I am building a couple rods for kids and 1 of them is a 3 yr old. They want a casting rod for him so he can use a zebco reel. I can't find any small casting seats, does anybody make such a thing?
Thanks,
Steve

In my opinion, a top heavy push button Zebco spincast is a nightmare for kids. They also tend to let go of the whole rod when they cast, rather than just letting go of the push button.

You might consider one like this. When they are ready you can replace the underspin with a regular spinning reel. I have 5 grandkids that love them!

[www.rodbuilding.org]

_________________________________________
"Angling is extremely time consuming.
That's sort of the whole point." - Thomas McGuane

I totally agree with the underspin for small beginners

Ron Weber

I agree and mentioned that to the customer, I'll talk to them again. Nice work on those rods.
Thanks

I don't know why we don't recommend the "under-spin" idea more, it works really well.
Another way is to build a spin rod using a fly rod grip with the reel behind the grip,
which makes it a very well balanced rod, and the cork can be turned to fit smaller hands,
all they are holding is the grip itself.
A small fighting butt at the end of a sz 16 spin seat finishes it off.

Best wishes,
Ron Schneider
Schneider's Rod Shop
Mountain Home, Arkansas
[www.schneidersrods.com]
mtnron40@yahoo.com
870-424-3381

Steve,
I personally think that this is the incorrect rod for children.

For a child that young, it is next to impossible for them to really do any casting.

Rather, just use the equivalent of a 5 or 6 foot bamboo pole with 5 feet of line tied on the end. This works wonderfully well for catching sunnies over the side of the boat or off the dock.

But do what ever works for your client. However, I would certainly suggest a pole that does not use a reel, nor use a reel seat.

Be safe

My son did really well with the underspins until he transitioned to a spinning reel. At risk of going on a quality rant, be aware that there is a VAST difference between the cheaper underspins and the better made ones. We had very good luck with the ZEBCO and Pflueger brands....not so much with anything else. If they have great success and learn to love fishing it's worth $45 for an underspin.

For seats, we used Fuji NPS16 seats and it was a great combo. Hope this helps.

Bill Falconer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> At risk of
> going on a quality rant, be aware that there is a
> VAST difference between the cheaper underspins and
> the better made ones. We had very good luck with
> the ZEBCO and Pflueger brands....not so much with
> anything else. If they have great success and
> learn to love fishing it's worth $45 for an
> underspin.
>
> For seats, we used Fuji NPS16 seats and it was a
> great combo. Hope this helps.

We gave the rods to the grand kids as Christmas gifts and included a cheap $10 reel since they were so young. The following year they received nice Pfluegers from us at Christmas.

_________________________________________
"Angling is extremely time consuming.
That's sort of the whole point." - Thomas McGuane

If your customer still wants a casting rod, I would recommend a seat such as the Ken Weibe Super Sticker. I have made several of them for my grand kids. You just have to make sure that the reel foot on the reel is not one of the thick ones found on cheaper reels.

Randy,
X10 on the comment about the use of the thinner thickness reel base.

But,if you do have an inexpensive reel that has a thicker base, it is very easy to remedy the situation.

Just take a power belt sander and hold the reel flat against the belt sander until the reel foot is the desired thickness.

Be safe

I agree with the others regarding the underspin setup. I will add that there are options as well, my son when 2 years old could competently cast an ultralight spinning reel. It was on a small 4'6 St Croix SCII blank that I made a number of years ago. Once instructed on how to do it he was off and running to include closing the bail by hand. It is a great little beetle spin setup.... By the age of four he was handling a 7' Castaway with a Curado that is dialed down to reduce backlashes. He could with that baitcasting setup successfully cast a spinnerbait to targets in open water ( Truman has TONS of tree tops to cast to). Now at almost the age of 6 he is pitching to isolated targets and quite well I might add. The customer simply needs to understand that patience spent with the youngster will be most rewarding and exciting for the little one.

My point is not a "hey look at what my son did" but that the little ones are far more capable and willing to learn than we give them credit for!!

Tom



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/16/2014 06:33PM by Thomas Kaufmann.

By the age of 6 both of my daughters were fishing using Penn 109 reels for salmon mooching. They didn't have to cast, just let the line out and set the clicker. My youngest hooked an 8 pound silver and when I went to try and help her she said "Dad, I can do it my own"
Put me in my place. I taught them both to use casting reels for steelhead and salmon. They both still fish with casting reels and save the spinning for light fish.

Thanks to all of you, lots of good info here. The customer has bought into the underspin idea so I am good to go there. The rod I am building is for a 3 yr old grandson and the customer said "he's toting a 6 footer now!" he said the grandson comes over every day and has either a float or a rubber worm in his pocket.

Thanks again,
Steve