Best Overall Fishing Stick For 7 Year Old

[ngrinchenko@gmail.com]

We are novices. We went a few times with my kid to fishing clinic in Prospect Park, NY. He was able to do closed reel casting with a small rod and we caught a few small sunfish and pumpkin seed. Now we go on a vacation and he is ecstatic to try himself at bass fishing in a small pond in upstate NY. They have walleye and large mouth and small mouth bass there.

I did my research and it seems that overall best rod would be Shakespeare Ugly Stick GX2 Spinning combo Medium Heavy 6'6".

Additional happy "problem" is that we live near the ocean bay in NY and see a lot of fishermen with huge variety of specialized fishing combos. I live in an apartment and can't allow to have a lot of different rods, plus i don't know if my kid will really get into fishing to it is just a temporary thing. So ideally I would like to get a rod with which he can fish for bass, use it for salt water fishing. I see that the fish which comes into a bay is relatively small, so there are no big salt water fish.

 

After this introduction my main question is that I am concerned that by buying an overall best fishing stick Shakespeare Ugly Stick GX2 Spinning combo Medium Heavy 6'6" I may discourage my kid with an equipment which is too big and difficult for him. 

Would it be OK for a 7 year old boy to use this stick or I am better off with a light version under 5"?

Does it mean that if I get the lighter version - he is limited at what he can catch in the ocean bay after the bass fishing trip?

Difference is rod sizes seems so small, perhaps it is fine for him to handle just a foot longer stick?

Does light version mean that it is weaker stick and can't pull up heavier ocean fish?

 

Feel free to answer in length and with additional comments.

For myself i chose Daiwa D-Shock 170 Yards 8 Line 6 1/2-Feet Fibreglass Spin Combo (Medium)

It was highly recommended as an overall strong and sensitive option for fresh and saltwater fish.

 

If my kid will be into fishing I plan to purchase a better reel for him. Probably Penn Battle II 5000

[CeeJay]

Hello and welcome.

6'6" MH might be a bit much for a 7 year old.  It might be tiring for him to cast with for more than a couple hours.

A 6' or 5'6" Medium or Medium Light might be a better choice.  I wouldn't go shorter than 5' though. 

Medium, light, even ultra-light can handle surprisingly large fish.

Having said all that, I don't have experience with those particular Shakespeare's Ugly Stick rods. 

[MN_Bassin]

Ever since I could walk, I've been using 6'6" medium light action spinning rods. They cover a variety of different situations just fine. A rod 6'-6'6" med lite would be fine.

[MDBowHunter]

I would go with a 5'6" med light with a 500 series reel. This is a combo that still to this day stays in my boat for pan fishing and bait catching. It allows even a smaller fish to feel huge to a kid, which will keep him or her interested. As said earlier the larger rod may be way more taxing then it's worth. Plus if your bank fishing you can find way more fishable spots using a shorter rod because of needing less room to cast.

[WRB]

Having taught a lot of kids in this age group how to fish during my sons Indian Guides years, 5-8, don't over estimate thier attention span or under estimate their skills.

A spinning outfit is a good choice as long as it's easy to handle with small hands and well balanced.

The ideal outfit is a 5 1/2' to 6' medium light action spinning rod with vintage Zebco #144 trigger reel or new Daiwa Underspin 40XD. If you choose a spinning combo with standard spinning reel with a bail, make sure it's a small size 1000, the rod no longer than 6', med light (Shimano Sojourn series is a good entry level rod).

Closed face spin cast reels are common and very hard for kids to use, they tend to hold the reel upside down and reel backwards do to poor balance.

The split shot rig is ideal for kids.

Tom

[Master Bait'r]

I was in a very similar boat and went with a Berkley Amp rod- I believe it was a 6' and it was a Medium action spinning rod. I put 10# braid on it and he loves it. It's a good all around rod, was inexpensive at around $30 (iirc) and it's very durable so I don't have to worry about it in his hands.

[CeeJay]

Having taught a lot of kids in this age group how to fish during my sons Indian Guides years, 5-8, don't over estimate thier attention span or under estimate their skills.

A spinning outfit is a good choice as long as it's easy to handle with small hands and well balanced.

The ideal outfit is a 5 1/2' to 6' medium light action spinning rod with vintage Zebco #144 trigger reel or new Daiwa Underspin 40XD. If you choose a spinning combo with standard spinning reel with a bail, make sure it's a small size 1000, the rod no longer than 6', med light (Shimano Sojourn series is a good entry level rod).

Closed face spin cast reels are common and very hard for kids to use, they tend to hold the reel upside down and reel backwards do to poor balance.

The split shot rig is ideal for kids.

Tom

 

Really, a split shot rig is ideal for kids to fish?    I love a split shot rigged plastic worm or hellgrammite fished on the bottom ...but for 7 year old's I'd go with something a bit more "dramatic" like an inline spinner.

I actually will be taking my brother's 3 year old son fishing tomorrow and I'm going to have him use my 10' panfish pole with Gulp on a jig under a float

[MIbassyaker]

We have a 6'6" MH ugly stik GX2 at our house, and I would recommend against it. It's awkward even for an adult, unless you're fishing something stationary like live bait under a bobber. And the reel that comes with the typical combo is very poor quality. It does not crank very easily or smoothly, and online reviews show a lot of people complaining about them breaking under very minor stress.

 

The Daiwa you say you got for yourself seems alright -- is there a smaller version, (under 6', and a 2500 size reel or smaller)?