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| Jason, seen on of your posts about fishing with your daughter and wanted to give you my .02 on rods and reels for kids. I have three sons and have been down this road to find them something that works well.
If the stuff don't work they can get frustrated, reducing your time on the water.
My reel recommendations are the zebco pro staff 2010 and the 2020. The smaller garcia spincast works well to. These reels don't tangle much, cast very well and pick up slack line which will reduce the number of lost fish. There is alot of junk spincast stuff out there and these are the best performers for the money.
For a rod, the uncle buck's 4'6" crappie rod is a good one. It will handle the bait and small lures no problem. It has a small, short, straight, narrow handle perfect for little kids. A pistol grip is too big around for a kid to handle.
Bass Pro has this stuff and won't cost you more than 25 bucks for the whole deal and will last awhile.
Hope this helps any of you with youngsters. [:)] |
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| Thanks Todd..
I am letting her practice in the house with her snoppy pole and a soft casting plug to save on my living room. But I have am building a St.Crox 4.5 in my basement. I want a balanced outfit so she can cast and set the hook with ease.
I still could use more help with reels for little hands that are easy to work with. |
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| Jason, definitley the zebco pro-staff 2010 or the 2020. the 2010 is spooled with 6lb. line and small. My youngest son uses it and my middle son used it when he was three. A good casting reel. The 2020 is spooled with 8lb and it will cast as far as any baitcaster on the market. |
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| Thanks Todd,
I sure hope my daughter makes the Zebco prostaff..LOL[:bigsmile:] |
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| Jason,
You mean you don't have a 4'6" Lamiglass for her yet? Or is that your rod ? |
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| Jason,
Don't get upset if they grow up and out fish you! |
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| Hiya,
Jason and I learned more than a little about fishing with kids during our days at Camp Fish... :)
When we had adult/child groups in camp, it always shocked me how often the adult had top of the line equipment, while the kids had total crap - solid fiberglass rods with 3 guides, no-name spincasting reels that sounded like a bicycle bell when you reeled them and were so gutless kids struggled to reel in a 1/4 oz zpinnerbait, which they could cast all of 30 feet.
When I saw stuff like this, I usually made the adult and child switch equipment for a while. It was most often a real eye opener to the adults, which was usually followed by a trip to Reeds to get the kid some decent gear.
It's still a good practice for people to follow. Take into consideration smaller hands and lower skills, but still, before you hand a rod and reel over to a kid, fish with it yourself for a day. If you are frustrated with it, they will be too...
Cheers,
RK |
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| Billy...I only have a St.Croix blank to work with, but if you have a spare Lamiglas blank I will be more then willing to use that. I dont even have one a lamiglas blank.
But a 4'6" St.Croix with a Zebco 2010 will be an awesome combo for my little bluegill machine.
Like RK said... give them something they can fish with.[:bigsmile:] |
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| Jason, that was my point exactly and the reason for the post. So much of the stuff aimed at children is such crap and virtually useless. My kids equiptment works well and I made sure of it. My kids can cast those reels all day and not have a tangle or a problem. Can't say that about too many spincast reels. I went through several reels and combos to find something that I did not have to worry about. Frustration=shorter fishing trips and the desire to fish for a kid.
I am sure you will have some of your greatest days on the water next year. I am in my glory when my kids are in the boat with me especially catching fish.[:praise:] |
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| Hi Folks,
With 3 kids (two 9's and a 13) I've been down this road, too. After buying the kids new, cheap-o closed-face and spinning outfits every year, they finally reached the point that they could handle the rods with some care. Then I set them up with good baitcasting gear and spent the time needed to teach them how to cast. Seems to have worked pretty well. My 9 y/o musky gal's rig is a Garcia Anti-Backlash 4600 on an old South Bend Musky Tamer, and her twin brother, the fast caster, has a Shimano Curado on a sturdy Berkley Lightning rod. (The 13 y/o daughter usually uses my stuff.) I was pleasantly surprised to see how quickly the kids learned to avoid backlashes by watching the line and keeping the reel tuned to the weight of the bait. Using high quality reels was a big plus, too, in avoiding backlashes. Anyway, good gear seems to make a big difference, and I'll pay a lot to avoid a crabby, frustrated kid in the boat. This last year was the best yet. As they learn and become more patient and catch some big ones we'll have even more fun. Hope you do, too!
Ranger |
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