Best Overall Reel For 7 Year Old

[ngrinchenko@gmail.com]

Me and my 7 year old are novices. We tried out hand at fishing and were able to catch some small fish with kiddie spincast reels. Now we want to try bass fishing in upstate NY small lake. After much research I settles on Shakespeare Ugly Stik GX2 rods. Medium heavy 7' for me and 6.6" for my son. We leave near ocean bay in NYC and want to continue use these set ups for salt water as well. They seem like overall best fishing sticks for a very reasonable price.

Now my two big questions.

Is it a very big difference between 2 pieces design vs 1 piece? I understand obvious storage and transportation advantages, but in terms of performance? Do I loose that much for my novice level, or I barely will notice a difference?

Is two piece that less sensitive and stronger?

My second question is what would be a good choice for an overall fishing reel for 7 year old, uncluding potential saltwater fishing?

And one more thing. Can reel and rod be stored outside in a winter freezing temperature?

[Catt]

One piece rod offers better feel

Zebco 33 Platinum, 4.1:1 gear ratio, 5 stainless bearings, aluminum frame, continous anti-reverse, mirco fine drag control all for $35

[JT Bagwell]

My 8 year old has been using a couple of Pflueger Spinning rod/reel combos for a couple of years and they work great for him.

 

I spool them with 15# test PowerPro and that really helped reduce the issues he was having with knots in his monofilament.

 

My 4 year old is using Pflueger spincast rod/reel combos also with PowerPro and they work great for him as well.

 

I really think switching to the small diameter braided line was a HUGE performance booster for both kids.

 

 

JT Bagwell

[Senko lover]

His arms are going to get tired with those ugly stiks lol

[bigbill]

A nice 5' or 5'6" rod maybe good for the boy.

For saltwater fishing for stripers or blues there going to tear up freshwater tackle. You need inshore tackle for that.

[lo n slo]

Im with Catt

[bassguytom]

I'm a big fan of the spiderman spin caster for the 6 year old I take out although the batman rod did out fish the spiderman rod 3 to 1 the other day. On occasion when a finess presentation is needed we use the Barbie combo with great success. We stay away from The expensive Japanese combo Pokémon because we are not that advanced. I don't go crazy with the youngsters really just passing rods down as they get more advanced. Salt and fresh water are 2 diffrent animals.

[Catt]

My 8 yr old grandson Aiden caught these on the Zebco & Abu Gracia 5' 6" med heavy rod.

[bigbill]

I used a zebco till I was 14yo. We fished so much we wore one out per year. It cost me $5 for a new one. These had no bearings.

[Turkey sandwich]

The notes above about keeping fresh water and salt separate are a good idea. The salt water (and the fish you'll likely be catching) will beat up most inexpensive combos.

1 piece rods will offer better sensitivity, but they aren't a deal breaker for a beginner, especially if 5'6-7' rods cause transportation issues and keep you off the water.

I like spinning gear because the kids will get more miles out of it than a closed push-button, and if they take to fishing, they'll out grow the push button within a few years where as they'll always have spinning gear.

The important thing is learning the basics and keeping the kids on fish so they don't get too bored.

[Angry John]

I had my boy on a push button from 2-5 and after that he was using spinning.  He is almost now 8 and dont think he is ready for a bait caster. 

[Catt]

Sorry y'all but with proper maintenance saltwater will not have an adverse effect on freshwater reels. Every thing around here is brackish, those bass & reds were caught in the same water.

These pictures show the Zebco will handle large fish with ease.

The platinum aint your daddy's 33!

[the reel ess]

His arms are going to get tired with those ugly stiks lol

Or strong

[Turkey sandwich]

Sorry y'all but with proper maintenance saltwater will not have an adverse effect on freshwater reels. Every thing around here is brackish, those bass & reds were caught in the same water.

These pictures show the Zebco will handle large fish with ease.

The platinum aint your daddy's 33!

I disagree about the ease of use/practicality of a spin caster, and the reasons why mostly have to do with you not being a beginner attempting to learn and teach other beginners. If you need to open up a reel, oil it, or replace pieces, you know where they go. For a beginner, it's like opening a jack in a box.

Still, those are great fish, spin caster or not. I don't think I've had a spin caster in over 25 years, and definitely don't remember catches like those coming from it. My "fondest" memories consisted mostly of it being a birds nest under the hatch and when it wasn't the drag feeling like it was mocking me in morse code.

[Catt]

Turkey sandwich not only are spincast easy to use they are easy to maintain. Youtube has videos on maintaining pretty much every reel made.

The platinum aint the same plastic Zebco you used 25 years ago, it is all metal. Aiden has use this reel daily for 9 months now with zero problems. For $35 I do not think one can find a better "beginner" reel!

[boostr]

Agree with you Catt, they are not like the old Zebcos. Bought my 4 yr old son a platinum Shakespeare spin caster, and let me tell you what a piece of crap. Line was always getting tangled on the inside it was ridiculous. Through that junk in the garbage, and went out and bought him a Zebco Micro 33 immediately you could tell it was a better reel. So far it's going strong and no inner birds nests yet.

[Canyon explorer]

+1 On the Zebco 33 Platinum. Great for developing the basics.

[Freak78]

Turkey sandwich not only are spincast easy to use they are easy to maintain. Youtube has videos on maintaining pretty much every reel made.

The platinum aint the same plastic Zebco you used 25 years ago, it is all metal. Aiden has use this reel daily for 9 months now with zero problems. For $35 I do not think one can find a better "beginner" reel!

I was just talking about the 33s in another thread. Those used to be the only things me and my dad used. But 25 years ago mine were definitely all metal and not plastic. The quality has definitely went downhill on them.But they are still a good combo to start on and a great value at what..19.99? Between me and my dad and my son and I zebco 33s have outright murdered fish of all types.

[Turkey sandwich]

That's definitely an improvement. I still favor a $40 Shimano spinning reel.

[NathanW]

I'm a big fan of the spiderman spin caster for the 6 year old I take out although the batman rod did out fish the spiderman rod 3 to 1 the other day. On occasion when a finess presentation is needed we use the Barbie combo with great success. We stay away from The expensive Japanese combo Pokémon because we are not that advanced. I don't go crazy with the youngsters really just passing rods down as they get more advanced. Salt and fresh water are 2 diffrent animals.

True...No sense going JDM for a 6 year old.

 

Honestly though at 6 years old its time to upgrade to a spinning reel. Get a 50 size Abu or something for $30-$40 and put it on an ultra light for the kid. I would probably go with a really whippy rod and lures that don't require much hook set.  I would highly recommend to all parents out there the Arkie Turbo Head fished with a T-rigged 4.5" roboworm. The Arkies will need to be purchase directly from the Arkie website but are absolutely a must have for fishing with kids.

[Catt]

I was just talking about the 33s in another thread. Those used to be the only things me and my dad used. But 25 years ago mine were definitely all metal and not plastic. The quality has definitely went downhill on them.But they are still a good combo to start on and a great value at what..19.99? Between me and my dad and my son and I zebco 33s have outright murdered fish of all types.

The best Zebco had 25 yrs ago was the Rhino, as you can see the black center section is clearly plastic as it is on all 33s.

The Abu Garcia, Daiwa, & Shakespeare all had plastic center sections and may still be.

[FishTank]

The zebco 33 one more time.  It's classic that never gets old. 

[d-camarena]

My nephew is 5. He uses a 6'6 cabelas tourney trail and a 2500 shimano spyrex. He catches a ton of fish and its a set up that will last him a long time

[Jaderose]

I have much love for my Diawa Silvercast Spin caster on a 5'6" Ugly stik or equivalent.  It was all I used up until about 5 years ago and I landed many a pig with it.  Still use it occasionally when I just go dink around at a local park pond.

[aprestonSEK]

As others have suggested the zebco 33 is a great starter reel. I would also recommend looking at Daiwa underspins. They're just as easy to use and will get him ready to make the jump to a spinning reel when the time comes.