Rod For A Kid

[bassmaster8100]

My son and step son are becoming more and more interested in bass fishing. My son is 8 and step son 9. I've been considering upgrading them to a spinning reel and maybe easing them into a bait caster. What size rod/action would you recommend for a 8 or 9 year old?

[drew4779]

My six year old daughter uses a spinning reel with no issues. I got her a 5' micro-lite two years ago. The only problem is the 4# line. She hooks into a decent bass which runs into the thick stuff and breaks the line. She's gets very discouraged. I would think a spinning reel would be no issue for an eight year old. I would keep the rod short just because its easier to manage. Also, I'd grab a lanyard. Just in case. It sucks to have to fish out a rod tossed into the lake by accident.

[hooah212002]

My 4 year old darn near has his cheapie spincast licked (but at times it licks him lol) but like drew said, that line NEEDS replaced. I can break it with my bare hands. He has lost his share of hooks that shouldn't have been lost. My 8 year old (been at his mom's in Texas all summer) went out with me a couple times earlier this summer and did OK using a spinning reel before anything else. It'sa matter of dexterity and each child is different, but an 8-9 year old should be ok. I taught myself how to use a baitcaster when I was 12 or 13.

[tomustang]

Don't really know your kids, or at least whats said about them outside this thread, but how they fish plays a huge role on what they are using. I really can't see them jumping up to baitcasting until they use and get use to specific techniques with spinning gear. I would recommend the typical ugly stik combo and work away from sit fishing and try a variety of baits first.

[guitarkid]

I would look at the abu garcia Mike Iaconneli combos, they actually are'nt bad.

-gk

[islandbass]

If they're average height, a 6' to 6.5' rod should be easy to handle. My daughter, who is now 12 started using a spinning rod at 5 and a casting rod at 6 1/2. My son, who is 7 and is using a 6.5' rod now and just tried a casting rod not too long ago.

I say this not to brag about my kids, but to show you how fast kids can learn. I am pretty sure a decent non budget breaking spinning combo will do for either. I would not go the spin casting route because they will outgrow it before you can blink twice. It also means you'd be spending more dough.

I would look at the berkley cherrywood rods and any spinning reel in the $30-$40 range each.

[MCS]

My 5 yr old uses primarily a 5'-6" zebco with a president 20 on it and 6lb mono. he sometimes uses one of my other outfits which are a 6' rod and 6'6" spinning combos. I think they could handle anything 6-7' range. Like another said the Iconelli combos would probably be a good start.

[bassmaster8100]

Hey guys thanks for all the great feedback. They have spincast setups now but as their interest in bass fishing increases I was thinking I would upgrade them to spinning reels then maybe baitcasting gear once they get the hang of the spinning reels and start to learn some tecniques using it first.

[Bluebasser86]

Something like an Ugly Stick Lite is great for kids. They're cheap, durable, and they work pretty well for bass fishing. They're not the best choice for the stuff that really requires feeling the bait like a drop shot or shakyhead but they work fine for cranks, spinnerbaits, or T-rigs. I'd go with a 6' rod, mainly because that's going to be about the shortest spinning rod you can get in a medium action rod unless you step up to a higher end rod.

[Capt.Bob]

I would get them a 5'6" rod Med or Med Light, good for everything, if your only fishing smaller inland lakes, a spinning reel with 6 # test should give them a good castable rig, If they weren't new to this type of gear I would go 6', and as Bluebasser said, you may have to anyway, but I know Ugly sticks use to be easy to find in the 5'6" length and would think the chain stores would carry them. I am no fan of ugly sticks, but they do have there place and when it comes to abuse, they will take as much as any!

[MichiganFishing1997]

When i was that age my dad bought me a Berkely Cherrywood Graphite and a Shimano Sienna and i still use it today.

[jj'sbassinforfun]

After the snoopy pole, I started my son(then 5) with a 5' 6" Ugly stik and a Shimano IX1000 spooled with 6 pound mono. Durable at a modest price! He still uses it today for a pond or bank fishing plastic's rod. He's 12 going on 13 and tossing BC like the bigboys now! Been using BC since he was 10.