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I need to purchase a pair (have identical twin boys ) of reels and rods so my kids could go offshore fishing with me in the near future. Their first times will be by simply bottom fishing, but would like something that I could potentially troll a small lure and hopefully land a small fish (5-15 lbs) with it. As they are now, they can barely lift my custom 6'+ rods and Penn 30s Not looking to break the bank, but also don't want to get something that will rust after the first use. Ideas, suggestions, opinions? For your help, thank you.
__________________ Boatless for now but that is just temporary
Small spinner like a Penn 4500 or simular size on a 6-7ft 10-12lb rod is great for bottom fishing smaller fish, and will allow them to cast w/o too much difficulty.
TLD 15 on a 20lb rod is pretty hard to beat for a trolling rod that will have years and years of service.
When my kids (4) were that age, I never handed them a rod that I would have regretted them breaking or dropping. My son has broken a dozen rods on the T-Top and I have never wanted to "curb his enthusiasm". When they break a rod I just hand them another and keep on going! I can always fix it when it's raining and cold. As he has gotten older he has learned to respect and take care of the equipment and the breakage is now very minimal.
FYI - IMHO safety lines are a good investment to keep you from hovering over them on the verge of panic.
__________________ Carolina Classic 25
"Life may be expensive, but it does come with a free trip around the sun every year!".
Reels are relatively easy. A TLD15 is great for trolling - lightweight, good drag, easy to tell what drag you have on the fish by looking at the position of the lever and it will teach your young anglers to levelwind the line. The reel is more than capable of catching big dorados and sailfish if the captain is fast and sure on the controls.
The rod is more complicated because the length and action needs to match your kids height and build. You want something that will be forgiving of mistakes, both while fighting a fish and if your kids bang the rod against the boat. I'd try maybe a 12 to 20 lb class fibreglass boat rod with a forgiving tip section of maybe 5'6" to 6' length. A heavy baitcaster of around 6 feet is also a lot of fun to use but if it is graphite it will be more fragile. If the rod doesn't have a gimbal fitting to fit into a trolling rod holder, have your local tackle store attach one.
Spinning gear - you probably have some spinning rods already, but if you don't, a couple of light spinning rods of around 10-12 lb class are always useful to have. Most kids can use them quite easily and if you match them with a decent quality reel you can catch some good fish with them. Great for casting a bait or jig to dorado or other stuff that you might find under floating objects.
I agree w/signmamnsez,,,but keep it under lock and key, for a while and get a cheap combo,to start.
Let them learn to respect and manage their gear,,tips will be cheap to replace and you'll become a master at as well.
At least this has been what I am doing with my daughter who is 9,,the 2 poles shown here, one is a blackbeauty boat pole, light enough for her and fairly inexpensive about $80.00, and the other is an Okuma 6' spinning rod combo set up, very light and about $40.00
Best of luck..
__________________ 1987 Dusky 19 CC 1995 150 Mariner
I wouldn't get a tld 15 for anything. They have a design flaw. There is just a little "pin" which locks the main gear. It will give out (guaranteed just a matter of time) and the reel is broke at the worst possible time - when you have a fish on!
Go up to the tld 20, it holds up better and not much heavier for the kids.
If it was me i would probably get a level wind to start with (although I don't prefer level winds usually). Junior anglers will have their hands full already they won't be interested in putting the line on evenly when they are excited!
I'm thinking like a shimano charter special or a penn gti series.
Good luck you will have a lot of fun with those youngsters!
P.S. A dog leash is the best safety strap for cheap.
Penn 320/330GTI (or a nice vintage 209/309) on an ugly stick 5' rod (+/-unbreakable tip?) will bottomfish/troll & I agree that kids need a level-wind at first... Any cheap $40-$60 spinner combo will do the trick, but the 8yo I fish with keeps going back to his Zebco 33 for casting jigs, even though he knows how to throw the spinner, he likes the ease of the spincast & a Zebco 33 w/8lb test will catch a keeper redfish...
My kids still use the Newell 220 I got them 6 years ago. I matched it up to a 6' Ugly Stick Custom rod series. I forget which rod it was but it served em well.
__________________ "Give me your hungry, your tired your poor I'll pee on em
Thats what the statue of bigotry says
Your poor huddled masses, lets club em to death
And get it over with and just dump em on the boulevard"
-L.Reed
"If you don't like it, go to Russia" -Homer Simpson.
both my girls use the penn 7500 combo's.bottom fishing they have yet had truoble getting a fish up.125 bucks and a dog leash as a lanyard and your good to go
Thanks everyone! Just got back from the beach and off to Disney tomorrow. Will have to run away for a bit and go to a fishing store for a while to get them something.
__________________ Boatless for now but that is just temporary
I recommend getting a level wind. If you are going with a conventional. I had a penn level wind. Nothing is worse than reeling a fish in and the line wont reel in anymore because the line balled up in one place.
The reel should be less concern than the rod. The rod needs to be able to stand up to beatings, steppings, smackings, trippings, etc. Buy an Ugly Stick and whatever reel you want.
Rod and reel for 7 year old? 
) of reels and rods so my kids could go offshore fishing with me in the near future. Their first times will be by simply bottom fishing, but would like something that I could potentially troll a small lure and hopefully land a small fish (5-15 lbs) with it. As they are now, they can barely lift my custom 6'+ rods and Penn 30s 
Not looking to break the bank, but also don't want to get something that will rust after the first use. Ideas, suggestions, opinions? For your help, thank you. 
but that is just temporary 
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