Kids Fishing Rods: What Not to Buy

Going fishing is among the least expensive forms of entertainment (and food) available to us. In most states you can get a fishing license for around $15 or less. $35 worth of tackle can keep you busy and catching fish all summer. Most people end up spending more money than that for one night at the movies. $50 spent on the fishing basics keeps you fishing all year long.

You can spend very little money on a fishing rod and reel and still have a good time with it. But there is a limit. Particularly with regard to children's fishing rods. The bottom of the line has gotten so bad as to often be completely unusable. Its the plastic closed-reel rigs that are the problem.

The simplest rule of thumb is this: if the package involves a cartoon character, don't buy it.

These closed reel systems weren't too bad when I was a kid. I had a series of Zebco 202 type rigs that did all right. In fact, I still have one of them. The shells were plastic but the gears inside were all metal. They worked right out of the box and lasted for a few summers. I caught a lot of sunfish on those old Zebcos.

"If the package involves a cartoon character, don't buy it."

Today, a lot more of those parts are plastic. The big thumb button in the middle is usually pretty flimsy. I bought a bunch of these cheap models for my kids and some of them (including this Barbie-branded model by Shakespeare) were broken right out of the box and couldn't throw a single cast.

Frustrated by the quality of every closed-reel rig that we tested, I eventually put both of my kids on conventional spinning rods. It turns out, at least anecdotally, that a kid can learn to use an open reel spin rod just as easily as a closed-reel. Both my son and my daughter could cast a spinning rod by the age of four.

I'd like to see some more and better open-reel spinning rod and reel combos produced and marketed for children. A scaled-down reel with a smaller gap between the bail and the grip of the rod so that tiny fingers can more easily hold the line tight.

The closest thing that I have found and tested with my kids is this Mitchell Outback combo for only $20. The rod is too long for a lot of kids, though. I suggest removing the tiny reel from the Mitchell and attaching it to the smallest Ugly Stik you can find.

Rods sporting decals of Spongebob or Barbie probably catch the eyes of more kids in the aisles. But I believe that retailers are better off in the long run if they refuse to sell low-quality junk for beginners. The cartoon rigs are a $15 sale and then probably nothing more. A kid who is asked to use equipment that doesn't work very well won't be as interested in going fishing again. Retailers are better off selling something for a few dollars more than actually works. Fewer frustrations with equipment and more fish being caught are more likely to result in kids that keep buying fishing tackle for the rest of their lives.


[Photo copyright 2012 by Jackson Landers. Ok, I realize that I have used this same photo for at least two other blog entries. Sorry for repeating myself. But it illustrates my point nicely. This photo shows my 8 year old daughter in front of a catfish that she caught on the rig you see her holding. That is the Mitchell reel on an old Shakespeare EZ Cast rod.]