I took all 3 of my kids fishing yesterday. It was the very first bass trip for both of my daughters who are 11 and 4. Sadly, my 11 year old hooked 4 good ones on a tube, but couldn't get them in the boat. She was bummed. My wife picked up the rod and reel she was using and caught a fish, but the reel was the weak point in the equation. She was reeling like mad, but gaining nothing on a 1.5 pounder......at best. We tightened the drag, but to no avail. I really want her to enjoy fishing. I was so proud that all 3 of my kids were having fun and hooking fish. My question is, who has a really good push button style reel? I don't think she's ready for a spinning reel yet, and I don't want something that is no better than what she has. I want a really good one for her. I want to hear all suggestions. Thanks.
Hey Mike,
I think you should get her a spinning reel set up, but I wouldn't necessarily buy one of the cheap combos, because the reels are usually junk.
My son just turned 6 and my daughter will be 8 in July, and I bought them the size 500 shimano Siena spinning reels last year and then paired them with some cheaper spinning rods from Walmart that came with a reel, I just ditched the reels that came with them. I think I got my daughter a 5'6 med action and my son a 5' med action ( they don't like catching bluegills they like to catch bass and pike :)
I thought it was going to be tough for them to use them, but they picked up really quickly, and they both said they liked them better than the push button style. I just referred to the bail as a gate, and told them they needed to put the line under their finger, and then open the gate, and cast, close the gate and then start reeling.
I did get my daughter a Shakespeare push button that worked well from gander mountain that came with a rod before she moved to the spinning set up. I hope that helps!
Ryan
We have a cabin on a lake that my three boys grew up at. We spent the summers there and they all started with a Zebco style spincast reel. These reels were a pain for me to keep operational. We were there not just once in a while but lived there during the summer. The spincasts couldn't go soon enough. I started them on a shimano syncopate. It is a spinning reel with a "trigger." They transitioned very well to this reel. I would guess they made the switch over at about 6 or 7.
I work at Cabelas and have the occasion to see lots of folks who want a reel that is a step up from the spincast. The syncopate is often that reel. At $29, it's affordable and very dependable. Most, and I would dare say, all adapt or learn to use it very quickly. The only problem may be reach with their index finger. They get more reach my moving the grip so they hold it between the pinky and ring finger.
For some, they are dead set on a spincast and for those I recommend they switch out the mono and use braid. As you know the zero memory really helps on the spincast. It will cast much better.
For my young ones, the syncopate is the way to go. Shimano also makes the trigger reel in a more expensive version, the Spirex, $59. The one drawback to the two trigger reels is that you reel them backward to center the trigger, in fishing terms they don't have anti reverse. The back reeling, however does allow you to center the line to your index finger without even looking at the reel. A regular spincast is much more difficult. Maintaining pressure on the trigger reel helps as you grasps the trigger. Pull the line and the trigger and then as you make the cast point your finger at the target. If your cast goes awry just show them that touching the top of the spinning reel spool will stop the cast. http://www.cabelas.com/product/Shimano174-Syncopate-Spinning-Reel/728343.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3DsearchForm%26N%3D0%26fsch%3Dtrue%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Dsyncopate%26x%3D-850%26y%3D-51%26WTz_l%3DHeader%253BSearch-All%2BProducts&Ntt=syncopate&WTz_l=Header%3BSearch-All+Products
Just my two cents.
I think you'd be surprised at how fast your daughter picks up on how to use a spinning reel Mike. I actually started my girls with a closed face but without the button. This type hangs down from the rod and has a lever they use like a button. They pull on it and it holds the line until they release the lever during the cast. I figured it would be a easy transition to a regular spinning reel since they already were used to using their index finger to cast. But at your daughter's age I'd go spinning. :)
I thought about a spinning combo, but she gets discouraged easily when things don't go exactly the way she thinks they should. I know she will love fishing if she starts getting them in the boat. My 4 year old sure is hooked now. She likes catching bass.
I had a high end Zebco when I was a kid, used it for many years as a teenager. Cought a lot of pike and bass with it. A good drag! Is key.
Have her try the syncopate.
You didn't say which reel she was already using?
I would suggest the legendary Zebco 33. I have used them many times since I was a kid. I even used a bigger one for awhile dock fishing to try out various efficiency testing while I was still tournament fishing. I still have one that I've had for a long time and it works fine.
You want to slowly get her into the habit of pulling the line tight after she clicks over the handle before she starts reeling in to minimize line twist. The drag is pretty smooth and can be tightened down fairly good though I don't know if any spincast reel will ever have the reeling and drag power of a casting reel but similar to many spinning reels.
If you think she will fish a fair amount you might want to try the Zebco Omega Pro. That is supposed to be their top of the line new spincast reel.
HOLY COW!! That Omega Pro is a $75 reel! I might get mad if she accidentally threw that in the lake.
Zebco reels is what we used as kids. My grandpa still has them and they still work. Zebco 33 was the go to reel back in those days
mike s....
pm sent
Here is a tid bit from one of my blogs I did on the Zebco spincast reel.
"Recently, I was researching drag pressures on reels and got side tracked by an article on Zebco reels. I would be willing to bet that most of us started off using the push button Zebco 33 back in the day. You still find many Zebco models in just about any retail outdoor shop.
Jasper R. Dell Hull, of Texas, was what they called an itinerant inventor (one who travels from here to there as they work), whose prior work experience had been in the watch making business. Jasper was interested in developing a reel that the whole family could use. The early reels of the day were all level winds with a propensity to backlash frequently. Hull wanted something that the whole family could use.
He tried many different approaches to modifying the level winders of the day, but it wasn't till he was shopping in a local grocery store that he got the epiphany for the spincast reel. In that grocery store, it was said, he was intrigued by how the string they used to tie up packages, would easily come of a coneshaped spool. He used what he saw there in a new design that would eventually become the first spincast which was called the "Standard" and later the Zebco 33.
Once Hull had his idea in a sellable form he needed investors. He came across a company in Tulsa, Oklahoma that was in the petroleum business. They held a patent on a time bomb that was dropped down oil wells to blow the bottoms out. The company was called the Zero Hour Bomb Company.
Zero Hour's main patent was set to expire, and they were looking to expand their business, and saw promise in Hull's new design. So, in 1949 they went into partnership and began producing the "Standard." It caught on quickly and it's appeal grew. Zero Hour began concentrating its production on it to the exclusion of their oil related items. In 1956 Zero Hour used their old company's acronym to come up with their new name Zebco.
Zebco, as a company, did very well and became a world wide entity. During the 60's one of their salesman, Bill Carter, used a monkey (Couldn't find a cave man I guess.) that he trained to show how easy it was to cast with the "new" Zebco spincast. The photo below was used in an article by Charles Cantrell. It shows Carter with his casting buddy at a sport show in Tulsa.
( I had to place the picture below. Didn't know how to place it here.)
Bill Carter.
Bill Carter with his Zebco 33 casting buddy at a Zebco booth at a Tulsa, OK Sport Show in 1960
In 1961 the Brunswick Corporation bought out Zero Hour and later in 2001 the Bradley Corporation bought the company from Brunswick. Zebco is still a major player in the reel market today. Zebco has been around for several generations of anglers and undoubtedly will be around for many more.
And now... you know...
the rest of the story...
Pflueger® Trion Spincast Rod and Reel Combo--
Go with this setup.. I got it for my 6 year old son. Bought it at BPS. This thing is very nice for the price. It casts a mile and has a very nice rod as well. My son was chucking a 1/4 oz silver buddy a mile with this combo. The drag is very nice on this as well.. You will have no problem bringing in moderate sized bass with this setup. I even cracked it open the other day while out crappie fishing myself. Just because the action on it was so nice.
I've had good luck with the price for quality combination with some of the Pflueger casting and spinning reels.
I didn't know there was such a thing as a $75 spincast reel as far the Zebco I mentioned earlier? I would think the Zebco 33 would be fine for someone who doesn't fish every day.
Dan, I drove to Cabela's this evening and bought the Omega Pro. It's a pretty stout feeling reel. Hoping to break it in tomorrow. But, it is a $75 reel. It is also pretty heavy. I'm hoping it works good and lasts.
Works good is important. Last long is a bonus and it should to justify that cost - stout should help with that. I hope it isn't too heavy for your daughter to enjoy some nice days of fishing.