or, my son wants to go fishing and i'm clueless

**FJ62** · 07-13-2015, 12:22 AM

Originally Posted by bodywhomper

Bump
Looking for inexpensive rod/reel advise for the 9 yo. He's never been fishing. I haven't been in a long long time. We'll be parking ourselves in a small backcountry alpine lake basin for a couple of days. I'm thinking about lures. Should i be considering an inexpensive telescoping pole; maybe an inexpensive "backcountry kit"? If he gets into it, i can see his two younger siblings doing so too. We're good with that, but need to keep cost down.

Cheapest / easiest option is probably a Ronco Pocket Fisherman at 20 bucks total. For about the same price, you could get an Ugly Stik package that has everything but the lures but won't be as compact. It will, however, serve your family for years and probably will never break. For about $40 you could get something like an Okuma Voyager travel kit... which would be great as a backpacking setup.

I got into fishing because of my kid. He's way into it and it's pretty addictive and cheap once you have your license and setup. For lures, it's always a good policy to just hit the bait shop / general store nearest your destination. A lot of times you can get some free advice and some tackle specific to your location. Or, if you're going to keep the fish you catch, you could always just use power bait... Have fun.

**Binky** · 07-13-2015, 08:35 AM

right here is all you need. My 3 year old dominates with it:

**Caucasian Asian** · 07-14-2015, 08:21 AM

I bought my wife a spinning rod and reel on the weekend.

It's been a few years since I've been out fishing, and I haven't used a spinning rod since I was 12. Bought her some marshmallows and Velveeta to use as bait in the little trout pond near our house.

**bodywhomper** · 07-21-2015, 02:04 PM

Thanks for suggestions.

With limited time, i found a cheapo ugly stik with spincast reel at kmart. It did the job great. Unfortunately, the unstocked alpine and subalpine lakes in the sierra are hurting pretty bad from the drought. We had some bait nibbles and that was it, our bait hooks were too big i think. We also loss a few lures and i loss two flies. It was good to experience that for him. The kid had a great time and good times were still had. My guess is that the love affair is starting. My boy takes joy in the fact that we are near the same place in the learning curve and im willing to untangle his bird nests.

**Groomer Gambler** · 08-01-2015, 12:47 PM

Get your son a Tenkara rod! Easy to learn and wicked fun, plus it will train him to be an expert fly fisherman by the time he's 12!

**Chugachjed** · 08-01-2015, 09:11 PM

You should fly to Alaska and come fishing with me.

**The Tortoise** · 08-10-2015, 01:46 PM

They have "all-in-one" setups with a rod, reel pre-strung with line, and a sampling of lures for $14.95 to $19.95. Hard to beat that price.

Agreed. But the line is usually garbage and will tangle just by looking at it. Definitely worth putting some better line on the rod - for your sake.

And x2 to removing the barbs from the hooks. Better for everyone involved.

**mmmthmtskier** · 09-25-2015, 05:37 PM

https://youtu.be/KXYpJupNLSA

**Trace Hardslab** · 10-07-2015, 08:19 PM

My buddy's kids have a known hog trough in the backyard. They think all trout fishing is like this.

They have no idea.

**Underoos** · 10-07-2015, 08:34 PM

Fucking. Awesome.

**teleee** · 10-07-2015, 08:45 PM

That might be the best thing I have ever seen in the interwebs

**Binky** · 12-31-2015, 09:41 AM

Originally Posted by timothywpothier

Taking kids along while going for fishing is a great fun. They show great interest and inspires me to do the fishing for longer time. But I lost concentration over fishing due to manage my kids, because they're in so rush all the time.

When fishing with kids, it isn't about me. I reserve my "me" time. Taking kids fishing is about the kids having a good experience. This ensures I can manage them and make it enjoyable

kenv · 01-04-2016, 03:23 AM

Happy kids, happy family!!!

**steved** · 01-04-2016, 11:41 AM

Originally Posted by Binky

When fishing with kids, it isn't about me. I reserve my "me" time. Taking kids fishing is about the kids having a good experience. This ensures I can manage them and make it enjoyable

+1
...BUT I agree with the Dad, not quite 4yo is still a little young to actually do the casting, maybe cast/mend for him then hand him the rod. Just get him out in the great outdoors OFTEN...in forests or along an unpolluted coast, near troutstreams/rivers, etc, ....especially where there might be a chance of seeing some wildlife...and interesting terrain..