Printable View
I am talking ages 3 through 6. I often bought my combos from Cabelas (brand-name reel on house brand rod) and I always had great success with most. But I am seeing that our local Walmart has the same combos for the same money.
Suggestions? I don't care for the children's rod/reel combos out there.... want something a little more heavy duty that they will appreciate for years to come.
I welcome your responses.
For kids that age, I wouldn't even consider spinning tackle -- canepole all the way!Quote:
Originally Posted by captn160
For kids that age I would be buying them a spincast reel with a 5ft rod. Crappie are not known as tackle busters. Keep it simple.
I've have two boys under the age of 10. They've both been fishing with me for several years now. Most of our fishing is for eating sized bluegill under a float or for crappie under a float (and we land the occasional channel cat while fishing the floats).
I've had good results with the Abu Garcia "Cardinal 101" (thats the model to the best of my memory). I use 4-6 lb test, and the 6lb will straighten out lightwire hooks pretty good (as it seems snags are plentiful with the little ones). I think these reels can be bought for well under $30 apiece.
For poles, I don't get real brand specific. The boys use 5' to 5'6" poles with ULTRALIGHT action. I much prefer a pole with a tip that is less than 1/8" diameter and has a very slender tip section. The limber tip section makes casting ALOT easier and I won't buy a stiff pole because the kids will fight it when trying to cast light baits. The poles I buy are under $25 apiece as well. We do get some broken pole tips and I usually glue on a new tip if the break is right at the end of the pole. Otherwise, I may get a new pole (hence buying cheap poles).
I buy most of the poles and reels (sometimes as a combo and sometimes separately) at our local Dunn's or Wal Mart. Good luck with whatever you buy and I hope your kids haul in a good mess!
My boy (5 years old) has one of those spiderman push-button spincast jobs, and seems to like it. For no more than he actually fishes, it's good and it's something he is excited about using. He actually casts a spinning rod better, though. It's easier to explain to put the line under your finger then just point at where you want your lure to go.
If I had to choose something without cartoons on it, I'd go with an Ugly Stik ultralight and a Zebco underspin. Tough as they come, and at his age it's more of a watch-the-bobber experience until I hook something, act like I'm bored or hung up and hand him the rod.
Fiberglass all the way. Ugly Stik Lite or Cabela's Whuppin' Stick. Cheap, decent quality and tough as nails. I have an Ugly Stik Lite I use when fishing for cats. I was fishing off an earth dam with concrete slab sides and accidentally stepped on the rod about six inches from the tip. Didn't even scratch it. They are a little bit more than the Ugly Stiks with the EVA handles, but they're a bit more sensitive and I think the cork feels nicer in the hand.
I would go with a regular spinning reel instead of a spincast. The reason is if a spincast reel gets tangled (and they will get tangled), 9 times out of 10 you're going to end up wasting a huge amount of time taking the reel apart to fix it. If a spinning reel gets tangled, you cut the line, pop the spool off and put on the replacement spool. Keeps the kiddies from getting bored.
Wally world 5 ft shakespeare UL combo. 25 or so bucks, and I have used it for 5 years, from trout fishing to shooting docks to roadrunners. rig up with some 4 or 6 lb line (since the stuff it is spooled with is frustrating even for me to work with) and they will be good to go!
Spincast.... kinda forgot about them. Sometimes I think they are under-rated in the fishing community. I should ponder that option a bit longer!
The spincast reels of today are underrated for a good reason. Most are very poor quality. (I was weaned on the old Johnson Century, which was a great reel.) So, be careful if you go the spincast route.Quote:
Originally Posted by captn160
I was taught to cast a baitcast reel at 5, dad made me learn, and wouldn't let me fish if i couldn't cast that. Made me a better fisherman as I grew and progressed. Spincast is simple enough, with a little back yard practice, they will be casting a slip bobber very well
I'll second the ugly stick spinning rod----it's at walmart and is tough----not even I have broken a lot of them, and it has held up to my 11 yr. old's abuse for a couple of years now (stepping on it, etc.).
Academy has 20$ tiny deadbolt spinning reels which I really like but the handles are easy to break if stepped on.
I don't like to use them, because the ultralight rods are too willow-switchy feeling to me, but they're good for kids.
3-6 years old is too darned stressful for me to do anything but short cane-pole trips to the pond, for me anyway. They usually get bored on trips longer than 45 minutes---at least mine do. :)
White bass are the ultimate kid fish, in my opinion. This is the right time of year for them, too.
JBJ
Great replies. Keep 'em coming.
ZEBCO 33 COMBOS IS WHAT MY BOYS STARTED WITH . NOT SURE ABOUT THE QUALITY NOW . BACK WHEN ALL GEARS WERE METAL ,THEY WERE TOUGH .:twocents
I purchased a couple of BPS Crappie Maxx 5.5' ultralight combos for my daughters a couple of years ago and have been very pleased with them. We use them jigging from the docks and casting from the boat too. So pleased with these I bought 2 more for myself, one of which I use with 1/64 oz jigs casting for trout in smaller streams. More than capable of handling some larger fish as we regularly catch smallmouth and yellow perch with them.
They have been a reliable product for the money. On sale now too at BPS for $35, just look up Crappie Maxx Combo on their site.
I am going to buy my 3 year old a fishing rod this year because he is constantly talking about going fishing. We went the other night and he reeled in a crappie while I held the rod. He was SO excited.
Anyways, I am looking at the same thing. I don't care for the mickey mouse rods. I am intrigued by the underpin/triggerspin design. Basically it's a spin cast that hangs down like a spinning rod and has a little trigger instead of a push button. Seems like that would actually be easier for little hands.
Any thoughts on that?
I started on a zebco 33 and the last one i bought a couple years ago seems to be holding up pretty good. I have caught 5lb bass on it with no problem.
In my opinion the combo's with characters on em are just toys. I will go with others on the Ugly Stick combo's. A little more money but miles better in quality and as they learn they wont be hindered by the useless capabilities of toy rods and reels. Take em in the backyard and make a game out of pitchin weights in a 5 gallon bucket. Play horse with em like basketball. Winner gets a dollar and make sure they win. Make it fun for them without stress. Crickets under a cork in summer in the shallows keeps em pretty excited even if the fish are tiny. When they cast in the trees soon after do it yourself once in a while so they know it happens. But a less than adequate reel is frustrating to say the least.
Three years old is too young for any rod and reel, IMO. There's no shame in using a canepole.Quote:
Originally Posted by sky hawk
For those recommending a cane pole, look at where the OP is located. PA. Cane poles are not easy to get outside of the south. They're too cheap and bulky for most retailers to bother with.
Unless you have a boat or live in places where there is a lot of shore access, a cane pole severely limits the probability of catching fish. Fishing with one out here would be useless because it couldn't reach the areas where the fish are, even sunfish.
Cane poles might be OK for people with boats or who live down south, but they're not for everybody.
I disagree. They work great and are perfect for kids. If canepoles are not available, a telescopic pole is actually a better choice. Canepoles are just cheaper. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Shoemoo