Best spincast rod & reel combo for pan fish ??

[Swede]

Want to get a couple low cost but quality rigs for G.kids.
I like Johnson reels but their combo outfits all seem to with 10# test lines and awfully stiff rods. Any ideas come to mind--any suggestions?? Thanks.

[eyedoktr]

I'll probably get alot of flak from this but... I would start the kids on open faced spinning reels. I have purchased rod and reel sets for a number of my friend's kids (unfortunately I have none of my own) and have ALWAYS gone with open face reels. The parents say the kids will never learn and I should have bought spin cast or closed faced reels. Well, in a matter of minutes, the kids have all figured it out and do quite well. This way, you can get UL rods and whatever # test line you want.

[Peanut]

Low cost can be a pretty relative term, but try this rod:

5'6" or 6' Berkley IM6 Lightning Rod - around $30 - maybe less at WalMart. Or, even a Berkley Cherrywood rod, which would be less than a Lightning Rod. Great rods for the money.

You should be able to buy a Johnson reel on its own, if that's what you like. The Johnson TF10 can be had for about $11.00. I wouldn't worry about 10 pound test - it will work.

An alternative to a spincast reel is to go with an entry level Shimano spinning reel with a Quickfire trigger. Still easy to use, and $20 should get you a Shimano AX.

Good luck. It's great that your taking the g'kids fishing!

derrek.

CANADIAN WALLEYE OPEN UP AND SAY "EH"!

"On Sundays some men go to church and daydream about fishing. Others go fishing and think about God."

[SUPERTROLLER]

I went with a couple Johnson Century's and put them on extra rods I had already. Spooled them up with 6 lb. and they work fine. I know they say their reels are for 10 lb. but think they do this so it catches easier in the rewind mechanism.

[TRW]

Buy the kids the best rod and reel you can afford. If you buy them the cheep stuff it's going to break or get all tangled up and they are never going to want to use it. I would never buy a kid any thing that I wouldn't want to use myself. Make sure they know its a good rod and reel and you will be supprised how well they treat it. Myself I wouldn't wish a spin cast on my worst enemy.

[REW]

I 2nd the comment on the use of the open face spinning reels.
I used the spin cast reels for the first kids, but ended up spending so much time untangling the lines, that I finally gave up on them.
If I recall correctly, after the last tangle - I pitched the reel into the lake so that I woldn't have to look at it any more.

I then picked up inexpensive open faced spinning reels and retaught the children how to use them, and started the non fishing children on them.

They picked it up very quickly, and I taught them how to keep an eye on the line, to insure that they weren't tangled.

So - much easier to keep every body fishing.
For the kids with pan fish - I typically have them use 6 lb line. It is easy to cast for them, and they get less tangles than with 4 or 2 lb line. Typically, they are using bobbers, so that there is plenty of weight to cast the line out.

Any of the inexpensive 4 1/2 - 6 foot rods will be fine.
I like to start all the kids with a 4 1/2 foot rod. It is much more managable for them, and also a bit lighter.

Take care
REW

p.s.
If you haven't tried it before - there is a launch operator on Leech lake that equips all of his clients - that don't bring their own gear - with very light action 4 1/2 foot rods, when they go walleye fishing on the launch. They typically fish with a jig and a minnow. The problem with rookie fisherman that haven't jigged much - is that they have a lot of bites that they don't know, or lose a lot of bites, when they try to set the hook.
This launch operator - just tells his passengers to hook a minnow on the jig that he has tied on the line. Open the bail, and let the jig drop to the bottom - plus a bit more. Then he tells the clients to just whip the rod - and not stop.

Basically - the fishing and catching goes like this -
With this very whippy rod - and a 1`/4 oz jig - that has been allowed to settle to the bottom -- the whipping action of this very light action "short - 4 1/2 foot" rod - imparts a saw tooth action to the jig. i.e. it will rise about 6 inches off the bottom, settle nearly to the bottom, and then rise again. The walleys suck in the minnow on the way down, and then the next whip up - automatically sets the hook. It doesn't matter that the rookie fisherman - whips the rod another time or another 50 times - the fish has already been hooked, and eventually - the client reels in the fish.

This means that the client never feels for the fish, he never feels for the bottom - he just lets out a lot of line, and then starts whipping the rod.

It is interesting that in that part of the lake - there are lots of locals that fish exactly the same way - and boat many many walleyes every year.

Basically this is a modified version of "rip" jigging which has been very successful over the years.

Summary - \
If you do set up a few 4 1/2 foot poles with 6 lb line and open faced spinning reels - don't put them away when you go walleye fishing. The walleyes in the live well - will tell you how successful, this very unusual of catching the wiley eyes is.

Take care
REW

[Box]

Rumor has it that Fleet Farm has the im6 lightning rods for $19, with a $10 rebate... Perfect! If the sizes are right...

-Box