Kids fishing rod/reel recommendation

[Finch]

So my daughter loves to fish but her little "dock demon" rod/reel is crap. Seems like the local Walmart's are all out of stock on most fishing supplies so I'm going to go the online route (Amazon most likely). Any suggestions on a good kid's setup? She is 7 years old and a spin-cast reel would be best suited for her. I'd like to stay away from "kids" combos.

CO fishing reg question. We'll be camping at Stagecoach Reservoir later this month. My wife has no interest in fishing but would be there to provide backup if our kids catch something. If I'm reading the regs correctly, my non resident daughter can fish without a license, correct?

Any go-to's to help my daughter be successful? Panther martins, trout magnets, powerbait, etc? Fishing is not my forté. Sounds like there is mostly trout and pike in that reservoir. She'd be fishing from the bank.

 

[menhaden_man]

I’d suggest a 5’ 6” ultralight spinning rod paired with a light spinning reel and 6# mono line I’ve always steered towards Shimano for spinning reels but Diawa has some solid cheap options and Okuma has grown on me. You can get away with a cheaper rod, but I wouldn’t go less than a Diawa for a reel.

I do my share of online ordering but for this one it might be good to hit a local tackle shop. Lots of combo setups are crap (Shakespeare for $29) or over the top (BPS). You can do much better grabbing a rod and reel separately and supporting a small biz while shopping with your kid.

I’ve got over 50 rods and three kids under 10 that all fish pretty regularly - feel free to send a message if you’d like to ask more questions.

 

[menhaden_man]

And for Power Bait fishing for trout, a setup like this with a sliding sinker works great from shore. Same with half a worm with a small marshmallow. Again, local tackle shop will cough up some tips! Good luck!

 

[Finch]

I’d suggest a 5’ 6” ultralight spinning rod paired with a light spinning reel and 6# mono line I’ve always steered towards Shimano for spinning reels but Diawa has some solid cheap options and Okuma has grown on me. You can get away with a cheaper rod, but I wouldn’t go less than a Diawa for a reel.

I do my share of online ordering but for this one it might be good to hit a local tackle shop. Lots of combo setups are crap (Shakespeare for $29) or over the top (BPS). You can do much better grabbing a rod and reel separately and supporting a small biz while shopping with your kid.

I’ve got over 50 rods and three kids under 10 that all fish pretty regularly - feel free to send a message if you’d like to ask more questions.

Appreciate the advice! You're right, there are a couple local shops around I need to check out. Probably should have thought of that. I don't think my daughter will do well with a spinning reel since she's been used to her little push button. Time is running out and our trip will be soon so I don't want to complicate things for her.

I need a new spinning reel myself. Any feedback on KastKing? I know they aren't one of the more prominent names. At least, I didn't know they made reels until looking online tonight.

 

[fishdart]

Check out underspin type reels. It's a good transition toward a proper spinning reel when the time comes to advance.
For rods its hard to beat a Shakespeare ugly stick for a kid. Pretty tough to break one of those.

 

[Rich M]

An ugly stick combination will be price friendly and should last a long while. You can get pink and purple. Just go thru the reel quickly and tighten handle and such.

 

[Rob5589]

I keep it simple for my little dude (8), 5'6" light rod with a basic spin caster. He loves using a bobber so he can see the action on the bait. No lures for him yet; worms, sardines, Powerbait.

 

[Finch]

Check out underspin type reels. It's a good transition toward a proper spinning reel when the time comes to advance.
For rods its hard to beat a Shakespeare ugly stick for a kid. Pretty tough to break one of those.

Didn't even know about these. I looked them up - interesting. Thanks!

 

[Team4LongGun]

Menhaden nailed it-I’ll just add all my kids have an ultra light ugly stick with a shimano reel. I put on 6 lb P line. This set up will last!

Do NOT buy a combo! The reel and line they come with are total junk.

All in, your looking at $100 (a 500 series reel is plenty big for kids/trout)

 

[Rich M]

Menhaden nailed it-I’ll just add all my kids have an ultra light ugly stick with a shimano reel. I put on 6 lb P line. This set up will last!

Do NOT buy a combo! The reel and line they come with are total junk.

All in, your looking at $100 (a 500 series reel is plenty big for kids/trout)

Gonna have to agree to disagree.

The newer Ugly Stik combos have a decent reel with them and don't come with line. Use whatever line you want. Just bought one for my wife in preparation for a trip where we needed 2 piece rods (figures I don't have very many of those) and she liked the purple - we were gonna put a Sedona on it but the reel it came with is just as smooth.

At $50 you'll be hard pressed to beat one of these setups. But you can spend more if you want.

 

[Antarctica]

My five year old got the fishing bug this year. I tried to get him started on an old zebco 303 spincast, but as soon as he saw me using a spinning reel, he wanted to be like dad. To my complete surprise, he does great with the spinning reel. Doesn't want anything to do with the spincast now...

My 4 year old daughter has a little more trouble with the spinning reel but still prefers it..

 

[menhaden_man]

Gonna have to agree to disagree.

The newer Ugly Stik combos have a decent reel with them and don't come with line. Use whatever line you want. Just bought one for my wife in preparation for a trip where we needed 2 piece rods (figures I don't have very many of those) and she liked the purple - we were gonna put a Sedona on it but the reel it came with is just as smooth.

At $50 you'll be hard pressed to beat one of these setups. But you can spend more if you want.

Yeah, some folks like myself are a little stubborn when it comes to good or bad experiences... I've got entry level Shimano spinning reels that have landed many hundreds of fish since the 1990s and still get it done today. I've also had some poor luck with cheaper brands like Shakespear (remember when Silstar came out ) and I don't give em a shot at redemption. Maybe my loss, but the track record is worth the $20 to me. Those Ugly Stick rods are a good buy, though!

Either way, good luck and I'd think hard about sticking with a solid spinning reel. All my kids (down to 6 years old) do well with them and it was an easy transition.

 

[Scoot]

I agree with Antartica- most 7 year olds can figure out a real spinning rod/reel very quickly. That's a much better option than a spincast reel IMO. She'll struggle a little bit with it for the first hour, but it'll benefit her a lot in the end to do that over a spincast or undercast rig. You'll be glad you did as you'll be messing with her a reel a lot less if you get a mediocre spinning reel (vs. about any spincast rig).

 

[Antarctica]

I agree with Antartica- most 7 year olds can figure out a real spinning rod/reel very quickly. That's a much better option than a spincast reel IMO. She'll struggle a little bit with it for the first hour, but it'll benefit her a lot in the end to do that over a spincast or undercast rig. You'll be glad you did as you'll be messing with her a reel a lot less if you get a mediocre spinning reel (vs. about any spincast rig).

^^^^That's a fact. The little he used the spiniest, I had to untangle it several times. I've had to do the same with the spinning reel, but the mess a spiniest can make in a hurry is impressive. It gets all wrapped around the spool axle up under the spool. PITA.

 

[Scoot]

Remove nut, take spool off, unwind ridiculous mess of the line, put back together, and repeat in 15 minutes! Frustrating...

 

[spc7669]

Taught my nephew to use a spinning reel at 4 or 5 and to fly cast at 7. Set expectations from the start that they can do it and a Scooby Doo rod would be a waste of their time. When she nails it in an hour or two, you will have achieved super hero status.
As far as reels go, I’ve not found any that are as good as Shimano. Even their entry level reels are good. I use a Stradic for reds that’s probably 20 years old.
Ugly Sticks are great. They are a bit flexy at the tip which will help prevent throwing bait off during the cast. They might be inexpensive but they are certainly not cheap.

 

[Finch]

I appreciate all the advice. We are going to give a spinning reel a try for her. I asked her if she wanted a fishing rod like daddy and she said yes. We will see how it goes. She does like getting out in the driveway and practicing her casts so I think she'll pick it up fairly quickly. I was definitely a lot older before I gave a spinning rod a chance.

 

[Chesapeake173]

Can agree on going with a spinning reel. It’s amazing how quick kids can pick up new skills.

As for reels I was always a Shimano fan. Never spent big bucks but better than what you would find on the shelf at Walmart. The last couple I’ve been super disappointed with. Picked up a couple mid range Diawa and have been very happy with them!


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[Tod osier]

All great advice above, I’ll repeat some of it based on my experiences. Spinning reel at 7 for sure, my son started with a spinning reel at 5 or 6 and he isn’t particularly dexterous. Id get her a middle of the road shimano 500 and an ultralight ugly stick with some 6 pound test.

 

[Sccritterkiller]

I started both my boys off with zebco 33, once they showed some casting ability they moved over to spinners....I found with kids just get something thats cheap and easy to clean...that 33 of mine been drug thru the sand countless times...garden hose and some grease and its as good as new.