New to fishing, what type of rod/reel for me and kid

[rastoma]

I apologize if this is not the in correct forum. But I am so on what type of rod and reel I should get for myself and my son.

I am 40 y.o. I have never owned a rod in my life. I have gone fishing with others less than a dozen times in my life and have used their equipment. The last time many years ago.

I am wanting to take my 11yo son fishing for the first time. I already know we PROBABLY won't be going often. Who knows, one or both of us may get hooked (pun intended) on it, but I'd be surprised if go more than a few times this first year.

I will be buying the equipment at my local Wal-Mart. It's the only place near me to buy locally and I'm looking at starter combo deals anyway. So I'm looking for low cost. Not necessarily the cheapest, but pretty close

So far, what I have come up with on my searches and talking to some locals..... the cheap Zebco combos are junk... used to be good 20 years ago but no more. The Shakespeare combos are not too bad for a cheap setup. Does anyone agree?

I have also read that closed face reels are troublesome and kids have no trouble starting out with an open-face reel with just a little practice. Is this true?

For myself, with basically no prior experience, should I start with a spincaster or baitcaster reel?

We will be going to a pond that has mostly if not all small fish; brim, bluegill, crappie. We'll also be going to the river (various places on the TN River) but not with the intention of big catfish necessarily. I don't think we'll go to any trout streams anytime soon. We will be using natural bait for now (per restrictions of the basic fishing only license I'll be getting).

So can anyone see where I'm coming from and what I'm trying to accomplish without being biased about cheap starter equipment and not tell me 'you get what you pay for'?

Thank you all for reading.
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[mattpeace]

As far as i'm concerned you can't really go wrong with an ugly stick combo as a starter. I wouldn't get a baitcaster as your first reel as they take alot of practice to get used too, so a spinning combo would be best. I agree on the closed reels, some like them but personally i don't (even though thats what I grew up using). It sounds like you will be going after some relatively small fish so a 5ft ultra light ugly stick spinning combo would be my suggestion for both you and your son and they cost about $25 at wall mart, and they are capable of landing some bigger fish (personally caught a 13lb carp on mine).
[fishin]
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[rastoma]

Thanks Matt.

So the ugly stick is ok for a newbie? I've read that they are not sensitive enough and an inexperienced person will miss nibbles and bites. I guess the ultra light US is more sensitive?
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[daffy]

I would not just grab an ugly stick and go. Wal-Mart has some very good equipment that is cheap and might be better than an ugly stick... For me an Ugly stick is way too slow and sloppy... Sure I mean they look good on the commercial and all but what I mean by rod speed is the way a rod bends. Slow - the whole rod bends at once, fast - just the top 1/4 of the rod bends allowing for a better hook set, important if you want a good chance to get some fish. Also if you get a combo rod and reel you would not be able to get an extra spool with the reel, something you might want if you are going to be fishing different species at different times of the year... Mitchell makes a great spinning reel and has a spare spool included. Just go grab an ugly stick and see what I am talking about, they are as slow as crap which is what I think they are...
Medium sized Spincast Reel w/ spare spool (not a tiny ultralight - not a huge spincast) and 6' Fast rod... 10 lb test on one spool and 6 lb on the other, go with 6 lb line first (more fish will bite smaller diameter line) if you break off change spool to 10 lb line... Don't go ultra light unless you are going for say small trout... Ultra light is something you might want to get into as you get more experienced to level the table with the fish!
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[mattpeace]

It's all a matter of opinion, some people hate ugly sticks because they are not sensitive enough (and they aren't the most sensitive rod out there), but if you are going after blugill and crappie, and aren't overly familiar with different jigging techniques then i would assume you will be using a bobber in which case how sensitive does the rod really need to be. I personally like mine, my 8 year old nephew uses it when he comes down and has never had any problems with it. A freind of mine has a 5ft 5in shakespear combo he got from wall mart that works pretty good as well, we both use these for river fishing when we don't have alot of room to cast due to brush and such.
[fishin]
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[davetclown]

you can get fast action ugly sticks, "sencitive" as to weather or not they are on the shelf of your favorite or local store counter depends greatly on what the store's buyers beleive they can sell.

this may mean you need to do a little extra leg work or finger tapping to get what you like.

deffenantly give a web search to find the qualificatons of what is available before making a perchase, and with todays gas prices you may want to make a phone call before making the drive, just be sure to tell them if it is not there when you get there you will be going home empty handed, you dont want any substitutes.
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[mbowman]

Personally and from experience - if you go out expecting to catch fish without knowing at least in the ball park what they'll respond to bait / lure wise, you probably won't be catching fish. So take the expecting to catch out the equation and do a littly itty bit of research on family fishing waters in your area and what fish will generally bite on and stick with that.

Here in Idaho we have a lot of trout, and trout will bite on worms at least somewhat reliably when they're hungry...so if you're going out here, stick a worm on your line, cast and wait for about 10 minutes. Re-cast in a different spot when the 10 minutes is up and change the bait up when it stops wiggling. It's about the same technique if you're still fishing on a bank anywhere, the bait just changes. For cats it's different, and I'm not at all familiar with TN, so you'll need to check your regional forum and ask about decent spots in your area and what to use to just lounge and have a relaxing day with (hopefully!) some fish catching mixed in.

As for rod / reel - there is absolutely no problem with a cheapie combo. Go in with your son, direct him toward some shorter (5.5' - 6'), lighter poles with either spinning or spin-casting reel on them, and have him hold it and jerk it up and down a time or two to see if he's comfortable with it. I'd suggest you probably do the same. I picked up a light Shakespeare for my 7 year old a few weeks back and he's done a decent amount of catching on it. His first fish was the attached brown trout and he just lit up when he hooked into it.

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I also bought a cheapie little 2.5' rod for my 3 year old, and he pulled in a sucker-fish with it that was about the same size as one of his legs.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the rod and reel doesn't matter so much as long as it'll send line out and bring line in through the eyelets and keep upward pressure on a fish when it bites. If you decide you really enjoy the sport a year down the line and you want to get into some more advanced techniques, definitely upgrade, but you will catch fish on a stick with some string if you're going when the fish are biting and you have what they want to eat on the hook.

Get a cheap tackle box, some hooks (ask about size and type on your regional forum), split-shot, maybe some slip sinkers and some bobbers. If you intend to cut the fish into fillets and you don't already have a fillet knife, you might want to look into getting a cheap one. Cooking them whole you don't really have to worry about it so much. And make sure you're tying a decent knot! Look up the improved cinch - I've never lost a hook to a fish using this knot. Most guides will advise 3 to 6 wraps, I generally try to get 8 in. And on line, 6lb test should be all you need, and make sure throughout the day that there aren't any kinks and such from the hook to the reel when you have it at a casting length and it shouldn't snap on you. If there are, cut off the damaged line and re-rig it. Also, make sure your drag isn't too tight - when the fish is pulling hard, you want to make sure your line will let out instead of snapping.

You'll have a blast, and you'll learn a lot about your son...and that's what this is really about. Fishing with kids is about the conversation and focus on something positive, and when a fish does hit the feeling of accomplishment that comes with bringing it in. Sure, with some rods you won't feel the nibbles as much as others, but fish do have a tendency to gobble up bait at times and take off with it, hooking themselves just a bit in the process, which makes even the heaviest rod jump up and down on you and when you yank up hard, he's hooked!

Have fun.
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[rastoma]

Thank you all for the replies and thank you mbowman for the further details and personal aspect of fishing with my son.

It will be a couple of weeks before we get to go. I'll let ya'll know what happened
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[Rlw215]

U can't go wrong with the zebco 33 at Walmart or academy for about 10 bucks. I've fishing with those since I ditched the Mickey mouse rod. Replace the line with 8 to 12 lb monofilament and if something yanks the pole out of the Lil ones hands ur only out a small amount of money. I wouldn't recommend using the poles for big stripers but I've battled big cats and several 10 lb bass on them over 150 crappie last weekend over 14 in. I'll send u a pic of what the old zebco 33s can for sure do. Happy fishing to the both of you!!! let me know if u have any other questions..
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[michfishgod]

i second and triple ulgy sticks or even some thing like this at link below. also pick up some boobers small size #10-12 hooks and bb lead or tungsen lead subsiturte bb shot to get the worm down a bit in the water. like your thinking your best bet to get a kid fishing is to chase blue gills bream and crappie.at least now you know your doing the right thing.

[url "http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mitchell-Avocet-Silver-Freshwater-Spinning-Combo/8204890"]http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mitchell-Avocet-Silver-Freshwater-Spinning-Combo/8204890[/url]
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[bytebull]

start with spinning rig .... then progress to a baitcaster.

just have fun and catch some fish. You will love it.
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