Kids' Reel - Spincast the way to go?

[Douger]

Going to take a couple of kids to Simcoe this spring for perch & rock bass. Ages 3 & 6. Both have never fished.

 

I'm thinking 4'6" ultralight spinning rods ($19.99 at Cabela's) with spincast reels. Thoughts?? Is there a particular reel that's good? I obviously want to keep the price reasonable, but it has to be decent enough quality to do the job.

 

Thanks

[bassman87]

if youre gonna get spinning rods you might as well get spinning reels. and it'll be fun teaching them how to use it.

[uglyfish]

agreed. spinning will be easier to work with. once u get a tangle with a spincast... may as well toss it in the bucket!

[archer379]

i wouldsay a spincast for the 3 year old and a spinning real for the older i just bought y 9 year old one and she doesnt have any trouble casting it

[GBW]

my kids are the same age and they both have spincast. for the 6-year old get one of the zebco's and you won't have a problem.

[muddler]

I would use an ultra light underspin on a spinning rod (6ft ultra light). Works like a spincast but with a lever/trigger under the index finger. Casts similarly to a spinning reel without the hasle for little ones. Each of my kids started on that and have moved to spinning gear now (8,10 years old). My daughter landed a 10lb+ steelhead on her outfit in the Rouge river when she was 4 years old.

 

Debarb the hooks on all little one tackle. Accidents do happen.

 

muddler

[Blue Lk]

my kids are the same age and they both have spincast. for the 6-year old get one of the zebco's and you won't have a problem.

Taught both my boys on spincasts(Zebcos),as they grew older they switched to spinning outfits.Spincast are easier to use.The point should be to teach them the joys of fishing.The simpler the better,IMHO

Also use something to tie the rod to the boat,lost a couple overboard before I learned that trick.

[Musky or Specks]

I would use an ultra light underspin on a spinning rod (6ft ultra light). Works like a spincast but with a lever/trigger under the index finger. Casts similarly to a spinning reel without the hasle for little ones. Each of my kids started on that and have moved to spinning gear now (8,10 years old). My daughter landed a 10lb+ steelhead on her outfit in the Rouge river when she was 4 years old.

 

Debarb the hooks on all little one tackle. Accidents do happen.

 

muddler

This, I started my son on an underspin at 2 1/2. It made the transfer to a spinning reel easier when he became a little older because they work very similarly

Edited March 6, 2010 by Musky or Specks

[radar]

Taught both my boys on spincasts(Zebcos),as they grew older they switched to spinning outfits.Spincast are easier to use.The point should be to teach them the joys of fishing.The simpler the better,IMHO

Also use something to tie the rod to the boat,lost a couple overboard before I learned that trick.

 

 

I have to agree. My son loved to learn how to cast with the spin cast. Then I always kept a cheapy ultra-light spinning outfit handy. He would pick it and play, then always go back to the spincast. Your kids will be attracted to the spinning rig soon enough and love the fishing in the meantime.

 

And yes we lost a spidey outfit over the side last year.

Edited March 6, 2010 by radar

[Douger]

great advice guys. thanks.

[fish-miester]

i wouldsay a spincast for the 3 year old and a spinning real for the older i just bought y 9 year old one and she doesnt have any trouble casting it

 

 

 

agreed, i dont have kids or anything but i have ran a few summer camps as well as working at Canadian tire for a few years.. its much easier on urself if you teach the kids once to use the spinning reel and get them comfortable with it then they can use it over and over again. where as the spincast is easy to use but they tend to be short lived. even tho some times kids dont want to learn .. and they might just want "simple push button ideas.. then you might have to go with spin cast .. so this is were my CT experience comes in to play .. get the kid to hold each rod.. and ask them what they preffer.. as well as maybe one is a lefty vrs a righty .. there for spinning would be ur best bet

[Beans]

Spincast for the six year old and a cane pole (no reel) for the three year old...

 

I can still remember a father hollering at a three year old and telling her how stupid she was because she couldn't reel in a spinning outfit (open faced)...had he bought a tomatoe stake and a bit of line I'm sure she would have caught some perch and enjoyed the day instead of crying her eyes out...!!!

[OhioFisherman]

I learned on a baitcaster when I was 5, it was all my dad had at the time. He did eventually get some zebco 33`s, I stuck with the baitcasters after trying them. He also got some Mitchell 300`s, I didn`t mind using them. The first reel I bought on my own was an ABU 1750 baitcaster, a small reel for small hands at the time, free spool but no drag, lol well thumb pressure.

 

The easier reel for the teacher? a closed face spincast, the student and his-her eagerness to learn determines the next step, also the teachers patience? Kids will make mistakes, professional over-runs, birds nests, and just a mess under the dome of a spin-caster.

 

My kids learned on conventional spinning reels, that said, they don`t like using them now. I had other options available for them, and for me cost wasn`t really a factor. I wanted reels I could use if the kids didn`t show a defined interest in the sport. To me the easiest reel to use, day or night are the Abu 500 series reels, a semi-closed face spinning reel, the Abu Premier 704 is the same style, but may not be available on this continent.

[ChrisK]

Yup,spin cast reels are the way to go with little ones. Pushing a button and releasing is a lot less confusing then using the more manual spinning real...Open bail,hold line with index finger and releasing....Little complex for a younster...After they get the gist of using the spin cast then I think that would be the time to hand them dads(or moms) pole an give it a whirl..

[Burtess]

Since they have never fished, go with spincast for sure. Once they learn how to cast reliably, they can try spinning gear. Thats how I did it with my three.

 

I recommend the Johnson Tangle Free spincast reels. These have some sort of gearing where if the kids get a snag and start reeling like crazy (which always happens), the gearing slips and you don't get line twist. For kids these reels are miles better than other spincast reels. You can get them at Walmart.

 

Burt

[Radnine]

All good responses here and there is obviously no right or wrong way of doing it.

Will started out with a spincaster on a 5' rod. I then had him using my old ultra-light combo for a trip or two. This is when he was 6 and 7. He now has a 6' rod with a Daiwa Regal. And turned 8 today!

I love the fact that you are planning trips with them already. I am the same, it helps the winter to go faster and gives us something to look forward to. (on a side note, I am already having conflicts between planned fishing trips and what she wants me to get done around here over the summer)

Jim

[irishfield]

Spincasts all the way. These monsters haven't tangled one up inside yet.. and they've sure tried!

 

[Musky or Specks]

Here is an undercast its exactly like a spincast only set up like a spinning reel. Instead of a button on the back of the reel it has a trigger at the front. The next logical move after that was a Quantum Quickfire series (which has the same type of trigger and picks up the line for the child) and the transition was flawless. A spincast is an okay reel but doesnt train the right muscle memory for learning to use a spinning reel.

 

[fishinguypat]

mitchell 300xe...nuff said

[The Urban Fisherman]

My daughter is three and has been fishing since she could stand. As far as casting simplicity goes, Spincast for the kids is the way to go, that being said, my daughter is a small kid, and though we bought her a 4' rod, she still prefers using her ice fishing rod w/ an open faced spinning reel to anything else. It's small, light and easy to handle. She can flip the bail and drop the bait down herself, but is still working on casting with it. The six year old shouldn't have any trouble with an open faced spinning reel though, and that's the way I'd go.

 

I posted this on my thread earlier today but you can see how easy it is for a little 3 year old to handle the smaller rod....

 

 

Good luck, and please don't hesitate on shooting me a PM if you need any pointers - I think I've gotten out twice in the last two years without my daughter! haha

 

Cheers,

Ryan

[Radnine]

I mentioned earlier that Will turned 8 today. Well here is the photographic evidence and his new tackle box and gear.

He told me "The only problem with this dad, is now I will have to change over all of the stuff from my other tackle box" Can you imagine such a problem when you were eight?

I bought the bag when they were on sale back in January and most of the gear came from the fishing show.

Jim

 

[Victor]

 

Nice shirt little guy

Oh, and a Happy Birthday!

Edited March 7, 2010 by Victor