Combo for kids?

[GBW]

Ha all.

 

So I asked my 5-year old daughter just now if she would like a new fishing rod this year. Her answer, "yes I want one that catches the big fish, you know the one" then she said the "rocket one". So, has anyone ever purchased and used those fogo one's? Is it worth the money or does it break easy? She has a Barbie spincast combo now and I was thinking of just getting her a larger version of it but also wondered how many of you have your kids using spinning gear by the age of 5? Thanks in advance for the feedback.

 

G

[EC1]

I say you should probably get what she wants this year since you already asked her, but then I think you will be needing to get her another rod within the next couple of years (Hopefully upgrading to spinning gear).

 

I remember I first started using spinning gear at around 7 or 8..If youre lucky, you can get her to use it earlier!

[xeon]

I wouldnt buy that stupid rocket rod. Goto walmart and they have a pink rod and reel combo there. Load it up with cajun red line and she will think its cool.

[ssminnow]

My son has a Rocket fishing rod and it is useless for fishing. However when the fish are not biting he always set his rod down and loves to pull it out and shoot it out and pretend it's a gun. Keeps him amused so not a total waste of money.

[Handlebarz]

From what I have seen with them they are junk I have talked with many parents who bought them because they looked cool and work so great on T.V. but they dont do have what you would expect from them. Heck we just got back from WM and they have the refills for them on for $0.50 if that tells you anything about them.

 

Go out and get the fisher girl one or a good closed face rod/reel combo they have alot of different pink ones out there that would be great for her. If my daughter did not just get a nice Ugly Stick combo I would be getting her the same ones.

[Sinker]

My kids started out with the cheap barbie/batman type combos too. It didn't take long before I realized they were a waste of time and money. Just try and catch a fish yourself with one.......they suck!! Get them something that is capable of landing a fish, and is fairly reliable. My daughter just uses one of my spinning combo's, but my son uses a spincast outfit, but of decent quality. We were in Gagnons the other day and he picked up a new spinning outfit with his b-day money.......he's 7. Its nothing top of the line, but it has a drag that works OK, and it will cast a mile. It cost him around $50. You don't want to be untangling lines or losing fish due to a cheap set up. Start them off right with something that you could use yourself to catch a fish. I think most of those cheap set ups are useless.

 

Sinker

[Mike Pike]

Ok, I can't comment on 'the rocket' because I've never purchased one myself, but here's my take...

 

I've bought kid's combos for neices and nephews over the years and they are, plain and simple, junk! You truly get what you pay for. You wanna save money and get the kids something cheap that they can 'beat up' and if they don't enjoy it, you won't be out a lot of money...BUT!...

 

Would you rather be fishing with your kids or constantly fixing their equipment??? Better question... Would your kids rather be fishing or watching you try to untangle line from a spool that doesn't detatch from the reel?

 

I no longer take my nephews fishing with junk because there is just too much 'down time' and kids don't do well with 'down time,' if ya know what I mean.

 

I say get kids a good rod( shorter length for their size )and match it up with a decent reel. I really think you and your kids will enjoy the fishing experience more. When they grow out of the rod and reel, you can always put it away for the 'next' generation.. the Grandkids! lol

 

Just my take...

[GBW]

Thank you all! I was leaning towards getting her the Ladyfish combo or the Ugly stick ladies spinning combo. Looks more like the Ladyfish combo so her mother can use it too when the kids have gone to bed...

 

considering Gagnons is having a sale next week we can pop in and check it out.

 

Sinker, do you think Gagnons would let her try and cast a spinning combo with a plug on it to see if she can do it? I wish I had my ultralite at home so I could let her try with that in the backyard before I go out and get her something... D'OH

[motv8tr]

Hey GBW I bought my friends boys each a spinning set up, the older was 6 and the younger 4, they can both use it, but the older one took to it right away and loves it. They have both tried the spincasters but neither one liked them...I say go for the spinning reel, kids can surprise you....just be a patient teacher

 

Maureen

[ccmtcanada]

With our little one, we started her out with a barbie one at around age 5. It was a spincast reel, which she mastered as far as casting was concerned pretty quickly. (one handed cast). The good thing about those rods is that they are short...they don't tend to hit anyone else in proximity while casting. It's harder to set the hook because of slack in the line, but they do work great with panfish. We got her a 4.5 foot spincast combo last year, which she loves, and has a much easier time setting the hook with it. We'll get her into a spinning reel this year and see how that goes.

[Rizzo]

dora, barbie, cinderella...anything pink I've bought them all for my kids. The scary thing is I only have boys! Just kidding, in addition to the odd "girl coloured" rod we've had spongebob, scooby doo, spiderman. Bought one that didn't have a drag sytem and that was a big mistake if you hook anything bigger than a perch. For the most part I find they last only about a year, but I guess thats what you get for 13.99. We've got very dumb bass in our lake so its not uncommon to see my little guys wrassling with a nice bass on their scooby doo rods. Great fun to see a 4 year old, fishing a 2 foot rod, with a 4 pound smallie going nuts on the end of the line.

[Beans]

Maybe I'm just old fashioned or like to keep things simple but I've found that a bamboo pole (the kind you use for tomato plants), some line slightly longer, a small bobber, a number six long shank hook with a bit of worm and a split shot above it is all they need at first fishing off a dock or from a boat...

 

With this they have no problem setting the hook and catching lots of panfish...no having to know how to cast or reel...

 

I remember a couple with a little girl about three stopped to see what we were catching at Nonquong creek one spring...they picked up a combo outfit at CTC in Port Perry and returned...I still can see the father hollering at the kid for not casting it right and not being able to reel it in to his satisfaction...not only did they not catch any fish but they had the kid in tears...I was wishing I had one of our old outfits with us to give to her to use...the reel was too big for her little hands and the rod was too long for her to manage...Probably put the kid off fishing for life...it is susposed to be fun !

 

If they do take an interest in fishing then buy the outfits...I didn't get my first rod and reel until I was twelve...but caught lots of fish with a bamboo or makeshift pole cut from whatever was handy along the shoreline...

 

I keep one of those long Wonderpoles in the "Tin of Beans" to play with every once in a while just for the fun of it...

[Garry2Rs]

As Beans has pointed out, in the beginning, it is much more important that kids catch lots of fish and have fun than that they learn proper technique, or catch "good fish." Please let me add that if your taking your kids fishing, you should leave your gear at home and concentrate of showing the kids a good time. Soon they will be hooked, and you can start fishing again as they will want to do it all themselves.

The little girl next door won a rod and reel last year that impressed me. It was a matching Zebco 33 rod and reel. This is a great looking outfit for a pan-fisher-person and capable of landing any fish in the lake. You might want to check it out for any youngster that has graduate from the Sponge Bob and Barbie gear...grin.

[GBW]

Thank you all for the replies! The only reason I'm looking at a new rod & reel for her is so that her mommy can fish when the kids have gone to bed AND that her older cousins have the "big kid rods" so she want's one.

Maureen; thanks, I'll let her beat up on my ultralite combo next time we are at the cottage to see if she can use it.

Beans; we have that very set up ready to go at a moments notice at the cottage off the dock but thank's for the reminder.

Rizzo; just cause you are in the Barrie area doesn't mean you have to make the boys fish with a pink rod... Just kidding!

Cliff; you and Carol have a super JR angler on your hands so I guess a spinncast is the best way to go for a 5-year old.

Garry2r's; I read all your posts and take everyone to heart. When I go out with my daughter I take her out where ever she want's to fish on the lake, even if I know it's not holding fish but that's the place she wanted to go. We have all the kid friendly things in the boat like books and things to colour, eat and drink. We just don't have a killer panfish section on our lake that we know about so this we just tool about... All I bring is my 1 rod with a senko and all her stuff in hopes we catch her a fish or two...

Edited April 12, 2009 by GBW

[Rizzo]

Rizzo; just cause you are in the Barrie area doesn't mean you have to make the boys fish with a pink rod... wink.gif biggrin.gif ohmy.gif Just kidding!

 

haha so you know the reputation of our fine city I see :whistling:

[GBW]

haha so you know the reputation of our fine city I see :whistling:

LOL, my sister lives there...

[irishfield]

I bought the 5 foot $20 Shakspeare(sp) combos for my nephews and they have worked flawlessly for them.

 

Edited April 12, 2009 by irishfield

[tinbanger]

My kids started off with spinning rods and other than a few "miscasts" they caught on real quick . They were around 5-6 when they started fishing .

Those spincast outfits seem to cause problems for the kids that I see using them.

 

But the main thing they are fishing !!!

TB

[JohnF]

Shakespeare has a spincaster combo that I bought for fun down in Ohio at Dick's Sports. It was $19.95. It's a trigger release enclosed spool style reel on a 4 1/2' rod. It's actually a lot of fun for panfish. I've caught 2# smallmouths on it and they're a hoot. The nice thing it just won't snarl on a bad cast. My buddy got me to pick him up one for a kayak rod. He loves UL stuff anyway and this is definitely UL. I think it would be a perfect rod for kids.

 

JF

[spinnerbaitking]

When my kids were young I did a lot of canoeing, my daugher and 1st son started fishing before they were 2 on ther 2nd biryhday I bought them their own zebco rod and reel just over $50 in 1997 & 1998, when they were 3 & 2 we went down the Maitland River for a 6 hr canoe trip on a kids run with likely 20 other parents and kids, after that we switched to the Saugeen River 2 to 3 times a year all kids runs plus they were over night, and 8 hrs on the water, my 2nd son came alomg 2nd birthday I bought him a Shimano Spin cast about $50 in 2002, canoe trips switched to boys or girls runs and I ended up with both sons or my daughter with me, these rods have caught panfish, bass, pike, trout and 1 musky, my nephews and freinds kids still use 2 of them, the other was lent out and ended up at the bottom of the Saugeen river, last year I bought my grandaughter on her 2nd b-day a lady ugly stick and a little Plueger reel and see loves it. when i go fishing with little ones I always take a spin cast and use it so if they aren't catching fish when you get one just tell them they have a problem with there rod and change them it usual takes them a while to catch on to what your doing and by then they don't care.

Richard

PS: sorry about the rambling, my 4-h fishing club kids use the spin casts if they don't have a rod that works

[GBW]

thank you all. my daughter is very happy with her new Zebco 33 "Lady" rod and reel.