My 10 year old fishes alot, I know next to nothing about it. He wants to get his first baitcaster, so I've been doing alot of reading and came up with the following combo, what do you guys think? There is a used Citica 200D locally, but I'm thinking that's going to be way too bulky/heavy for him?
Was thinking….
Daiwa ca80
Ugly stick carbon "catfish" casting rod
Posted by Adventurous_Sky2465
10 Comments
I’d recommend the shimano slx combo. For $10 more you can get the base slx which is over $10 better than the ca80. Also that rod is meant for catfish and will but cumbersome with the casting reel.
Get a genuine baitcast rod and u could upgrade to slx like the other guy said
I personally wouldn’t get a 10 year old an 8’ rod unless he’s just going to bait and wait.
The reel is OK. The rod is not
For his first one, I’d go to Walmart and buy a $60 combo. Load it with 12lbs mono and let him get after it. From what I understand you and him have minimal experience, with bait-casters, mono is easier to fix a birds nest and cheaper if you need to cut and respool.
8’ rod is a big rod, even for an adult. My general recommendation would be a 7’ rod with Medium-Heavy or Medium power, and Fast action.
Do you know what type of baits / lures your son uses? That will help us make a good recommendation.
For the reel, as others have said- the Shimano SLX. That reel is as durable / reliable as it gets for the price. The other option is to get a cheaper reel- it will perform about the same, just with less longevity- but at 10 years old, it’s like to get beat up pretty good so up to you if you want to get a cheaper reel he can learn on, beat up, and if he sticks with the sport, you can get him an upgrade to a Shimano or Daiwa reel in the future.
For a cheaper reel, Abu Garcia has solid options (Max X, Max Z, or Max Pro) all on sale on Abu website for about $50.
If you order an Abu reel from the website, you could also look at the rods- they have the Vendetta and Veritas on sale for $60-80 range.
baits.com has buy a dobyns rod and get a maverick bait caster free.
No idea if the reel is good but in my opinion their rods are great.
Edit: from their email- Get a FREE Dobyns Maverick Reel when you purchase a casting or spinning rod—now through January 28!
Look at 7’ MH single piece casting rods. The one you have looks to be a catfish spinning rod. Also look anywhere else besides Amazon
Check out the Abu Garcia Zeta casting reel on sale at bass pro $100 off. Thats a $200 reel and will be much user friendly. Daiwa casting reels id stick with the Tatula lineup if the price isnt an issue. But if its his first you definitely dont wanna go super cheap and there’s tons of $100 casting reels of various quality that I cant really give an opinion on. For budget reels the Black Max is generally liked, but for user friendly outside of budget constraints id recommend a Tatula CT or SV TWS, but im a Daiwa fanboy, Shimano stuff is great too from what I hear.
For a good “budget” option (100-175$) abu garcia and lews (brands) have really decent combos that you could pick up from wallmart, sometimes even on sale. Look for a medium heavy model around 6’6″ to 7′, this should alow your son to use just about any lure (anything from 1/4oz to 1 oz), learn how to properly cast and adjust the reel. Then you all you need is a big spool of trilene (brand) big game (model) In 10-12lb test. It’ll run around 12$ and will have plenty of line to re-spool several times. so if/when he gets a backlash that he cant get out, he can just cut the line off and re-spool without having to make a trip to the store for another spool of line. I use the same line for rods I lend to people.
If your willing to invest a bit for a combo that will last your son a few years after he learns how to cast and properly adjust his reel, I highly recommend the st.croix (brand) gxr combo (model). They have a few difrent options in both spinning and casting. They will run you between 210-250$, but for the price and crafstman ship, its well worth the investment. Im more than likely going to pick up a combo in the future myself as a loaner rod to lend to my buddy’s who dont go fishing often and/or are looking to get into the sport.
The main reason im recommending the stcroix combo specifically is because I love there products, and im a “buy once cry once” type of person. Id rather bite the bullet and invest in something that will last me several seasons/years vs. buying something on the cheaper end that I will likley replace after 1-2 years of use.