Fishing rods for teens

[nnmarcher]

I mentor a young man (13 yr old) in my community and he has become obsessed with spin fishing. It's pretty much all he wants to talk about. I am a fly-fisherman and I don't have any good spinning gear. He also has entry level gear and his bait casting reel is always getting tangled. Our tackle selection is also pretty limited due to my lack of knowledge. We are usually fishing lakes in northern New Mexico.

I would like to buy a couple decent rods and reels that won't break the bank but can grow with him as he explores new water. Maybe $80-100/ set-up if possible? If you have any other tips for taking teens out fishing, I'd love to hear them! Thanks in advance!

 

[86indy]

Edited

At that age he has to figure what he likes and thats half the fun of it. A decent spinning combo would Lew’s Mach series for $80-100. If that rod breaks the reel will still serve you well.

For the birds nesting baitcaster less line is your friend initially, spool tension is key/magnetic brakes, and figuring out what loops to pull on once you do bird nest it.

For the spinning rod, senko is users friendly, texas rigged worms, rage swimmer on 1/4oz ball jig head are all good places to start.

For the baitcaster, scum frog around structure, or Texas rigged creature bait (berkley pit boss, googan bronco bug, sweet beaver).

Plastics colors I rarely stray from green pumpkin, they’re hard to beat in most cases.

If you have any other questions don’t hesitate.

Good luck!


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[Swamp Fox]

I mentor a young man (13 yr old) in my community and he has become obsessed with spin fishing. It's pretty much all he wants to talk about. I am a fly-fisherman and I don't have any good spinning gear. He also has entry level gear and his bait casting reel is always getting tangled. Our tackle selection ise also pretty limited due to my lack of knowledge. We are usually fishing lakes in northern New Mexico.

I would like to buy a couple decent rods and reels that won't break the bank but can grow with him as he explores new water. Maybe $80-100/ set-up if possible? If you have any other tips for taking teens out fishing, I'd love to hear them! Thanks in advance!

Spend $30-40 on the reel and $60-70 on the rod. A $40/60 split in today's dollars would get him a noticeably better outfit than I started out with back in the day-- An outfit which I still have, fished the hell out of, and never realized until I was in my 30's that it wasn't the Finger of God of all the spinning rigs I could own.

I still carry it on most outings.

If that doesn't work out as you shop, spend proportionately more on the reel than on the rod. A good spinning reel will work on any stick... He will decide his preferences for rod action and performance as he progresses and picks out his interests and niches. So he will be/should be looking at a lot more rod options than reel options as he matures. A good "old faithful" reel can see him through a lot of rod shopping and experimentation.

There are a lot of decent and better-than-decent spinning reels out there in the $30-50 price range, especially if you shop for sales. For perspective, there are fewer $30-40 rods that would be great system foundations. Not saying you can't get a good rod in that price range, just that they are unlikely to be getting fished a lot in ten years if he gets serious.

I would get him started with a light rig assuming he understands the joy of panfish (or of a challenge) and a rig considered medium for his favorite quarry. Don't get into technique-specific rods unless he already loves to fish that way. Research "rod actions" if you're not familiar ---that's not what I'm talking about, though. What I'm trying to say is get him a rig that's fun for bream and small trout, and another for whatever's the next step up in your area that he's crazy about.

There are tons of reel options. For rods, I would start looking at Ugly Stik and the cabelas/bass pro/gander mtn branded rods, some of which are often hidden gems if you shop hard enough.

Gander's no longer around, but ebay survives like a cockroach.

 

[redsox87871]

I mentor a young man (13 yr old) in my community and he has become obsessed with spin fishing. It's pretty much all he wants to talk about. I am a fly-fisherman and I don't have any good spinning gear. He also has entry level gear and his bait casting reel is always getting tangled. Our tackle selection is also pretty limited due to my lack of knowledge. We are usually fishing lakes in northern New Mexico.

I would like to buy a couple decent rods and reels that won't break the bank but can grow with him as he explores new water. Maybe $80-100/ set-up if possible? If you have any other tips for taking teens out fishing, I'd love to hear them! Thanks in advance!

Lucky to have you encouraging him.

 

[LCguy]

Fenwick Eagle was always my go to rod pre-fly fishing. I always really enjoyed Shimano reels as well, you can get an excellent Shimano in the $50-$80 range. PM me, I'm also in NM and might have some spinning gear in storage. I might've given it away but I can certainly check.

 

[nnmarcher]

Edited

At that age he has to figure what he likes and thats half the fun of it. A decent spinning combo would Lew’s Mach series for $80-100. If that rod breaks the reel will still serve you well.

For the birds nesting baitcaster less line is your friend initially, spool tension is key/magnetic brakes, and figuring out what loops to pull on once you do bird nest it.

For the spinning rod, senko is users friendly, texas rigged worms, rage swimmer on 1/4oz ball jig head are all good places to start.

For the baitcaster, scum frog around structure, or Texas rigged creature bait (berkley pit boss, googan bronco bug, sweet beaver).

Plastics colors I rarely stray from green pumpkin, they’re hard to beat in most cases.

If you have any other questions don’t hesitate.

Good luck!


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This is helpful information, thank you! I have seen the Mach series recommended other places, so I will give it a look. I'm not sure who spooled the baitcaster, but it is about out of line after how much I have cut off while untangling. I'll watch a tutorial with him and try it again ourselves. Are senkos/texas rigged worms/rage swimmers/etc mostly bass tactics?

Spend $30-40 on the reel and $60-70 on the rod. A $40/60 split in today's dollars would get him a noticeably better outfit than I started out with back in the day-- An outfit which I still have, fished the hell out of, and never realized until I was in my 30's that it wasn't the Finger of God of all the spinning rigs I could own.

I still carry it on most outings.

If that doesn't work out as you shop, spend proportionately more on the reel than on the rod. A good spinning reel will work on any stick... He will decide his preferences for rod action and performance as he progresses and picks out his interests and niches. So he will be/should be looking at a lot more rod options than reel options as he matures. A good "old faithful" reel can see him through a lot of rod shopping and experimentation.

There are a lot of decent and better-than-decent spinning reels out there in the $30-50 price range, especially if you shop for sales. For perspective, there are fewer $30-40 rods that would be great system foundations. Not saying you can't get a good rod in that price range, just that they are unlikely to be getting fished a lot in ten years if he gets serious.

I would get him started with a light rig assuming he understands the joy of panfish (or of a challenge) and a rig considered medium for his favorite quarry. Don't get into technique-specific rods unless he already loves to fish that way. Research "rod actions" if you're not familiar ---that's not what I'm talking about, though. What I'm trying to say is get him a rig that's fun for bream and small trout, and another for whatever's the next step up in your area that he's crazy about.

There are tons of reel options. For rods, I would start looking at Ugly Stik and the cabelas/bass pro/gander mtn branded rods, some of which are often hidden gems if you shop hard enough.

Gander's no longer around, but ebay survives like a cockroach.

That's great advice to spend more on the reel vs the rod. I think it will be a lifetime hobby for him, so I'm sure he will be buying different rods in the future. I'll check out those rod brands and see what fits the bill. We definitely find ourselves catching trout more than anything else.

Lucky to have you encouraging him.

Thanks! It is great to see him getting interested in the outdoors. I remember being his age and begging for opportunities to go hunt/fish.

Fenwick Eagle was always my go to rod pre-fly fishing. I always really enjoyed Shimano reels as well, you can get an excellent Shimano in the $50-$80 range. PM me, I'm also in NM and might have some spinning gear in storage. I might've given it away but I can certainly check.

Thanks, @LCguy! I will send you a PM. I will look up the Fenwick Eagles, my old spinning reel was a Shimano and I really enjoyed it. I've taken him fly-fishing but he seems to enjoy spin fishing more right now. Maybe one day!

 

[Terrapin]

Piscifun Carbon X in 1500 size and a Medium Light Fast rod… try and pick a brand you’ve heard of. I’d spool it with 10 pound braid and teach him to tie a double uni knot to a leader.

That would cover 90% of the freshwater fishing in the US, just by changing the weight of the leader material. I must have ten rods with about those specs in my boat and use them for everything from crappie to 30+ pound pike.


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[xsn10s]

I'm not sure what species you'd be targeting over there but imo sounds like anywhere from trout, kokes, panfish all the way up to salmon. Maybe two poles would be best if that's true. Less expensive to mid priced might be a good place to start. I've had good luck with the Sheakespeare Micro Series 7ft ultra light with a decent low to mid priced Shimano reel. 4-6 lbs mono depending on the snags and rocks has done me well from bluegills to larger bass and carp. Another 10 lb set up would be good for bass and smaller salmon, you could always keep an extra spool with braided line for larger fish. The only issues with braided lines is it catches the wind easily and can get tangled up if you don't pay attention.