods/Reels for Young Kids?

Hello all,

I'm planning to take my two daughters fishing for the first time in April. I'm trying to find rods & reels for them and I'm hoping to find something relatively inexpensive, as I'm not certain they're going to like fishing.

My thought is to go with a spincast reel, as that was what I started with as a kid. If you have any recommendations for rods/reels for young kids (7 and 10 years old, but they're both small for their age), please let me know.

Thanks in advance for your help!

David

The old cane poles brought fish in for years now.
Just one thought.

Those old push button closed face reels are relatively cheap and great for kids.
Gets something that works though, even if you have to spend a little more.
Right now, they may or may not like fishing but I guarantee they'll be soured if they spend the day fighting cheap chinaland gear.

Luck

That is EXACTLY my concern - you hit the nail right on the head.

That's why I'm hoping to find a couple of nice close-face push-button spin cast reels and light/medium rods they can use without having to worry about spending most of their time having me tinker with their gear.

I see options as Zebco, Daiwa, and Shakespeare. Of the three, I'm thinking Daiwa, but it has been a long time since I used one.

If the reel comes with line already spooled I would strip it off and respool with Stren or Trilene 8lb test.Good line is the best defense against a bad day

Thanks! I'll put that on my "to buy" list. I used to use Stren back when it first came out. It has been a while. 8^ )

Look seriously at an under-rod spin cast with lever release. HERE is just one such.

Shakespeare, Zebco, Pflueger, and others make such reels. They combine the advantages of spincast and spinning, are intuitive to work/cast, and if it doesn't work out with the kids, they make superb ice-fishing outfits.

Thank you for the link! That's one I hadn't considered, but I'm definitely going to take a serious look. It does look like a pretty spiffy outfit and would make a nice transition to a spinning reel down the road.

That one doesn't get very good reviews, so I changed the link. But just search for "triggerspin reel" or "underspin reel" to find lots more.

I repair and service rods and reels; my choice for learning children would be 5-6' Shakespere Ugly stick (white Tip) Medium action.
Hooked up with a Zebco closed face spinning reel.

Tack

^^^This^^^

Shakespere Ugly Stick with a Zebco 33. Hard to beat the price, and pretty much indestructible. I've bought all my Neices & Nephews a set like that when they were young, and they all still have them & still use them. And the Ugly Sticks use to have a life time breakage warranties on there rods, not sure if they still do, but they are dang tough rods!

Thanks, Tack. When you say a "Closed face spinning reel", are you referring to the thumb push-button models or something different? I've used Ugly Sticks in the past and I agree they are terrific.

I still have and use the first Ugly stick that I bought around 1984.I would like to see the pile of fish that rod has caught

the zebco & ugly stix are great as mentioned. my ugly dates from 1982. cranky72

Thumb Push Button.

Nothing brought me closer to my twin daughters than fishing.


Tack

I bought my grandson a thumb-push model, but I think the underrod is more natural to use. It's a bit unnatural to release your thumb while you are casting (you want to push at that moment) whereas it's perfectly natural to "point" your index finger at the target. Plus, you don't have to do that awkward hand switch to start reeling.

When we go fishing again this year, I may just substitute one of my triggerspin outfits for the thumb-push to see which one he uses better. I'm betting on the trigger model.

Haven't met the kid yet who doesn't like to catch fish. (catch being the key here) Both my kids were introduced to fishing via sunfish, perch and catfish to keep them in the action. I also tried to make sure they didn't get cold! Both still enjoy it as adults.

That's my hope as well - that this is something that they'll love as much as I used to. I have fond memories of going fishing with my father on the weekends.

I very much appreciate the suggestions you all have offered. I'm going to track down good prices on ugly sticks. I'm still debating whether to go with the push-button spincast reel or the under-rod.

I bought myself a new reel: A Penn Conquer spinning reel. I bought Penn because I wanted to buy American. I was very unpleasantly surprised to see the "Made in China" sticker on the reel. What a shame...

Well, if you want to avoid anything "Made In China" you'd best get used to not buying much. Or settle for "Made in Vietnam," or "Made in Mexico," or "Made in Taiwan," or "Made in Malaysia," or...

It's a fact of life, my friend. (PLEASE, NO posts about evil American companies outsourcing, or unions, or capitalism, or Business 101, or...)

Just buy what you think suits your needs best. Don't read the "Made in..." label. Enjoy the product.

That is very sound advice, my friend. It's wise to know which battles to fight and which ones are already lost.

Take a look at the Zebco Dock Demon combos. They are made in both open face and closed. $14-$20 depending on which you choose and where you buy.
The solid glass rod is tough. I use them in a Jaw Jacker ice fishing setup.

+1 on the Z33 and Ugly Stick. More importantly with kids is KISS Keep it simple.... and find a place with willing fish like bluegills. To young children size doesn't matter, being tugged on does. They can have a ball catching 4-5" BGs. Also young kids have very short attention spans and may only want to fish for an hour so at a time then go watch butterflies or dragonflies. Have a great time with your daughters.

Hang a little Daiwa underspin on the low buck ugly stick they call "the woopin stick"

I started my kids on the daiwa underspin to get them used to the under slung reel for easier transition into spinning reels later on.

pull that crap line off of it and string it up with some 6-8 lb trilene XL, good to go.

Rocky
Very well said..

I did the Trilene XL to my Grandson's "Spiderman" Rod, and he loves it !!

Hundred dollar smile there!

That's a beauty smallie!

Absolutely! That's a memory to last a lifetime (and a fine looking bass, too!).

Great pic, and that's the kind of trip that gets a kid hooked on fishing for life!

Thanks,
He's a super great kid, and I started him out early...





I love that little kid, but he's growing up to fast !!!!

My hat is off to you, sir. You are a great grandpa!

Nothing much to add as far as suggestions, but here are a couple data points: My boys started out with Spiderman rods, but the 5 year old is currently uses an ultralight Daiwa underspin for chasing bluegill. The 7 year old graduated to using a full size Shimano Symetre spinning reel to get after bass last year. I'd wager donuts to dollars that your girls would actually listen to instruction, and take to using spinning gear right off the bat.

The reel I'm leaning towards at the moment is the Abu-Garcia Abumatic 276I Underspin. It's a bit more expensive than the Zebcos or Daiwas, but the reviews are much better.

I remembered a problem I had with a Zebco reel years ago (sometime in the early 70's I think) while fishing in Michigan. I was reeling up my lure when the crank stopped, restarted, then stopped again for good. When I pulled the cover off, it turned out that the teeth were popping off the cast metal gear.

I saw that Zebco is still using cast metal gears for their reels. Hopefully they're of better quality now than what I experienced back then. Still, that memory was enough for me to try something different. The last thing I want is for my girls to spend their time watching me putz with a temperamental reel when they're supposed to be fishing.

Now that I have the reel figured out, I'm hunting around for a decent price. We're going camping in mid April, so I have a little time yet.

Doc, when the kids aren't using it, try this for yourself: Mount that reel on an old fly rod and use it for crappie. Dip a jig (no casting needed) next to stumps, pilings, docks...

The kids might never get it back!

I've never been fly fishing. It's something that I've always wanted to try though.

I tried tying a fly once when I was a kid, but it didn't turn out very good. As a joke, I glued a bunch of big corks together, ran some wire leader through it and put on a couple of treble hooks, then carved the corks to have giant red lips, big blue eyes, long blonde hair and a hula skirt. It was the most Gawd-awful looking gaudy thing you ever saw, and it was so heavy I could cast it forever. I used it like a popper (only when the fishing weren't biting) and it looked like a torpedo coming through the water. It was always good for a laugh when I hoisted it up out of the water and others got a look at it.

I haven't been fishing in over 10 years. I used to go wilderness camping & fishing twice a year, but then the girls came along, I started working two jobs, then the wife and I started having health issues, the house always seems to need repairs, etc. - you know the story: Too busy dealing with the day-to-day existence issues to really enjoy life.

I'm hoping to make this camping/fishing trip an annual event. I'm also hoping that the girls come to appreciate these experiences as much as I used to.

But dropping that reel on a delicate fly rod sure does sound like a lot of fun... 8^ )

Agree with Rocky. My kids fought over the one trout rod with the closed spinning reel and lever to trip bail. ( or undermount ). Hands weren't really big enough for the Zebco's to hold the rod and use proper thumb activity.

W

I would recommend zebco 33. I don't know if they still make them but I have found them on garage sales and flea markets pretty cheap. That's what I set up for the grand kids.

I made the plunge: I bought each of the girls their own Abu-Garcia Abumatic 276I Underspin reel and a 5 1/2 foot Cabela's Whuppin' stick light action two-piece spinning rod.

The only negative thing I've found on the Abumatic underspin is that the handle works itself loose. I'm thinking that a little Loctite and maybe a lock washer (if one will fit) should solve that problem.

Thank you all very much for your suggestions. Hopefully I'll be posting photos of their first fish next month!

First of all let them get used to casting in the yard with a practice plug. second, spincasts are very good to start kids out on but all are not created equal. I looked for probably a year trying to find a good underspin reel. Dont buy the ultra light spincast/underspin reels. They give way more problems than the ones one size bigger. Pfluger and diawa make the best ones. The zebcos aren't all that. I tried 3 or 4 different reels before I found a keeper for bobber fishing gills on a flyrod. The cheaper the reel you pay for the cheaper the reel you get but the Pfluger mid priced spincasts are easy to use and fairly trouble free.

Its hard to beat a 33 zebco for kids. They are easy to use and will hold up better than a lot of the real cheap reels. They also come in a combo with a rod.