Missourifishin Posted March 16, 2014 Posted March 16, 2014 Lots of good advice here. I think a Trion spinning reel would be great, along with a 30-50 dollar rod, and then maybe help him pick out 20-30 bucks worth of tackle. Do you, or any of your friends/neighbors, have any yard work or other work he could do to put some money towards it? I'm not necessarily saying make him pay off every penny of the cost. But at least a little work he could put towards it. It would probably make him appreciate it and take care of it better, as Jason Short pointed out. Either way, it's good of you to mentor a young fisherman. Quote
Super User Teal Posted March 16, 2014 Author Super User Posted March 16, 2014 Good combination at a reasonable price, however.....you need to let the teen earn this so he has some skin in the game. Talk to his mon and figure out a allowance plan to help payback a few bucks toward this rod/reel, line, etc. Tom Just left his house. Talked to his mom while he was stillout with friends. His mom told me that she has beenwanting to buy him a rod and reel sonsince all he talks about is fishing with me. She however didn't have the extra money to do so. She said that she wants him to get a job. So... It got the wheels turning in my head. I asked if it would be ok if I had him cut my grass, weedeat, trim my bushes etc.. she was thrilled. ... It will help me out a lot anyways and will keep him busy a couple afternoons every couple of weeks. I haven't decided any other details other than that. 7 Quote
Super User A-Jay Posted March 16, 2014 Super User Posted March 16, 2014 Just left his house. Talked to his mom while he was stillout with friends. His mom told me that she has beenwanting to buy him a rod and reel sonsince all he talks about is fishing with me. She however didn't have the extra money to do so. She said that she wants him to get a job. So... It got the wheels turning in my head. I asked if it would be ok if I had him cut my grass, weedeat, trim my bushes etc.. she was thrilled. ... It will help me out a lot anyways and will keep him busy a couple afternoons every couple of weeks. I haven't decided any other details other than that. Perfect ! A-Jay Quote
jhoffman Posted March 16, 2014 Posted March 16, 2014 I dont think you can just have him cut your grass and give him a $100 rod at the end of summer. As a teen that wouldve really burned me up. Id possibly offer the rod/reel mid way through the summer as a "bonus", if hes cutn your grass every week, the kid deserves some money to spend as he sees fit too. Quote
jhoffman Posted March 16, 2014 Posted March 16, 2014 One other note, in the world of "sue sue sue" that we live in, if youre gonna have him run power equipment I would have his mom sign a waiver. Dont even know if that will cover you but better than nothing. Quote
Super User roadwarrior Posted March 16, 2014 Super User Posted March 16, 2014 I'd consider "handing down" something I might not use as much any more. You'd be passing on some good mojo. 1 Quote
Super User Teal Posted March 16, 2014 Author Super User Posted March 16, 2014 Jeremy, thay used to burn me up too. I used to work my butt off all day just for a Sun Drop Soda and an ice cream Sandwich. I plan on a more than fair rate for the yard work. I plan on closely supervising the first couple times. I'm not too worried about all that. 1 Quote
Smallmouth Hunter Posted March 16, 2014 Posted March 16, 2014 Falcon Bucoo has apparently been on sale for around $40 at Walmart recently. Also, you mentioned the Veritas has been on sale. Both of those would be a great, cheap starter rod. For the reel, find a used shimano 2500 sized reel. Either that, or a Pflueger President or trion which can be had for around 20-40 used. Might seem like the cheapy route to go, but this is nice equipment and I am sure the kid would enjoy it. Quote
Super User Teal Posted March 16, 2014 Author Super User Posted March 16, 2014 A couple members messaged me and offered to help with this endeavor and I just want to let you guys know how much I appreciate their offers and how good this group of men we have here is. We have some stand up guys here on BR ! Quote
1234567 Posted March 16, 2014 Posted March 16, 2014 I apologize if this has already been said but I think what you're doing is great! I would take into consideration his maturity level and how well you'd expect him to take care of the equipment you buy him. I would only let how much the outfit cost be determined by how much you consider would be too much for yourself to spend. If he is very mature and trusting enough that he will value his gift and take care of it set him off on the right foot and get him something a bit nicer. If he decides later he doesn't like fishing then it is what it is. Quote
Hyrule Bass Posted March 17, 2014 Posted March 17, 2014 at the beginning of the summer, start him off with one of the 20 dollar shakespeare tiger spinning combos from walmart. i had one for years until i gave it to my uncle because i stripped the handle from screwing in on the left side and cant reel with my right. the reel still worked great though. i would do this for his payment for the first lawn cut and work. now its obviously he will be doing more than $20 in work a day. so id also give him a few hooks, sinkers, plastics, couple lures or so, to get him started. and then work out cash payments the rest of the summer. and if he does a great job on the yard work the rest of the year, give him a better combo as a bonus at the end of the summer. Quote
McAlpine Posted March 17, 2014 Posted March 17, 2014 Get him a lightning rod with a decent spinning reel. If you want to spend more get him a tackle box and some baits. That rig will serve him well. What your doing is awesome. This will be something that young man will remember for the rest of his life and it is acts of kindness such as this which build character in youth when they can see the right way to treat others. 1 Quote
Super User Teal Posted March 17, 2014 Author Super User Posted March 17, 2014 at the beginning of the summer, start him off with one of the 20 dollar shakespeare tiger spinning combos from walmart. i had one for years until i gave it to my uncle because i stripped the handle from screwing in on the left side and cant reel with my right. the reel still worked great though. i would do this for his payment for the first lawn cut and work. now its obviously he will be doing more than $20 in work a day. so id also give him a few hooks, sinkers, plastics, couple lures or so, to get him started. and then work out cash payments the rest of the summer. and if he does a great job on the yard work the rest of the year, give him a better combo as a bonus at the end of the summer. As far as the work and tackle. I was thinking along those lines too! Quote
camovan Posted March 17, 2014 Posted March 17, 2014 I'm glad I read this thread all the way through. Giving him a job and letting him buy his own gear (if thats what he choses to do with the money) makes a better man than simply receiving gifts. If you throw in fishing related bonuses from time to time that is more of a "perk" than a gift. Quote
Super User WIGuide Posted March 17, 2014 Super User Posted March 17, 2014 Awesome idea for what you're doing. From the sounds of what you said about talking to his mom, he really likes fishing! You might even want to consider letting him pick out his combo and then work towards that set amount. That way if he wants something more expensive, he can get it but he will have to work longer. Are you letting him keep doing lawn work after it's paid off or is he done when he's paid up on his gear? Quote
Global Moderator Bluebasser86 Posted March 17, 2014 Global Moderator Posted March 17, 2014 One of my passions in this sport is introducing people to it, young and old. I usually keep several decent combos at the house to loan out, from spincast, spinning, and baitcasting. Most of them used to be on my starting line up but have since been replaced. If you don't have anything like that laying around there's plenty of mid range priced gear out there that will work just fine. I believe I saw in DSGs add that right now if you buy certain reels you get a Berkley Amp rod for $1. I know one of those spinning reels was a Pfluegar President because I was thinking about going and getting one myself. That would be a fine combo for a beginning angler for under $70 with tax. Quote
prjavelin Posted March 17, 2014 Posted March 17, 2014 daiwa ballistics 7'2 ml are at around 58$ in TW with a pflueger president 50$. I have that combo and it is great, I love it! the reel is SMOOOOOTH and the rod is sensitive enough and well balanced to my liking. Quote
Super User Teal Posted March 17, 2014 Author Super User Posted March 17, 2014 Awesome idea for what you're doing. From the sounds of what you said about talking to his mom, he really likes fishing! You might even want to consider letting him pick out his combo and then work towards that set amount. That way if he wants something more expensive, he can get it but he will have to work longer. Are you letting him keep doing lawn work after it's paid off or is he done when he's paid up on his gear? Yeah I was talking privately with another member and u had mentioned letting the young man work for a couple weeks ans then taking him to BPS. Quote
Super User WIGuide Posted March 17, 2014 Super User Posted March 17, 2014 Yeah I was talking privately with another member and u had mentioned letting the young man work for a couple weeks ans then taking him to BPS. Awesome! I think it's really cool you're taking him under your wing like that. Quote
CincyBassMan Posted March 18, 2014 Posted March 18, 2014 Yeah... I thought so too. I'm thinking about trying to find one of the Vendetta rods for cheap. Some say thay some wally world's have them for 30 bucks again. And then I can pair it up with one of the 50 dollar Abu or Shimano spinning reels. My buddy thinks its absurd to spend 80-100 bucks on a combo for a kid that isn't mine.... But the kid doesn't have a father figure or a man in his life that is willing to take up time with him. A jay, all of my old gear like the old ugly sticks and cardinal reels were given away last year in my attempt to appease the wife. Nothing wrong with helping the kid out. We all had someone to give us a push in the right direction as beginners. My mother was single and if it weren't for my grandfather making an extra effort to get me started I would have never gone fishing. I say buy him the vendetta set up that you mentioned and one day he may be telling his kid about the awesome guy (you) and how you took him under your wing. He will also pay it forward! Quote
Super User Montanaro Posted March 18, 2014 Super User Posted March 18, 2014 Give him cheapo stuff. It teaches him that fishing is mental skill not how pretty your rod is. In the future if he likes fishing it will motivate him to earn money to buy better. Quote
nbowen419 Posted March 18, 2014 Posted March 18, 2014 When I was just getting into baitcasters I found the mega cast combos at BPS really were a good deal. I paid $50.00 a piece and bought 2. I still have them both and that was about 3 years ago. Quote
MichiganFishing1997 Posted March 19, 2014 Posted March 19, 2014 I just turned 17, and id have to say that I may be the opposite of most. When someone gives me something I treat it better than if I had biught it, it means more to me. On the other hand I learn much more and feel better in the end when I worked for the money to buy all my gear. I think the lawn cutting plan is a great idea. Its a happy medium for both sides. If you need a tackle box just let me know, il send one your way. Christian 1 Quote
Super User Teal Posted April 3, 2014 Author Super User Posted April 3, 2014 UPDATE - after church tonight, I took my little buddy to the Walmart and my tackle shop and helped him pick out some gear with the moneys he earned both from me ans two of my neighbors ( cutting grass, raking leaves, trming bushes) He had a little over 250 with some money he already had. I gave him the option of getting a couple set ups, or one nicer set up and whatever combination with some tackle. He surprised me. He had been looking at the Berkely rods, the convergence and the Sellus rods think he could get two and two cheap reels. He opted for one nicer yet modest combo, and some tungsten weights, hooks, and a couple 3700 boxes to put some of the plastics, jigs, and old crankbaits that I gave him from my personal stash. So what did he walk out with? A Shimanio Clarus 6'8mh xf casting rod 79.99 and a Lews Tournament MG that was on clearance for 104.99. I gave him a spool of Mono to put on it while he continues to learn baitcasters. Very proud of the young man. 10 Quote
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