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High Cotton.
Hi guys. I took my son out in my Puma fishing for the first time yesterday and he loved it. Although the Mighty Mississippi is high we still managed to catch a few bass and then found some stripes in some running water and he was hooked! Only problem I got now is equipment. Im not ready to try and let him use open faced casting reels yet so I bought him a little Zebco 33 just to see what would happen. He can really sling it! My question is what would be the “GLOOMIS” or “BASSCAT” of closed faced reels? I want to get him something smooth and light. Not knocking the little 33 but it is real jerky when hes reeling it in. I just want to make it more comfortable for him – money is no object. Any help appreciated.
We would look at the Diawa series as they seem to have the most long term experience and are reasonable yet smooth. IF you can find the older UniSpin rods with a reel built in somewhere, these were among the best in that type of reel. They were hampered in that they were a combo and buys took the rods and reels apart and put them on blanks they preferred. The Uni Spin was from the 1970s.
My dad uses a abumatic on a 7 med heavy rod. He has no interest in the bait caster reels but loves to fish for anything that will bite. His abumatic combo was about a $75.00 outfit that is very nice for a closed faced reel. We also fish the mighty miss and have seen him reel in a 10-15lb blue cat on his abu.
How old is your son. I had mine throwing team daiwa baitcasting reels when he was 6 years old. He caught on amazingly quick and this is almost all we use 30 years later. We occasionally use a spinning rod for very light stuff, and a fly rod when we want to have some quick fun. Id turn him loose with a good bait caster and see what happens. You can start off with the anti-backlash cranked up and Ill bet he will be hooked for life. 2008 Pantera Classic2014 Mercury Pro XS 200
ABUmatic is the same system as a unispin.
High Cotton, My 6 year old little girl has a Diawa spincast reel. You can buy a combo for about $40 I think. Anyway, the reel is very smooth. She can cast a Senko with a 3/0 hook about 45 feet on 8 lb line. Sunday was a good day for her, she caught several on it and had a great time, though no big ones. She was really showing off how far she could throw it. The rod that it comes with is ok, medium action also by Diawa. I think you might try a Shimano Clarus baitcaster in a 66″ medium which would allow him to do most things. The rods are nice enough, come with a lifetime over the counter warranty, and wont break the bank. I think he could throw just about anything he wanted on it if you are willing to change the line between trips. With 8 lb line, you can probably through everything from beetle spins to small topwaters. With 12 lb line, he could throw spinnerbaits, smaller cranks, even a buzzbait. Good luck – you will both have a ball. John
Hi High Cotton, The spincast reels mentioned above are all good. You cant go wrong. But in my experience casting is all timing and once your little Bassmaster gets that down, you should upgrade him to a spinning or even a casting reel. Properly adjusted by you, a casting reel can offer him more power and better control over fish and its never too young to start a young guy using one. When I was a little guy, Id practice casting out in the yard each day (with crappy line of course) and use a spinning reel when on the water. When I got confident with my abilities in the yard, I finally took my casting reel with me fishing – which was about 2 weeks later. The problen I have with any spincast reel is the drags are not good. Line comes off the reel by the line uptake pin rotating around the spool – a bad setup. Id hate to see your boy lose his first big fish because of a bad drag. Congrats on your new fishing partner and let us know how he progresses! TerryTerry Battisti
Thanks guys. I got a pistol grip 5 1/2 foot Loomis from a friend and going to set one of my 50mg Chronarchs up on it and start training. I know it takes a little time but hopefully hell have the 7 1/2 ft. flipping stick in his hands instead of a Wii controller. I remember my dad started me when I was five and remember how it felt to get to go fishing with him back them. I think my son feels the same way – he is ate up with it. Good luck to all at the OI wish I could make it but timing was bad. Oh well maybe next year. Proud to be part of the family.
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