While I can’t have a website about helping parents teach their kids to fish without reviewing a youth fishing rod combo, I’m a little torn. Normally when I review a product, I actually own it. If I don’t own it, I am seriously considering buying it. In that case, I’ll share my research in case you’re considering buying it too. I value authenticity and am uncomfortable recommending that people part with their money for a product I haven’t personally used.
In that spirit, I want to be completely up front with you: I don’t own the kids fishing rod and reel combos discussed below. I have absolutely no intention to ever buy them. This isn’t because they’re bad, but because I’ve never had a need to buy them. I already had a full compliment of fishing rods I could share with my kids when they were born, so I didn’t need a combo.
The reason that I’m writing this is because there are obviously a ton of parents out there who are looking at these products. I imagine many of you are scratching your head trying to figure out which one is best. Frankly, if you’re looking into one of these combos, there’s a good chance you don’t fish that often and might need some advice.
These combos can be worth it if you were brand new to fishing, as they are almost like a “starter pack”. With that said, many of these combos include a lot of stuff you don’t need, and lack premium components.
So there we are. If you’re interested in my take on these fishing combos, carry on. At the very least, I hope you can trust I’m being real with you.
Why I Didn’t Buy My Kids a Fishing Combo
As I mentioned above, the main reason I didn’t purchase one of these “all in one” fishing rod, reel, and tackle combos for my kids was because I had no need for the tackle. I only needed a rod and reel.
Well, they sell plenty of kids and youth fishing combos that just have the rod and reel and don’t include any tackle. I took a quick look and didn’t buy any of those either for a couple of reasons:
Most Kids Combos Come with Spincast Reels
I found that most of these combos come with spincast reels, which I don’t think are as necessary for kids as other people claim, and which are annoying to me because they almost all come in right-hand retrieve, meaning that my son would learn a retrieve that is opposite of all the other equipment I might eventually hand down to him.
Many people consider spincast reels to be better for children in part because they are “easier” to cast. I suppose they are, technically, but spinning reels aren’t exactly rocket science in comparison.
To cast a spincast reel, your kid needs to (1) push down a little button until they want their lure to cast, at which point they (2) release the button.
To cast a spinning reel, your kid needs to hold onto the (1) line with their finger, (2) flip the bail, and then (3) release the line when they want their lure to cast.
Broken down to its simplest form, we’re talking three steps instead of two. This hardly struck me as worth it when you consider all the drawbacks of spincast gear, so my wife and I spent some extra time with my son and had him casting spinning tackle like a champ at two.
With all that said, some youth fishing combos come with spinning reels. I’d start with those!
Many Combos Come with Equipment You Don’t Need or Want
Just poking around online I’ve noticed that a lot of these combos come with ridiculous looking lures and what appear to be severely over-sized terminal tackle. A few have wide gap hooks that look too large for any of the soft plastics they’re included with, much less the panfish you should be targeting with your kids.
More importantly others have crankbaits and jerkbaits which are equipped with treble hooks and packaged in a unit intended for toddlers. This is… an odd choice … and flies in the face of everything I say about hooks in my post about safety tips for fishing with kids.
Some of these combos also come with weird things like “strike indicators” which are little bells that attach to the line. I suppose if you’re planning on throwing these out and paying no attention whatsoever while you go play catch, these might make sense, but it seems like you’re paying for something you won’t use.
I get the appeal for why people would look at much of this stuff and say, “wow, it has everything I need to get started!” But when a more experienced and discerning eye looks at some of these, the extra equipment doesn’t seem all that useful.
Why Many People DO Buy These Combos
Its clear that these youth fishing combos sell. For one thing, they tend to be bright colors and attract kids from across the store. Secondly, families who are just starting to fish are likely looking for an “all in one” rod and reel combo for their kids because they don’t want (or don’t know how) to put together their own gear like i described in this post.
I understand there is something appealing about walking into a store, buying one item, and having everything that you need. If you are brand new to fishing, I can see why you would go this route. Just remember that you will eventually have to purchase replacement gear piece meal. You wouldn’t buy an entirely new combo just to get some extra hooks.
What You Should Look For In a Fishing Combo for Kids
If your heart is set on buying one of these combos, look for the following things:
- I would recommend that you purchase a combo with a spinning reel for the reasons discussed above;
- I would steer clear of the “telescopic” rod combos and get an actual fishing rod. Who doesn’t have room for a 5′ pole?
- If I bought this for a small child, I would avoid any combo that includes lures with treble hooks. At the very least take, these lures away immediately.
- Look at the size of the hooks and ask yourself if a panfish can fit it in its mouth. Remember that your main target with small kids will be small fish. If you buy a combo with large hooks, you won’t catch many sunfish.
- Look at the lures it includes. Do you recognize them? Walk through the aisles a bit and see if they’re sold separately. Sometimes these combos are filled with stuff that isn’t very popular on its own. That’s not a great sign.
If I HAD to Buy One of These Combos, I’d Choose…
If I was going to purchase one of these, I’d buy one of the Shakespeare combos. I own several rods and reels that their company produces, and they work well for children. In fact, I think Shakespeare makes the best overall rod for kids, as I discussed in this post.
I’d specifically recommend the Shakespeare “Catch More Fish” combos. These are available with spinning rods, which I prefer. Further, they come with reasonable and useful tackle that should work very well.
These combos come in different “trims” from “youth” to species-specific offerings, and each has different (but appropriate) tackle. For example, the “panfish” combo is specifically marketed to young anglers and actually has what they need.
Why Shakespeare’s Panfish Youth Fishing Combos Is Worth It:
- It includes some beetle-spin spinnerbait-type lures. These will catch panfish, which is what you’re looking for. They are also great for teaching casting as they’re meant to be cast and retrieved repeatedly;
- The kit comes with grubs. You can rig these on the beetle-spins, or put them right on a hook. As a plus, they come in good, effective colors (white, purple, and chartreuse);
- It includes panfish hooks that are small enough for a bluegill or sunfish to fit in its mouth. The hooks also have a long shank which makes it easier to unhook the fish safely;
- They come with a few slip shot sinkers. You could use these rig a drop shot, which is one of the best ones to start with when fishing with kids as I discussed in this post;
- Though I’m not crazy about fishing with bobbers, they give you a few. They are small enough that they’re appropriate for fishing for panfish.
Shakespeare makes good products for kids. Their panfish combo would be a great first fishing setup for any little angler. You’ll get what you need in one stop, which is handy if you’re in a rush or just getting started.
Other Options
There are several other kits, all of which include wisely-chosen gear that would actually work. It is obvious from researching these that actual fishermen were consulted when putting these together, and all of the combos only include items that would actually work and you could actually use.
You do want to be careful, however, as some of their combos (such as those for bass) include treble hooks. Just be mindful of this if you’re buying this for a child who isn’t quite old enough to handle these lures quite yet.
To Conclude
There is value to purchasing an all-in-one fishing combo for your kids, but you want to make sure that you get one produced by fishermen, for fishermen. There are a lot of products out there on the market that include very questionable choices for tackle. Some of the items included are outright dangerous for young children.
I’d still recommend that you go ahead and just purchase your fishing gear piece meal. With all the tangles and snags that kids or beginners face, you’d be better off buying hooks and sinkers in bulk.
If that’s not in the cards right now or you’re in a hurry and just need something, I do stand behind Shakespeare products in general and recommend that you try out their “Catch More Fish” series of combos.
I hope this article was helpful and potentially saved you a bit of money or at least gave you a better idea of where you should spend it. If you found it useful, please consider sharing it so it can help others. You can also post a comment below or send me an email at johnpaxton@fishingfather.com to let me know what you think and if I need to check out any other combos out there! You can also consider purchasing my book, Fishing with Kids: A Parent’s Guide
Thanks,
John Paxton