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Open face reels are the way to go unless YOU know how to take the close face reels apart to get out the knots. I started my son @ the age of 2 with open face and simply tied a good size weight on the end of the line. Parked him in the middle of a deserted parking area and let the practice begin. Within hours he had it mastered. Now 12, he has nicer rods and reels than I do.
I started fishing with my dad as soon as I could hold the pole (no closed face reels here) and was outfishing him within months. This was quite the accomplishment since my dad compared with Grizzly Adams!!
The comment about the Barbie rod and reel is a good one. Go to Walmart and get a Zebco 202. We used to joke that those were guaranteed till you got it out of the box. lol But they are good ones for the kids to start out with. If you look around sporting goods, some come with a little kit with hooks, weights, bobbers, stringer, etc. You might want to look around in the fishing supplies, or ask the clerk, for a little plastic casting weight. Tie this on their line and get out in the yard to practice casting before you put a hook on. With them being between 10 and 14 make sure there are no trees or overhead lines and let them practice casting. Preferably in the same direction to cut down on getting tangled up. lol If they can cast without messing up, then put something down as a target, like a trash can lid, or anything you can lay in the yard. Let them practice and see who can get the closest. Then have fun!!!! Thanks for helping getting younger kids interested in fishing and being outdoors!
I'll have to go with the guys and say a Zebco 33. Very good basic starter reel (though I started at 5 and same with kids). It is time-tested as good. You can usually find one as part of a set with the rod.
For kids that age you ned to look above the barbie and other prepackaged fishing equipment. Get a good spincsst reel and a decent pole.Most stores should have a clerk who knows aliitle about this.
I just bought my grandson a Shakespeare Ugly Stik kit in a shrink wrapped package at Ace Hardware last month. It was for his 12th birthday. (Of course I took him fishing too.) Anyway, it came with the closed-face reel and a bunch of funky lures, etc. He picked it out, and after looking at hundreds of them in several different stores, I agreed it was the best deal we'd seen. He loved the name "Ugly Stik" and was happy to have all those lures (that will probably never catch anything).
My Son's first pole and reel are at the bottom of a lake we practiced casting in the back yard but he was so exited he just didn't hold on for his first real cast. The best advise i can give is to buy reels that work, theres nothing worst than faulty equipment, it will take the fun right out of it for the kids.
Go to a yard sale, swap meet $2-5. Specials are contant at nickel and dime store at $9-12 for rod and reel. For beginners, no such thing as to what is best. Get anything and take them fishing!! Remember good ol' Tom Sawyer with stick, line and bobber. Don't try to make a pro out of them. Just have fun and the rest will follow.
Do yourself & your grandchildren a favor, get them a decent fishing outfit.
Do not buy on the cheap. You will be doing them a disservice if you do. Because they will spend most of the fishing time struggling with their equipment, getting frustrated & not catching fish. After a few times, they decided that fishing is not fun and soon these cheap fishing rods get thrown in the garage collecting dust.
They can thank their grandma for buying them crappy equipment so they get tangled, could not cast worth a bean, could not catch fish, thereby ruining a potential life time hobby.
Buy them decent "starter" fishing rod, reel, put on the right # test fishing lines. If you do not know how to pick, go to your local fishing tackle store, no not the chain sporting goods stores where minimum wage clerks do not know squat nor care, but go to the store where the owner works there and will be there when your grandchildren bring their children to fishing. See, he is not just try to make a quick $ off you. He wants to establish a life-long relationship with you and your grandchildren. So go in there and ask A LOT of questions, tell him how much you want to spend and let him educate you about fishing. If your grandchildren do not have a grandpa or their parents to take them fishing, then grandma needs to step up. This store owner can help you do that.
Do yourself & your grandchildren a favor, get them a decent fishing outfit.
Do not buy on the cheap. You will be doing them a disservice if you do. Because they will spend most of the fishing time struggling with their equipment, getting frustrated & not catching fish. After a few times, they decided that fishing is not fun and soon these cheap fishing rods get thrown in the garage collecting dust.
They can thank their grandma for buying them crappy equipment so they get tangled, could not cast worth a bean, could not catch fish, thereby ruining a potential life time hobby.
Buy them decent "starter" fishing rod, reel, put on the right # test fishing lines. If you do not know how to pick, go to your local fishing tackle store, no not the chain sporting goods stores where minimum wage clerks do not know squat nor care, but go to the store where the owner works there and will be there when your grandchildren bring their children to fishing. See, he is not just try to make a quick $ off you. He wants to establish a life-long relationship with you and your grandchildren. So go in there and ask A LOT of questions, tell him how much you want to spend and let him educate you about fishing. If your grandchildren do not have a grandpa or their parents to take them fishing, then grandma needs to step up. This store owner can help you do that.
A life time of memory begins with the first step.
Good fishing.
I agree. I managed the fishing department of a couple of sporting goods stores for a few years. You can buy a decent closed-faced spincast reel and rod combo for around $50. If you can afford a little more, talk to the clerk about stepping up the quality a notch.
I always recommend a closed-faced reel for kids under the age of 10 or so. There are fewer moving parts for little fingers to mess with and birds nests don't occur as often. Zebco, Johnson, Shakespeare and Daiwa all make (or made - I've been out of the biz for a while) decent entry-level spincast and spinning reels.
Decent equipment not only performs better and last longer, it reduces the frustration factor considerably when learning to fish. If you want a kid to grow to love the sport, it needs to be fun, not frustrating.
Location: Democratic Peoples Republic of Redneckistan
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I've started my kid(s) on Zebco classic 33 reels and Ugly Stick rods..both available at wally world and sometimes you can find them on sale in a combo...they are tough as can be,easy to use and fair priced...I still use one myself for crappie and its prob 25 yo.
Good luck!
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we practiced casting in the back yard but he was so exited he just didn't hold on for his first real cast. The best advise i can give is to buy reels that work, theres nothing worst than faulty equipment, it will take the fun right out of it for the kids.
