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.