best rod and reel setup for 12 year old child?

my friend asked me to buy a couple of rods and reels for his 12 and 10 year old boy and girl mostly for shore fishing casting for trout on his large farm pond, he gave me 150.00 to pickup a couple of outfits but i'm not sure what to get. he wants something that will last and i assume something fairly easy to use. now if he asked me to pick out a trolling setup i'd be in my area of expertise but need help on this one. any help appreciated i want to buy something before he thinks i've left town with the money LOL, thankx.

[hgmeyer]

If they are total novices... I always start youngsters out with a good med light trigger handle casting 5 1/2' or 6' rod and a Johnson Century reel with 8 lb Trilene. Why? They can be "up and running" in minutes as far as "education" on operation... The Johnson Cetury does not impart line twist when the drag is working (unlike most other "spincast" reels)... And, that drag is "decent"... The rod choice let's "little ones" use two hands to cast and the "let go" of the button to cast seems easy to teach... THe rod and reel can be set up for anything (short of trolling setups) and used for Crappie up to bass/walleyes. I keep four of these setups in the garage just for guests who are new to fishing... I haven't changed my choice in over twenty years and still consider it the best beginner setup...

My next level up is a 2000 series spinning reel from Shimano with the "quick cast" feature and a similar med light or med spinning rod....

After that they are on their own... and spend their thousands on tackle like the rest of us sick puppies!

[REELMAN]

I 2nd the Johnson Century with a 51/2 foot casting rod.
If you live anywhere near Spirit Lake, Iowa the Berkley Outlet Store offers a lot of equipment cheap.
Here is there link.
http://www.ffo-tackle.com/

[REW]

Actually, I disagree with the other posts.
I would go with a 5 1/2 foot ultra light rod, with a open face spinning reel - of about a 1000 sized (shimano).

The reason that I suggest an open face, is that this is a reel that they can stay with for the rest of their life.
It only takes an hour or so of working with the first timer and they will have it taken care of.
If you are fishing in a farm pond for trout - it is nice to use about 4 or 6 lb line. This is easy to do and works very well with this reel.

However, if you use a trigger casting reel - like the johnson or zebco, these reels really don't work very well unless you are running about 10 lb line. Also, when tangles occur, the tangles are buried inside and can't be readily fixed.

With an open faced reel - if a tangle does occur, it is out in the open and can be immediately addressed and resolved.

I took my two 6 year old grand children fishing last year.
I had made poles for both of them that were essentially what I mentioned above.
Within about the 10th cast, they were both doing fine.
At the end of the next hour, they were making casts about as far as I was making. As I said, the first timers have a very quick learning curve. Teach them to use the equipment that they will be able to use for the rest of their life, and you won't have to reteach them later and unlearn some earlier habits.

Gander mountain, berkley, bass pro - all have rods that are less than $20 and will work very well. You can also pick up a reel for about $25-$35 each that will work very well.
At Berkely, Bass Pro, and Cabela's - you can find some very reasonably priced combo's meeting the above requirements that will work fine.

Take care
REW

[Justfishing]

When my kids were about 8 I got the open faced spinning reels with the casting lever. Th lever opened the bail and held the line. After a year or two I removed the lever. Dont forget to teach them to close the bail and pull the line.

[GR8WTHUNTER]

I agree with REW but I would lean toward a light or med. light action. The UL rods are great for bank fishing trout or pan fish. The light to med light will give them more options down the road and will be better if they want to throw some cranks.

[TYEEE]

UGLYSTICK,UGLYSTICK,UGLYSTICK.....and a handfull of low end Shimano open face reels!!!!!With 150.00 you should be able to get 4 reels and 4 rods, ultralight for livebait and a med heavy for casting spoons and cranks. The rods will outlast the reels (and have been around forever)as the reels end up in the dirt and mud alot or the spokes in the tire! I've gone through this with 3 boys who now fish everychance they get.
Good Luck
Tyee

[Otter]

If the kids were really young, I'd start them out with a short baitcasting rod and a spincast reel. However at their ages, as REW indicated, they would soon outgrow the outfit. For throwing lighter lures, an open faced spinning outfit would be the ticket. Personally, I wouldn't go with ultralight, because once they advanced beyond the trout on the farm pond, they would once again have outgrown the outfit. I'd say medium light would give them a good time with the pond trout and still have enough oomph to handle some walleyes or other larger fish when they decide to try that. Shimano makes some excellent moderately priced outfits, but so do a lot of other companies. Your best buy typically, is to get a combo rod/reel outfit, and these are offered at Cablela's, Bass Pro, and most local sports shops. In addition to being cheaper than buying the rod and reel separately, they are usually fairly well balanced. Good luck!

I would agree with REW. The 1000 Series Shimanos are real easy for small kids to learn to cast, plus they are pretty cheap when you combine them with a rod/reel combo. I got a pair for my kids at Bass Pro a couple of years ago, paid about $30 each, with them already spooled with line. I wouldn't spend a lot of money for their first rod/reels, because: 1) They won't appreciate a really nice set-up until they're older, 2) Little kids sometimes equate to broken rod tips or rods/reels overboard, 3) If they decide they don't like fishing, like my oldest son, you're not out a lot of money, 4) If they do get hooked on fishing, like my two younger boys, they can still use it to chase panfish in the local lakes and rivers without me having to be there watching like a hawk.

Had three four year olds in the boat last year at the same time. All used spinning gear. I did the casting for them but they could all reel okay. Working w/ my son on casting this year w/ spinning gear.